CLIFF RICHARD WITH THE SHADOWS/WONDERFUL LIFE 33SX 1628 (-64) UK MONO

 

This is the twelfth album from Cliff Richard and/or The Shadows I'm posting here. They were a large part of my early teens, forming a kind of connection still valid today. I can't be a critic and say their albums from that time are good or bad in any way, just that I feel at home with the music and therefore it's good to me. This is a soundtrack from one in a serie of musical movies made in the sixties involving the combo. Ten of the cuts has Cliff singing to orchestral backing, two with him and The Shadows and two by The Shadows alone. The orchestral tracks sounds far from pop, then more like ordinary late fifties or early sixties musical tunes with him singing very sweet or even crooning. The ones with him and/or the Shadows perks it up a bit, sounding just as expected from them and then. As a whole it doesn't make me wanna jump up and down and scream with joy, but as it all is so well done - performance, production, arrangements, mix and audio - it's good to the ears and very soothing. And the package is lavish with rear sleeve having eleven colour pics from the movie and the inner sleeve twentyfour b/w ones. Favorite tracks - "On The Beach", "Theme For Young Lovers" and "Wonderful Life". Originally issued like this over Europe, Downunder, Japan, India, South Africa, Turkey and Israel. US version as "Swingers' Paradise" (Epic LN 24145) had different sleeve design. UK 2005 CD on EMI (7243 4 77718 2 8) came with four bonus tracks. Premiere UK (also as stereo SCX 3515) had label as shown here in a laminated flip/back cover with picture/credit inner.  (CXÄ*)