Search - Petula Clark :: Today

Pop Music at its finest!

T. A. Shepherd | Palmdale, Ca. 93550 | 05/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1971, Petula Clark left Pye records (home to Sandie Shaw, The Kinks, Donovan and The Searchers among others)and left behind unfinished products worthy of release. Pye Records pulled session after session out of the vaults and the result was an album of 12 tracks entitled "Petula Clark Today". Misleading, because most of the tracks were recorded in 1967-1970, they still sounded quite contemporary with the pop fare coming out in '71. The original album was bookended with the hits "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" and "This Is My Song" both from 1966. In between we are treated with some of the finest pop tunes we had come to expect from Ms. Clark. Every bit as good or better than her hits, this is one fine album's worth of songs. Mostly written by her usual songwriting team of Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, most of these could have been hits. "Close To You", "Spring In September" and "City Lights", for example, were excellent candidates for the 7" medium. Two of the tracks, "Gotta Be Better Than This" and "After You" were featured on the box set "I Love To Sing". "City Lights" is much in the same vein as "Downtown" and "I Know A Place", with a Herb Alpert-like trumpet played in to fill in the blanks. "I've Got to Know" commands about as much from Clark as she can give and she could give quite a bit. "Marie De Vere" is a 20's era showcase, while "Coming Back To You" puts Pet in the throws of the later mode of electronics with a moog in tow, yet not so dominating as it had been in certain rock records of the day. "After You" clearly could have been a 45 release. Its brass and woodwind interludes are typical of the late 60's era, yet sound as timeless as any recording of its kind. Bonus tracks such as "Gotta Be Better Than This", "Take Good Care Of Your Heart" (which became "American Boys"), and "Love Will Find A Way" also found their way on the box set. One B-side, "I've Got Love Going For Me" was a completely forgotten gem from 1968. I remember someone flipping "Kiss Me Goodbye" over and playing this, but by the time I was ready to buy the single, Warner Brothers had already re-released it as a back-to-back hit with something else. Here, it is finally unearthed and it's every bit as good as I remember it. Petula Clark Today is pop music at its finest!"