HANK ON CLIFF'S HITS

[RalphG]

Hmmm I'd better track down my copy of "La Mer". Knew when I started this that there are just too many to choose from.

Good to hear Bernard that I'm not alone one those, particularly "Don't Talk To Him". Always felt that it was Hank's sound on that track that so nearly made it a number one amid Beatlemania and the Merseybeat hold on the charts at the time.

Have to admit Jim "Usain Bolt" Nugent has made impeccable choices. Funny how one particicular album can throw up so many good ones.

[Didier]

Hi Peter,
Ian undoubtedly means "La Mer" ("The Sea") - popularised, I believe, in France by Charles Trenet. Cliff / Shads cut a few French derived tracks (incl "Boum", "J'Attendrai" etc) in the mid 60s. Lovely stuff.

Rob

Cliff Richard recorded in 1964 an EP with four old french songs : La mer (from Charles Trenet), Boum, J'attendrai, C'est si bon.
Not sure it was a very good idea, I never liked it !...
They can still be found in a double CD compilation Dou you want to dance by Magic Records (although these are not really dancing tunes !).

Didier

[Didier]

Here this EP (French release),

Front :


And back :


Didier

[Keith Bateman]

Not a hit, but Hank's echo-laden fills behind Cliff on Unchained Melody from Listen To Cliff always send the shivers up my spine

Keith

[Moderne]

I agree with Jim re The Young Ones LP and Keith re Unchained Melody. I'd also like to nominate...
Apron Strings - a tight arrangement and superb Antoria solo from Hank.
Mean Woman Blues - the first solo in this song is genius. The second is great too, a shame Hank screwed up right at the end of it!
My Blue Heaven - a delightful jazzy solo on this one.
Your Eyes Tell on You - some great fills and fantastic solo.
What Would I Do - again, close to genius. The DeArmond fills really make this song.
Love, Truth and Emily Stone - great combination of the DArmond and the rotary speaker effect Hank was using around 1969-70.

I could probably name a few more if I sat down and listened to all my old Cliff records (only a few people can apparently tolerate listening to un-remastered vinyl these days!!) I wonder whether some Shadows fans who make a point of saying they don't like Cliff, are aware of the superb accompaniment they provided for him on dozens of B-sides, EP and LP tracks as well as the hit singles.

Clive

[Peter K]

Hi Moderne,

I'm also wondering about the fact that some Shadows fans don't like Cliff.
The first time I ever listened to the Shadows was in 1962 when " Guitar Tango " was released in Germany.
( The B-Side in Germany was not " What a lovely tune " but a studio version of " Driftin' ", does anybody know when this was
recorded ? )
After buying all the singles that were released before Guitar Tango I found out that the Shadows were also backing Cliff
and started to buy Cliff's records, too. Having got some Cliff albums I noticed that there were songs with Shadows accompaniment and others featuring several orchestras. My first impression was : Cliff is much better when accompanied by the Shadows. I still feel so today and am really glad that they did this Reunited album together.
I feel that the Shadows should play more than 9 songs during the current tour, but I'm afraid that the majority of the audiences attends because of Cliff Richard only and not because of the Shadows or because because both of them.

Regards Peter

[Didier]

The first time I ever listened to the Shadows was in 1962 when " Guitar Tango " was released in Germany.
( The B-Side in Germany was not " What a lovely tune " but a studio version of " Driftin' ", does anybody know when this was
recorded ? )

According to Malcolm Campbell's book "A pocket guide to Shadow Music", the studio version for Driftin' was recorded on May 25th 1959 (later than the live version on for Cliff's first album recorded on february 9/10th 1959), the studio version of Jet Black was recorded on the same day.
When Apache was released in France, it was on an EP containg also Quatermaster's stores, Drifin' and Jet Black (studio versions).
These studio versions for Driftin and Jet Black can now be found on the Magic Records compilation : Apache / The Best Of

Didier
P.S. like many people, I only really like Cliff Richard when he is The Shadows' "vocalist"...

[RalphG]

LOL Didier that will make you popular with Cliff's lady fans!

On a more serious note, I agree we too often forget the wonderful sounds the Shads contributed on many of Cliff's singles and album tracks.

[Peter K]

Hi Didier,

thank you. I think I should finally make up my mind and buy Malcolm's book, too.

Regards Peter K

[wstagner]

We love Hank's version (including the keyboard intro) of the Young Ones on Hank Plays live DVD.
In fact, our band plays it that way.
Is in E instrumentally and thus diffrent from the vocal.