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The Singles Collection

The Singles Collection
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Manufacturer: EMI
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5




Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0766489109220
Format: Box set
Label: EMI
Manufacturer: EMI
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: EMI
Release Date: 2002-08-12
Studio: EMI

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Too much had to go
Comment: The album contains all Cliff's SOLO singles at the time of release, thus 'The Joy of Living' and 'Throw down a line' (which are credited to 'Cliff and Hank' (Marvin) are ommited, as are 'Suddenly' (with Olivia Newton John), 'She Means nothing to me' (with Phill Everly) and songs he recorded with ELton John, Van Morrison, Sarah Brightman etc. Some, but by no means all of these are now available on his recvent duets album. Their ommision here is a dissapointment, as there are some great songs among them, thus only 4 stars.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Where is the Joy
Comment: Good collection but not great as it fails to produce what it says on the tin. ALL CLIFF'S SINGLES- well not quite- where is the theme to his seventies TV series "The Joy Of Living". I thought maybe this was an album track, but checking with the GBHS found it reached number 25 in the singles chart in 1970- so where is it. Has anyone else noticed any omissions. I have read the review pointing out "Throw Down A Line" strange that these two missing tracks are from the same period.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Great collection - but a few errors
Comment: Just to say this is a fantastic collection of solo Cliff A-sides.

There are a few errors though - for example Healing Love is the album version, not the remixed single version, and the same goes for Stronger Than That.

Most of the duets are available on Private Collection, by the way.

HOWARD in N Yorks.


Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: An eye-and-ear opening collection
Comment: Six CDs may seem a little much to anyone who isn't a long-standing Cliff fan. But until EMI gives us an intelligently selected double-or-triple disc Best Of, we have to take the rough with the smooth. We have to endure horrors like "Schoolboy Crush", "Good Times", "Big Ship" and "Goodbye Sam..." and bland rubbish ranging from "Hot Shot" to "Let Me Be The One" in order to acquire not just the acknowledged classics (from "Move It", through "I Could Easily..." and "Lucky Lips", to "Devil Woman", "Carrie" and "Wired For Sound"), but also forgotten gems.

There are songs which leave you contemplating musical routes not taken, like "Time Drags By" (vaguely Dylanish), "Blue Turns To Grey" (by the Rolling Stones), "My Kinda Life" (a Quo-ish boogie).
Relative failures that deserved better, like "When Two Worlds Drift Apart" (haunting, desperately sad - imagine Linda Thompson singing it!).
And as for hits that have faded from popular memory - my recommendations include "My Pretty One", "Remember Me", "Heart User" (imagine Richard Thompson singing it!) and - the real unheralded masterpiece, certainly Cliff's most ambitious single - "Silvery Rain".

A true best-of Cliff would have to include album tracks like "Throw Down A Line" (which I thought WAS a single) and "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music", the Phil Everley duet "She Means Nothing To Me" and the Elton duet "Slow Rivers".
But in the meantime, this will do.


Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Do you have any idea how brilliant Cliff is????
Comment: Cliff is probably the finest singer Britain ever produced. Listen to this collection in its entirety and you will find it extremely difficult to disagree.
This guy can sing:
- hard, beautiful, frenetic Rock & Roll
("Move It", "Living Loving Doll", "It'll Be Me".) He's been accused of being just another Elvis impersonator, I've heard many 60s singers who sound, I fear, like Elvis clones; mimicking that overused, irritating Elvis vibrato without the Elvis charm; but Cliff is nothing like that. Yes the influence is felt, particularly in "Dynamite" and "It'll Be Me" but his voice had its own unique texture; his higher notes had a tangy, fresh sweetness; his lower ones a haunting intensity; which comes out in most early recordings.
If you listen to this in its entirety you will only marvel; gape in awe; swoon at how effortlessly versatile Cliff adapts his great voice from genre to genre; how he can sing from bass to falsetto, hard or soft; how he can melt delicate vocals into a beautiful acoustic accompanies or belt out (melodically, mind), a full-throated blistering rock sound over harsh electric guitars or rich keyboard orchestrations; how he can soar to incredible heights with deep, heartfelt feeling in soul songs; how he can be fast, fun and funky in dance songs. He can outclass almost anyone in almost any genre.
In the late 60s and early 70s he went off-track; he produced chirpy but lightweight, throwaway pop ("Goodbye Sam Hello Samantha" and singalong oom-pah-pah gospel songs ("Good Times Better Times", "Big Ship".) Anyone could sing these songs. They couldn't bring out the magic of his voice. But there are some gems from that era too like "With The Eyes Of A Child". Cliff draws you in. The more songs you hear, the more you want.





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