Cliff Richard and the Drifters - "Cliff" (Columbia 1959) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

With over 50 years of hit-making behind him, it seems difficult today to believe there was ever a time when Cliff Richard was not a permanent fixture on the U.K. charts; when the Oldest Teenager In Pop was himself a fresh-faced teen, still trying to accustom himself to his overnight transition from a skiffle singer named Harry Webb to Britain's Elvis Presley, of course, but more importantly than that, the only viable rock & roll star the country had produced in three years of trying.

Even today, the opening strains of his first single, "Move It," ring with an almost apocalyptic self-assurance, the knowledge that without them, there would have been no Beatles, no Rolling Stones, no Sex Pistols and, if that wasn't immediately apparent when he first cut the song, he never showed it. Insistent beyond his years, confident beyond his then-apparent abilities, all spiffed out in his pink suit and sideburns, Richard took the hopes and ambitions of an entire generation – his own – and turned them upside down. Of course the girls screamed at him – you would, too, if he'd shown you what was possible. "Cliff" this wild young iconoclast's debut album, retains every ounce of that power. Recorded live at Abbey Road studios in front of an invited (and very vocal) audience of fans, its 16 tracks are a representation both of the star's own early repertoire, and the staples of any aspiring rock & roll band of the era – a piece of Presley, a bit of Buddy Holly, a lump of Jerry Lee Lewis. Backed, of course, by the Shadows (at a time when they were still called the Drifters), it is a magnificent portrait of the team's capabilities – the band themselves throw three instrumentals into the brew, including a devastating "Be Bop A Lula" and the self-referential "Driftin'," with guitarist Hank Marvin already perfecting the licks and lines which would soon establish him as the role model for every British guitarist of the next five years. Richard, however, remains the star of the show, whether powering through a confidently lazy rearrangement of "That'll Be the Day" and an energetic "Whole Lotta Shakin'," slowing the tempo for a lovely "Donna" and a dreamy "Danny," or simply letting rip on the song which started it all for him, "Move It" – and it's a tribute to the original performance that, even with lights blazing, the audience wailing, and the adrenalin pounding, neither Richard nor band can up the ante any further. "Move It" was already the ultimate rock & roller. How can anything improve upon perfection? Dave Thompson AMG

This album really rocks! Do give it a try, you'll be glad you did!!

Tracklisting:

A1. Apron Strings

A2. My Babe

A3. Down The Line

A4. I Got A Feeling

A5. Jet Black (The Drifters)

A6. Baby I Don't Care

A7. Donna

A8. Move It

B1. Ready Teddy

B2. Too Much

B3. Don't Bug Me Baby

B4. Driftin' (The Drifters)

B5. That'll Be The Day

B6. Be-Bop-A-Lula (The Drifters)

B7. Danny

B8. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Cliff Richard, vocals
The Drifters (The Shadows):
Jet Harris, bass
Hank B. Marvin, lead guitar
Bruce Welch, rhythm guitar
Tony Meehan, drums
Produced by Norrie Paramor (uncredited)