#144, 15th January 1963
Cliff is generally most effective when he’s most gentle, and this sleepy ballad does its job with smoochy aplomb. Cliff’s considerate tones aren’t really what makes a forgettable tune work, though – the lovely, echo-cushioned piano should take most of the credit.
5
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Double A-side, surely, with Bachelor Boy (which some felt to be apt)
A lovely song, which deserves more than one comment! I saw Cliff perform this last night in Nottingham with the Shadows, and thought it his best vocal performance of the night. It was certainly his most keenly felt performance, in emotional terms.
This is Cliff on hia ‘A’ game – anyone who likes music ought really to be able to find 10 or so – so basically an album’s worth of tracks – by Cliff to love – its almost just law of averages really – but melodically this hits the spot.
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Danny Baker (2011)
I’m very fond of it too, the cushioned piano sounding like a very Anglo, Meek-compressed take on Nashville. The creaminess of Cliff’s vocal is really well suited to this material, a precursor to his A-grade 70s singles (Miss You Nights, When Two Worlds Drift Apart).
As Rosie says, it was a double A and Bachelor Boy has become the more familiar side over the years.
Bachelor Boy feels like it’s been part of my musical consciousness since before I can remember but this is unfamiliar and fresher sounding as a result. The piano adds a subtle sense of dissonance to the song that helps to sustain the moping mood.