FIRST TWO U.S. LP RELEASES ON ONE CD
Thomas C. Rizzo, Jr. | Largo, Florida | 10/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Petula Clark, with a 25-year career in Britain and Europe already behind her, was just another voice emanating from the "British Invasion" when "Downtown" premiered in the U.S. in November 1964. By January '65, she was at the top of the charts, and it was obvious that this was one voice that was destined to outlast most of the others coming to our shores in the wake of the Beatles. The unexpected success of "Downtown" prompted demand for a quick release of a similarly-titled album to capitalize on the single's phenomenal popularity. With her schedule allowing no time to spend in a recording studio, Clark - together with composer/arranger/producer Tony Hatch (the Bacharach to her Warwick) - gathered together a collection of tunes from 1963-65 for her American LP debut. The result was a pleasant collection of MOR tunes that was more a revelation of where she had been musically prior to "Downtown" rather than a suggestion of what the Clark/Hatch team was on the verge of developing. This was an album one could actually play for one's parents, if they were not putting it on the turntable themselves. It wasn't until the follow-up "I Know A Place" (released in the U.K. as "The New Petula Clark Album"), for which Clark earned her second Grammy, that listeners were made aware of what the post-"Downtown" Petula was capable of accomplishing. "I Know A Place", in terms of both content and performance - is very possibly the best work she ever released in conjunction with Hatch, whose appreciation of the "Motown" sound is apparent in tracks such as "Dancing in the Street" and "The In Crowd". Clark's interpretations of "Every Little Bit Hurts" and "Goin' Out Of My Head" were no mere cover versions, but rather fresh approaches that obliterated any memory of the originals. Two Clark standards associated with others - "Call Me" (Chris Montez) and "You're The One" (the Vogues) - made their debut here, and in a tribute to her homeland, the Gershwins' "A Foggy Day" was given a brassy arrangement to which Clark added a bold, big-band vocal. The seven bonus tracks are primarily from her pre-"Downtown" period (few realize that "I Will Follow Him", originally recorded by Clark in French, was a huge hit in Europe prior to the English version released by Peggy March here in the States), although "The Sound of Love", originally intended as the flip-side of "You'd Better Come Home" but not unearthed until nearly 30 years later, was clearly an attempt to further promote the "pop with a beat" image Hatch was forging for the star. Die-hard fans already have this material from other sources, but will appreciate the extensive liner notes and photographs included. Casual fans can probably do no better than this as an introduction to the style Clark successfully developed and nobody ever duplicated in the mid-"swinging" 60s."
"Downtown": the single and the two albums it spawned
Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 05/09/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The logic behind putting these two early Petula Clark albums together on one CD is that these were both released by Warner Brothers in 1964 and 1965 respectively (she was signed with Atlantic, Pye Records in England). Petula Clark had been a child stage in Britain, trained to sing by her mother and hosting her own show "Pet's Parlour," singing patriotic songs during World War II, when she was but 11 (you can see her in a bit part in the film "I Know Where I'm Going"). In 1964 she suddenly had the number one song on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with "Downtown," becoming the first British woman to do so in the U.S. This meant an album had to be produced as quickly as possible; fortunately they would not have to worry about a title. The album "Downtown" (1964) was put together taking Clark's recent singles and recording some songs to make up the balance. The fact that none of the other songs were in the distinctive style of the hit title song did not bother too many people, because the album received a Grammy nomination (it was a very popular hit song). Still, we are talking hit and miss here in terms of the results. Clark's version of the Bacharach-David song "True Lover Never Runs Smooth" is pretty good as is "Be Good to Me." But the second best track would be "This Is Goodbye," which she co-authored with Tony Hatch (writer of "Downtown"). The album mixes old songs, such as "In Love" and "Let Me Tell You," with new numbers, like "Tell Me (That It's Love)."With "I Know a Place" Clark and Tony Hatch, her main producer and songwriter, took the time to make the album they presumably would have made if they had not been in a time crunch the first time around. Hatch wrote several decent tunes on the album, with the title song being the best of the bunch, but "Call Me" is pretty good, as are a couple of songs co-written with Clark, "Heart" and "You're the One." That last one was later a gold record for the Vogues, but there is something to be said for this original version, which does not exactly square with Clark's good girl image. However, her covers of "The 'In' Crowd," "Going Out of My Head," and "Dancing in the Street" probably come off a little bit better and are certainly more in the style that made "Downtown" a mega-hit. Clark even trots out the old Gershwin tune "A Foggy Day" and tries a little bit of soul with "Every Little Bit Hurts." There obviously is not a song as good as "Downtown" on this album, good as the title track happens to be, but the album "I Know a Place" is a the stronger one of the pair and probably the best of her career.This reissue makes up for any shortcomings by adding seven bonus tracks including her 1963 recording of "I Will Follow Him" (original done in French with its original title of "Chariot") and the previously unreleased "The Sound of Love." Of the others "Round Every Corner" and "You'd Better Love Me" are the ones that most fits the Petula Clark sound. I would probably rate each album at 4 stars individually, but put them together and add some bonus tracks and the entertainment value goes up overall. For most music lovers a solid Petula Clark greatest hits album is going to provide you every one of her songs you really need to hear. But if you go beyond that, this pair of albums, which defined the Pet Clark sound in the middle-Sixties, would be the first choice on the list. Ironically, Hatch originally wrote "Downtown" hoping the song would be recorded by the Drifters (think of it as being in the same spirit as "Up on the Roof"). Amazing what difference one song can make it someone's music career when it is the right song for the right person. The result was the most commercially successful female singer in British chart history and these albums were the beginning of that journey."
American breakthrough for Petula
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/14/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Despite the title of the previous review, Downtown was not the first LP released in America - it's just that anything released before that sank without trace. Petula had some of her music released in America back in the fifties, including at least one LP.The Downtown LP was something of a mixture, as Petula didn't have time to record an album to go with the single. Some new tracks were recorded, but mostly the album is made up of various pre-Downtown singles, B-sides and other tracks that hadn't appeared on any European album. Despite that, the LP was of a remarkably high quality, but overall it didn't show the new Petula sound.The New Petula Clark Album LP (titled I know a place in America) showed the new sound in all it's glory, with strong Motown influences (including outstanding covers of Dancing in the street and Every little bit hurts), which would characterise Petula's music for the next few years. Actually, this new Petula wasn't as new as the British public thought at the time - Petula had been rocking and rolling in France since 1961, but her English language recordings had not followed that pattern until now.The seven bonus tracks are more pre-Downtown singles, B-sides and odd tracks, but of a very high quality. Among these is I will follow him. Beginning life as a Paul Mauriat instrumental, with words added it became a million selling French hit for Petula with the title Chariot. With different English lyrics (not translated from the French), Petula had her second number one hit in Singapore (the first had been her French version of Cotton fields, the Leadbelly classic), but failed to chart in Britain (where she was out of fashion) or America (where she was still virtually unknown). Little Peggy March topped the American charts and also hid the British hit.Other songs which made their debut here were Call me and You're the one, both covered by other singers who had hits with them before Petula could release her version of either as an American single, though she did chart with these songs in other countries. It didn't do Petula's career any harm, and may have given her extra credibility as a provider of hits (she wrote You're the one herself).This is a very interesting twofer from Petula which demonstrates that she could do many different types of song (something that is even more apparent on Downtown to Sunset Boulevard)."
Track Listings (31) - Disc #1