Cliff Richard's EP "La-La-La-La-La"

[strongbow]

Lewry & Goodall are wrong about the October 11 session. All of the tracks from that session, other than It’s All Over, are clearly arranged by Mike Leander, not Bernard Ebbinghouse. In addition to Leander’s distinctive sound, the original La La La La La EP and Don’t Stop Me Now album credited the arrangements to him.

It’s All Over was initially done at a September 20 session with Ebbinghouse – along with Time, Run to the Door and Where Did the Summer Go. All four were credited to Ebbinghouse when released. Perhaps Cliff redid the It’s All Over vocal on October 11. Or perhaps it’s just a mistake.

[Bill Bowley]

They didn't say it wasn't arranged by Mike Leander - as you know arranging and playing are two different processes. I'm sure that you like most of us have 'played' someone elses arrangement of a piece, and in some (rare) cases it is hard to tell if it was the original artist playing it or not. What they are saying there is, for whatever reason that particular Orchestra was playing from whatever dots they had at that session. As for the 'It's All Over' take from September 20, it was 'unissued'. Whatever your opinion of the work done here by Read, Goodall and Lewry I personally am happy to accept it based on the words in the forward by this geezer called Hank Marvin, who says:

'The details of recording sessions, films, broadcasts and other information that Mike's collaborators Nigel Goodall and Peter Lewry have obtained are truly amazing - take the recording sessions for example. We are told the dates , the studios used. the titles recorded and whether they turned out to be A-sides, B-sides, foreign releases or were unissued. The names of the musicians, the producer, and even the session times, i.e. 7.00pm-10.00pm are given. Do I sound impressed? I am, but despite this evidence of dilligent detective work, I was just a little surprised, disappointed even, that more effort was not put into unearthing the really important session details, such as what times were the tea breaks? How long were they? Who took sugar and who didn't?'


As far as the accuracy goes, Hank's opinion is good enough for me.

[strongbow]

If you go back to the original album sleeve for Don’t Stop Me Now, it says “Arranged and Conducted by Mike Leander.” In other words, he didn’t merely write the arrangements, he conducted the orchestra.

As for the accuracy of Read/Lewry/Goodall, I think they’ve done a generally creditable job, but also have a fair number of errors. So notwithstanding Hank’s foreword, I’ll take a pass on accepting everything in the book as gospel.

[Arpeggio]

It's easy to knock the writers / compilers of books of this type (I should know - occasionally being on the 'receiving end' myself). So, I think that Pete Lewry and Nigel Goodall have done a tremendous job re; their various books / publications. But, yes, it has to be acknowledged, that there are some errors / anomalies - which is sometimes inevitable when dealing with such an enormous amount of detailed information. Most writers welcome the fact that people notice errors, omissions, misconceptions etc., etc and are generally happy to have these pointed out in order that they may be corrected in any future editions of various books. OK, so we may have to accept that the book in question may 'only' be 98 - 99% (!!) accurate - but where would be if it had never been researched, written and published??

Bests.....Rob

[Arpeggio]

I really must get out more. Pat and Bill.....I love this kind of thing really. Looking through all of the relevant / salient information again. Yes. The October 11th session is erroneously credited to the Bernard Ebbinghouse Orchestra.It is a mistake, pure and simple. It should definitely have been credited to the Mike Leander Orchestra.

Confusion: "The Complete Chronicle" / "The Complete Recording Sessions". In the Complete Chronicle - for some reason Peter and Nigel have listed all of the personnel present at Abbey Road on September 21st - but they (why, I don't know) ran the two separate sessions together. The first was purely a Shadows session for the "Thunderbirds Are Go!" EP. The second was a Cliff Richard session for "Don't Stop Me Now" and "La La La La La" (EP). Fortunately - in "The Complete Recording Sessions" - an actual tape log / session sheet for Cliff's evening session is reproduced. None of the Shadows are listed as being present. Further - when involved with "The Shadows At Abbey Road" - I was lucky enough to hear some master tapes with lots of studio chatter / banter. During the recording of "Thunderbirds" - Brian Bennett could quite clearly be heard (good naturedly) urging everyone to get the session completed on time in order that he (and several others) - could repair to a local hostelry for a meal and drinks.

RE: Did Hank and Bruce provide backing vocals on "Never Knew What Love Could Do"? Well, officially - no. They aren't listed on Cliff's session for September 21st. They are listed on the session for October 11th ("Solitary Man"). So....did Hank and Bruce hang around in Abbey Road on Sept 21st and sing (uncredited) on the aforementioned recording? Possibly - but it's pure speculation. Interesting all the same!!!

Bests.....Rob

[iefje]

I really must get out more. Pat and Bill.....I love this kind of thing really. Looking through all of the relevant / salient information again. Yes. The October 11th session is erroneously credited to the Bernard Ebbinghouse Orchestra.It is a mistake, pure and simple. It should definitely have been credited to the Mike Leander Orchestra.

Confusion: "The Complete Chronicle" / "The Complete Recording Sessions". In the Complete Chronicle - for some reason Peter and Nigel have listed all of the personnel present at Abbey Road on September 21st - but they (why, I don't know) ran the two separate sessions together. The first was purely a Shadows session for the "Thunderbirds Are Go!" EP. The second was a Cliff Richard session for "Don't Stop Me Now" and "La La La La La" (EP). Fortunately - in "The Complete Recording Sessions" - an actual tape log / session sheet for Cliff's evening session is reproduced. None of the Shadows are listed as being present. Further - when involved with "The Shadows At Abbey Road" - I was lucky enough to hear some master tapes with lots of studio chatter / banter. During the recording of "Thunderbirds" - Brian Bennett could quite clearly be heard (good naturedly) urging everyone to get the session completed on time in order that he (and several others) - could repair to a local hostelry for a meal and drinks.

RE: Did Hank and Bruce provide backing vocals on "Never Knew What Love Could Do"? Well, officially - no. They aren't listed on Cliff's session for September 21st. They are listed on the session for October 11th ("Solitary Man"). So....did Hank and Bruce hang around in Abbey Road on Sept 21st and sing (uncredited) on the aforementioned recording? Possibly - but it's pure speculation. Interesting all the same!!!

Bests.....Rob

Thank you Rob, the actual facts behind these recording sessions become more and more obvious!

Further - when involved with "The Shadows At Abbey Road" - I was lucky enough to hear some master tapes with lots of studio chatter / banter. During the recording of "Thunderbirds" - Brian Bennett could quite clearly be heard (good naturedly) urging everyone to get the session completed on time in order that he (and several others) - could repair to a local hostelry for a meal and drinks.

I think this relates to the studio chatter, included on "The Shadows At Abbey Road", just before the stereo remix of "Scotch On The Socks", is that correct? Brian says something about 'the Abbey trot' and 'ten bars of tape is Abbey trot' or something.

[Arpeggio]

The 'Abbey Trot' was indeed a reference to 'trotting' around to a local pub / restaurant. On the reference tapes for "The Shadows Of Abbey Road" -there was a lot more studio discussion which wasn't included (and some of it most definitely never could or should ever be aired - with the 'air turning blue' on many occasions). It was clear as the "Thunderbirds" session was drawing to a close (heading towards 6.00pm) that Brian and his chums were ready for some early evening food and refreshments.

Bests.....Rob

[Bill Bowley]

Mmm..... so an Album cover note trumps a researched book? Oh really? So I should automatically take it that Jet Harris was not on any tracks on the 'Out of The Shadows' Album because the cover talks only of Liquorice Locking as the bass player. To quote John Cleese, 'I get the picture'.................

[Bill Bowley]

This critic speaks only of Mike Leander for 'Don't Stop Me Know', and I doubt if anyone else would dare lay claim to being the arranger/ conductor after reading this anyway:

What the Critics Say
In the midst of the psychedelic era, Cliff Richard made this deep and serious thrust at reestablishing his mainstream pop/rock credentials; the array of material encompassed includes songs associated with the Isley Brothers, Buddy Holly, Tim Hardin, the Chiffons, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Little Richard, the Drifters, and -- Cliff Richard. His singing isn't always terribly impressive here, and he's generally a lot better on the ballads and the melodic rock & roll songs than on the harder sides, ironic for a singer who made his first mark with a song like "Move It" (which is represented here in a remade version). Most of the brass and chorus-heavy arrangements by Mike Leander seem dated for a 1967-vintage rock album, but he excels on the softer sides. The album opens promisingly with an earnest if not too memorable version of "Shout" that might've made Lulu laugh politely and the Isleys snicker mercilessly, but Richard's rock crooning on "I'll Be Back" opens up a depth of disillusionment that the Beatles' own rendition only approaches on the choruses -- and the reed and brass-dominated arrangement coupled with Richard's smooth vocal delivery does give the song some refreshing wrinkles. He's a little too heavy-handed on "Heartbeat," though Leander's folk-rock-style jangling guitar and the animated horns keep the listener busy in a rewarding enough way, coupled with his serious emoting. "I Saw Her Standing There" is one of the more flaccid covers imaginable of this classic Beatles rocker, the brass and girlie-chorus arrangement making Richard sound like an Engelbert Humperdinck wannabe. And he shows little sympathy for "Good Golly Miss Molly" -- he's not quite Pat Boone doing "Tutti Frutti," but he's also not far enough away from the latter for comfort. Yet Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream" and "Don't Make Promises" get fairly strong renditions here, with attractive arrangements and fairly bold vocals. As for "Move It," the Leander-arranged trumpet backing makes it one of the worst remakes of a classic '50s side that one is ever likely to hear, and his big band-backed version of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is a dubious achievement at best, more dullish than one ever imagined the song being capable of sounding. The album ends on a stronger note with his covers of "Baby It's You," "My Babe," and "Save the Last Dance for Me," achieving some signs of real passion on the latter title. Don't Stop Me Now was reissued on CD in 2002 paired on the same disc with the Cliff Richard album. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

[Arpeggio]

Bill - I eat humble pie!! This kind of thing can be a minefield. After what you said - I thought again about October 11th 1966. Then it hit me (!!!!! LOL). "It's All Over" was one of the tracks recorded on 11 / 10 / 1966. So, I dug out my old vinyl single and (OK, OK) - it quite clearly states on the label: "Cliff Richard with Bernard Ebbinghouse and his Orchestra". So....I was WRONG in my previous assertion. Please accept my apologies. If we go by Cliff's sleeve notes on the LP - then all 16 arrangements were by Mike Leander. His own orchestra is identified on: "I Saw Her Standing There", "Homeward Bound", "Don't", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Save The Last Dance For Me". The Bernard Ebbinghouse Orchestra is listed on (from session notes): "One Fine Day", "I'll Be Back" and "You Gotta Tell Me". The orchestra on the other eight tracks is unspecified. So, it could be the B E O or the M L O or the N P O on the other tracks. So, as Mike Leander did the arrangements - he was asked to conduct whichever orchestra was employed on the respective sessions. Right....is this OK now?? I know my wife will say "Oh, for goodness' sake Rob - get a life!!!" But....it all matters to many of us on this site doesn't it??

Bests.....Rob

PS: I would worry too much about the critique - it's only one person's opinion and I don't think that he's exactly Cliff's greatest fan anyway.