Search - Cliff Richard :: Together

A Little-Recognized Christmas Gem

windycitytarheel | Wheaton, IL USA | 05/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cliff has always been underappreciated in the U.S. and this album is seasonal evidence of why that has been such an injustice. Beginning with "Little Town" in the early '80s, Cliff Richard enjoyed an amazing spate of Yuletide success in the UK for more than a decade. "Mistletoe and Wine" reached the #1 spot on the UK charts in 1988 and "Saviour's Day" did nearly as well a couple of years later. All of these songs are on this cd as well as several other tunes, including some truly original arrangements and treatments of Christmas classics such as "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" ("Venite" here) as well as new tunes. Best of all, Richard keeps the focus clearly on "the reason for the season"--Richard is a devout believer so he approaches Christmas without letting it be subsumed under an avalanche of Santas, snowmen, and reindeers. Those familiar with Contemporary Christian Music will recognize the work of Chris Eaton on this album, as well as the fact that it was Richards' treatments and arrangements of "Little Town" and "Saviour's Day" which were subsequently borrowed almost en toto by Amy Grant (1984) and Sheila Walsh (1991), respectively. This is an outstanding Christmas album--I should know, I'm a collector of Christmas albums (I own over 500 of them) and this is in my top ten!!"

A Great Christmas CD

Diane Bush | Nashville, TN USA | 01/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this CD 3 years ago and it has become one of my seasonal favorites. It is comprised of some of Cliff's classic Christmas songs and several new recordings. Wonderful songs such as "Mistletoe & Wine", "Savior's Day, "Christmas Never Comes", "This New Years Eve" and "Little Town" are included. The latter tune has been out-of-print in the U.S. since 1983 and, alone, is worth the price of this disk! There are a variety of styles from the soft, intimate songs to the big, lush anthems. I highly recommend this album."

Roasting Chestnuts, Scarlet Ribbons and Mistletoe and Wine!

Louise Lacaille | Amersham, UK | 03/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Christmas records, they've always been a big part of my life, but Cliff's Christmas records are, along with Queen's "Thank God It's Christmas" and the Bing Crosby classic "White Christmas" (beautifully covered on this CD)... my very, very FAVES! You can feel the glow of a warm fire, the snow start to fall and taste the mince pies in the spine-tingling loveliness of Cliff's voice.
Okay, shall I do it song by song? Here goes! (I won't give each song marks out of 10 as they are all 100%!)
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"...this one just drives along, it's fun, it's a Christmasy classic with a great beat, and great vocals from Cliff. (best rendition I ever heard of this song.)
"Venite"! Breathtaking, very moving re-working of the wonderful carol "O Come All Ye Faithful"! Rousing!
"We Should Be Together" VERY underrated Christmas ballad (though it did make the UK top 10)..So lush! So mellow! Rich and poignant! And it's got all the yearning and longing of Doris Day's "I'll Be Home For Christmas", and those whispers at the beginning are sexy (Cliff has a very sexy voice.)
"Mistletoe and Wine"...oooh this has been my favourite song since I was a kid and it still sounds as good as the day I first heard it. Beautiful, luscious, gorgeous, sumptuous, fun, expressive...this, a UK Christmas no 1, is sort of anthemic like Wizzard "Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" or John Lennon "Happy Xmas War Is Over" but these people just do not evoke the magic, thrill and wonder of Christmas in their voices like Cliff does! And it's also about the true meaning of Christmas...simple message, but stirring "time for forgiving and for forgetting". Also, I really do wish music critics would stop picking on this song! Just cos it's Cliff not one of the ex-Beatles! It can move a concert hall to raptures and ecstasies. I've seen it done!
"Christmas Never Comes"...aah, heart-wrenching, rich and mellow, so much sensitivity, would melt your heart! A sympathetic and much-needed look at those who, for whatever reason, can't...or won't share in the joy and hope that is Christmas, full of longing, with the poignancy but without the bitterness of Greg Lake's "I Believe In Father Christmas".
"Christmas Alphabet" fun, slightly jazzy, a cool blend of fast and slow, melodic...pure happiness!
"Saviour's Day" Fabulous! A stirring blend of rock and dance, (and the 1990 UK Christmas no 1), this song looks to the valleys and hills for the TRUE meaning of Christmas; for the Christ in Christmas. This, penned by gospel writer Chris Eaton (behind stupendous Cliff gospel tracks like "Summer Rain" from "Wired For Sound" album and "Let Me Be The One" from "Wanted")... is one of the most moving...and best...Christmas songs ever written. If you wonder why I argue that Cliff is just so amazing, listen to when in this song he sings the cry of joy "hey...yea....yea....h" and "he is ca-a-ll-lling you...ou...ou", it takes your breath away. Messrs Lennon and MacCartney just do not do this!
"The Christmas Song/Chestnuts Roasting"...oooh yes you can smell those chestnuts, see those eskimoes and you'll believe that reindeer really do know how to fly. FANTASTIC singing, sends shivers of delight down spines...my favourite arrangement of this song, though, is still the Mel Thorme one, it's slower, but Cliff sings it better.
"Little Town"...an absolutely spectacular, stunning orchestral arrangement, enhanced from the 1981 "Now You See Me" version with slight-remixing; it's spine-tingling; gives me butterflies just thinking about it; it's probably the best rendition I ever heard of any Christmas carol, WOW!
"Scarlet Ribbons"...THAT brings tears to my eyes. Another luscious, intensely sweet, mellow ballad, probably lovelier even than "We Should Be Together"; this goes to the heart of Christmas; love and the joy of giving and receiving. It tells the simple story of a father who, one Christmas Eve, hears his little daughter praying for some scarlet ribbons. He is heartbroken as he thinks of her disappointment, as all the shops are closed. Miraculously, on Christmas morning, the scarlet ribbons appear, "in gay profusion" on the child's bed. THAT is what for me Christmas is about...that childhood sense of wonder and awe at just where those gifts came from.
"Silent Night"...I've never heard anyone sing this better; it makes me shiver with joy; wasn't too sure about the bit in the middle about drinking a last hot coffee, but Cliff's sighs are just soooo sensual!
"White Christmas"...well Bing C has the definitive version of this and no-one can take that away from him but this is the best cover of "White Christmas" that I have ever heard; it certainly tops Elvis' version and the one from the Phil Specter album; Cliff's is a lovely, rich, throbbing sound.
"This New Year" Another Chris Eaton tour-de-force...more ponderous I think, than the others, but not unduly slow and strained, still happy and hopeful in tone, driving along at a quick, merry pace. Vocal rich and warm as ever.
This album has brought me years of Yuletide joy more than any other! May it do the same for you! Make this album part of your "Christmas Alphabet" - T is for "Together"! Merry Christmas Everybody!"