Review: ‘Cliff and the Shadows: The Final Reunion’
Sir Cliff Richard is one of the most successful rock singers of all time. He has had Number One singles in the UK in the last five consecutive decades. He has had 130 albums and EPs make the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. He’s also sold more than 250 million records.
The Shadows were more than just Sir Cliff’s backing group; they were a separate entity that recorded a number of very influential instrumental tracks, including “Apache” and “Foot Tapper”. The group’s collaboration with Cliff Richard yielded a string of hits as well, influencing generations of aspiring musicians. In 2009 Cliff and the Shadows celebrated their fiftieth anniversary by reuniting for a string of shows, capped off by a performance at 02 Arena. That concert is captured on this DVD, a retrospective of a staggering career full of hits.
I wasn’t born until 1969, so this music is really the soundtrack of a generation prior to mine. I was aware of it, and an awful lot of guitar players that I interview cite The Shadows as an influence, but I have to admit I had only a passing familiarity with this music prior to watching this DVD. It’s really very impressive. Most of the time when a band has been around this long, it’s a safe bet that the members have begun to lose their individual abilities, and often when a band hasn’t played together for a long time, it just can’t recapture the magic it once had.
Not so with Cliff and the Shadows. Opening with the twangy goodness of “We Say Yeah” , the band presents a mind-boggling set of timeless hits in a wide array of styles. Sir Cliff’s voice still sounds great, and I really like the old-time showbiz razzmatazz with which the band presents its set. The players still sound like a band, too, instead of a bunch of guys who just got back together. It’s an impressive mix of styles; “A Voice in the Wilderness” is the sound that launched ten million prom slow dances, while “Dancing Shoes” has a great groove. Today’s over-produced rockers could learn a lot from the clean, minimalist arrangements of songs like “I’m The Lonely One”; the real groove is in the spaces between the notes, not in playing as fast and hard as you can.
The band is uniformly excellent, but guitarist Hank Marvin in particular shows why he is regarded as one of the most influential players in rock music history. You’ve heard these licks a million times, but that’s only because Marvin invented them and everyone else ripped them off. Marvin turns in flawless renditions of “Shadoogie”, “Apache”, “Foot Tapper”, and he also shines on the country-flavored acoustic tune “Travellin’ Light”. With his huge glasses he reminds me a little bit of a guitar-playing mad scientist, gleefully presenting a new invention he just cooked up in his basement lab.
There’s also one new track entitled “Singing The Blues”. It’s not usually a good idea for an older band to play a new song, because it almost always pales in comparison to the older hits. By contrast, “Singing The Blues” sounds like it was ripped from the band’s chart run, like it could have been a lost track from that original era. Overall I’m very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this DVD, from the performance, to the sound, to the filming itself. There’s also some great behind-the scenes bonus footage with interviews and rehearsals that should be interesting to even the most ardent fan. Whether you’re a huge Cliff and the Shawdows fan or a relative newcomer like myself, there’s a lot to like about Cliff and the Shadows: The Final Reunion.
Thak You so much for such a wonderful write up for Cliff and The Shadows. I was at the concerts in London and they are phenominal. I am fortunate in that, even though I was a little late, I was a teen in the times Sea Cruise, Dancing Shoes, etc., was being played. Cliff sounds better now than he ever did. To see them all on stage you would never dream the average age was 69! Professional, energetic, entertaining and so much fun! The biggest loss is they were never promoted properly in North America..Cliff (and the Shadows) is great, and we in North America are the ones who have lost out. Shame on EMI for not pushing him more here!! Glad you have finally ‘found’ him! Singing The BLues is a song that was done a long time ago…I think early 60’s but I may be wrong on that..I love their rendition of it for the single they released last fall!
I stand corrected . . . so “Singing The Blues” is an old song but they issued a new recording?
Thanks!
Sterling
Thank you for the wonderful review of The Final Reunion by Cliff & The Shadows (C&TShads). You probably don’t know but Cliff is scorned and made fun of in the UK by the ‘cool’ in the music industry. He is considered a ‘goody two-shoes’ and is thought of as a ‘guilty’ pleasure if anyone under 40 admits they like him. Probably one of the Brits greatest living treasures and they snip and snipe at him all the time. But by professional musicians, who have worked with him, he is held in esteem and with respect.
The fact is that Cliff really loves what he does and it comes through in his music! They (C&TShads) are all so good they make it look easy. Because of that I think some people ignore their work and/or show them no respect.
You and my son are the same age so, yes, this is the music of my generation except I live in the US and they never found an audience here! I missed most of the careers of both C&TShads but I’ve more than made up for it since the internet appeared!
I have been a fan of C&TShads since 1963 but never saw them ‘live’. I never thought I would; being from NYC and fairly poor! But after missing several years of Cliff’s concerts because some odd events; I finally got a chance to go. Plus, I got to see both C&TShads. A miracle in my book! A fan in Denmark bought the tickets for me and asked me to stay with her family while there. I saw C&TShads TWICE in November, 2009. What a great show; incredibly entertaining and professional! I cried all the way through The Next Time, my first and one of my all time favorite songs. C&TShads, and Cliff alone, have such an incredibly large back list that you can’t really choose a favorite so I have a top 40.
Singing the Blues is a song written in 1956 by Melvin Endsley. Various hits with it were done by Guy Mitchell (#1 on US Billboard), Tommy Steele (#1 in UK) and Marty Robbins (#1 on US C/W chart). It has been covered endlessly since then.
FYI - Between the two, C&TShads have had 19 #1s in the UK. Both have also had #1s all over the world except the US. Cliff reached #5 in the US in 1976 with Devil Woman. Cliff has had 18+ hits on Billboard but never consistently enough to have made a name here! The 250 million count was from 2004 when a TV show checked up on the statistics and declared Cliff the Best Selling artist in the UK. I’m sure since then it has gone up a bit. And though not much is publicized about him, Brian Bennett is one of the best drummers in the world. I heard that he is wearing a t-shirt during the Australian concerts that says, ‘Damn, I make 70 look good!’ He just had a birthday and turned 70.
It is a shame that someone like Leo Sayer is well known in the US but C&TShads have barely been heard of! It also burns me that The Rolling Stone doesn’t give them any credit for the change they brought about in England and the rest of the world preparing the way (not intentionally) for the Beatles, etc. The story is that the Beatles left England and went to Germany to polish their act because C&TShads had England all sewn up!
By the way it is Sir Cliff Richard and has been since 1995. Cliff is very proud of the knighthood but not stuck on the Sir!
Kitty-nyc
Wonderful review! The most wonderful part is that it comes from the US and it’s not biased, like normally UK reviews are (to the detriment of Sir Cliff, usually).
I pre-ordered the NTSC DVD “The Final Reunion” and finally got it and I have enjoyed it a lot. I know it’s NOT like being there but just a close approximation.
So sad Cliff Richard & The Shadows were never properly promoted in North America. The result is that we all have lost years and years of great music and one of the finest and amazing careers in music since the rock/pop music inception. Listening and watching these people play their classics just made me think how privileged I am to listen to real living legends (I’m just 2 years younger than you). Having re-connected with Cliff’s music only last April after maybe 15 years of not knowing his whereabouts got me in serious investigation mood and now I’m starting to digest the importance of his longstanding and brilliant career in music, and a not less amazing career in TV, films and theater!
Sadly, it won’t be the case that I can listen to Cliff & The Shads live as they are in the last leg of their “Final Reunion” tour (Australia/New Zeland/South Africa) these days. Hopefully I can listen to Cliff live in the future. Now the concerts to celebrate his 70th B-day have been announced… Maybe one of those… but still, across the pond… sob…