Cliff Richard Claims Morrissey is Still in the Hospital
http://rocknycliveandrecorded.com/cliff-richard-grammercy-theater-saturday-june-21-2014.html
The difference between Elvis Presley and the English equivalent Cliff Richard, is Presley’s voluptuousness was carnal and Richard’s remains boyish. The result was a a star who was definabley an Elvis disciple was considered, Stateside at least, a minor artist. The teenage Cliff of the late 1950′s, had a tender lushness about him, girls adored him, he wasn’t threatening but rather Mickey Rooney meets Elvis meets Dion . Any thoughts of juvenile delinquency disappeared as hit after hit after hit turned him pop.
Cliff Richard is no minor artist but he is no Elvis either and on stage at Gramercy Theater, Saturday, June 21st both his immense gifts and limitations were clearly on display.
Gifts? Richard has sold over 250 million albums worldwide, and he is the best selling single artist of all time in the UK. Limitations? He became both a best selling AOR artist in the 70′s and a nostalgia act ever since, no matter how often he dons the Heathcliff cape,
Hawking the Nashville recorded covers album “The Fabulous Rick And Roll Songbook”, his first New York concert included his early hits, other 50′s hits, and highlights from the 1970′s and between them they amounted to a set, interspersed with an interview, which did what the true greats can do, it overwhelms its weaknesses and makes a strength of them.
The last time I saw Cliff on stage was in 1963, the last time he performed in the States was 1981, so when Morrissey announced Sir Cliff (sell 200 million records and they’ll Knight you as well) was opening for him, some of us felt Cliff would eclipse the night. Cliff himself was thrilled at the opportunity to introduce his music to a new audience as well as the fans arriving from Australia from England from Canada for this opportunity to see the man in person.
“I didn’t speak to anybody for two days after learning it was canceled.” Cliff told us but slowly a plan emerged and there we were. “It’s a long time since we”ve shared such an intimate space ” he said at the 500 seater Gramercy a week after the Morrissey show was canceled.
Somethings were necessarily lost. Cliff came to us with only a backup singer, a program er and an interviewer but it was enough. He looked incredible. Not incredible for a septuagenarian , just incredible. Inches away from him he looks as though he”s 45, every single song he both sang and danced, if his voice is aged I couldn’t tell, he sounded the same as ever gentle, sweet, sharp Cliff.
Watching him hit the stage the years seem to roll away, the first three songs are just about what you want from Sir Cliff. The title track from his 1963 movie “Summer Holiday” followed by the lovely teenie bopper “I Could Easily Fall In Love With You” and the early stretch “In The Country”. Then a song off his last album “Apron Strings” which fits in nicely. Interviewer Phil Silvers mentioned that Cliff had begun his career as a rocker, become a pop singer and is now balladeer, we started with the rocker.
Speaking of the interview, it was interesting to a degree and very unsentimental but a touch too much of it for my taste. A third of it was taken up with question and answers.
Speaking of ballads, a note perfect take on “Miss You Nights” a good song I was not particularly fond of , into a valued fave. The other ballads I was less sure of (“We Don”t Talk Anymore”, the sixth song ever played on MTV, was the only time I found myself glancing at my watch) but this was a goodie.
Which leads us directly to set lists and pacing; there isn’t a musician who couldn’t learn how to put together a set list from this show. Early hits followed by later period hits, followed by newbies astutely placed among favorites, followed by an acoustic set followed by two of his biggest hit Sure it was Cliff’s audience but still that’s the way it is done. Nothing is taken for granted.
This is all fun, well except for “the Twelfth Of Never”, but again it is the earliest stuff that really is magnetic. Cliff’s first hit, at the age of 17, “Move It” is a real rocker that Marshall Crenshaw (who knows about 50s rock) has covered and is given an excellent take and the two #1 hits in succession, “Living Doll” and “Traveling Light” bring the house down. “The Young Ones” (six weeks at the top of the UK charts) was a huge singalong.
During another interview segment, Cliff claims Elvis as his greatest influence, He doesn’t say before there was Elvis there was nothing but he kind of meant it. A solo acoustic “All Shook Up” connected the dots,
The interviews weren’t really revealing at all, Cliff remains a guarded cipher, but he was very astute about the business, when Phil tries to claim EDM isn’t real music, Cliff corrects him about as sternly as Cliff can. And when Cliff says he was lucky to have been born in the era of the recorded song he puts his finger on what is missing in 2014. “Bands are not given the support we were” he claimed.
My only real problem with the show was mostly a question of taste, The late 70′s, early 80′s hits that closed the show doesn’t do it for me. The only time Cliff looks silly is the dance to “Devil Woman”.
But I wouldn’t of missed it for anything. Cliff mentioned that Morrissey is still in hospital and wished him well, and would be happy to support him if he tours again. So why leave it to chance? Still voluptuous, still boyish, come back and play Carnegie Hall, we miss you nights.