Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1964)
2012 Remastered/Digital Download/Parlophone
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"Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" is the soundtrack to the stage and film production (Stage & Screen). The recording featured Cliff Richard, The Shadows, and Norrie Paramor and His Orchestra.
Music and lyrics by the Shadows.
Cliff Richard - Lead vocals
Norrie Paramor - producer, arranger and conductor
Norrie Paramor orchestra
Faye Fisher - vocals
Joan Palethorpe - vocals
Audrey Bayley - vocals
Mike Sammes Singers - backing vocals
The Shadows:
Hank Marvin - lead guitar, backing vocals
Bruce Welch - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
John Rostill - bass guitar
Brian Bennett - drums
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By late 1964, Cliff Richard had done everything a top entertainer could do. Everything, that is, apart from pantomime, that peculiarly British tradition of dressing the day's top names up in outlandish costumes, and sending them out to sing and dance their way through a musical adaptation of a favorite fairy tale. The story of Aladdin and his magic lamp should be familiar to all, and on-stage at the London Palladium, Cliff Richard & the Shadows stuck with all the expected traditions, with just a string of specially composed musical numbers to distinguish their version from any of the countless other revivals that have been staged around the country over the years. Not that the songs are especially memorable in themselves; indeed, one doubts whether any Best of Cliff-style compilation has ever so much as glanced at "Widow Twankey Song, "Make Ev'ry Day a Carnival Day," or "There's Gotta Be a Way," while the heavy proportion of orchestral instrumentals essentially renders Aladdin & His Wonderful Lamp an outsized EP for fans of Richard himself. So, it's a lightweight offering, as twee as it is sweet, and -- listened to today -- something of an embarrassment if listened to as part of Richard's overall canon. Remember that it was never intended as more than a souvenir of a heavily attended and, at the time, much-loved series of shows, however, and it at least becomes an appealing period piece.
01. Ron Hill; Norrie Paramor & His Orchestra - Emperor Theme: Chinese Street Scene 02. The Shadows - Me Oh My
03. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - I Could Easily Fall (In Love with You) 04. The Shadows - Little Princess
05. Various Interprets; Cliff Richard With The Norrie Paramor Orchestra And The Mike Sammes Singers - This Was My Special Day
06. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - I'm in Love with You 07. Cliff Richard - There's Gotta Be a Way
08. Norrie Paramor; Norrie Paramor & His Orchestra - Ballet: Rubies / Emeralds / Sapphires / Diamonds (Little Princess)
09. Norrie Paramor; Norrie Paramor & His Orchestra - Dance of the Warriors 10. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Friends
11. Ron Hill; Norrie Paramor & His Orchestra - Dragon Dance 12. The Shadows - Genie with the Light Brown Lamp
13. Cliff Richard - Make Ev'ry Day a Carnival Day
14. Ron Hill; The Mike Sammes Singers; Norrie Paramor And His Orchestra - Widow Twankey's Song
15. Ron Hill; The Mike Sammes Singers; Norrie Paramor And His Orchestra - I'm Feeling Oh so Lonely
16. Cliff Richard - I've Said Too Many Things 17. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Evening Comes
18. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Havin' Fun
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Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Cinderella (1967)
2012 Remastered/Digital Download/Parlophone
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Cliff Richard - Lead vocals
Norrie Paramor - producer, arranger and conductor
Norrie Paramor orchestra
Jackie Lee - vocals
Mike Sammes Singers - backing vocals
The Shadows:
Hank Marvin - lead guitar, backing vocals
Bruce Welch - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
John Rostill - bass guitar
Brian Bennett - drums
1964, Cliff Richard and the Shadows made their first appearance in pantomime, English theater's traditional Christmas offering, and, equally traditionally, a chance for leading media personalities to prove there's more to their talent than the ability to do whatever it is they normally do -- act in a soap, host a game show, read the news. Richard, of course, had no need whatsoever to remind us of either his singing or his acting abilities...maybe it was the dance routines which appealed? Whatever, 1964's Cinderella was a roaring success, and two years later he returned to the London Palladium stage for a musical adaptation of Cinderella, alongside actors Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott, and, more importantly, armed with what turned out to be an excellent set of new songs composed by the Shadows themselves. Of these, "In the Country" is the best known -- as a single, it reached number six in the U.K., even as the panto was packing in the crowds. But "Why Wasn't I Born Rich," "Peace and Quiet," "Come Sunday," and "Hey Doctor Man" are cracking little efforts as well, while the Shadows own showcases -- "The Flyder and the Spy" and "Autumn" -- are solidly excellent too. Indeed, compared with the shallow fare served up on the team's last couple of movie soundtracks, Cinderella emerges such a triumph that one can only regret this album is the only surviving souvenir of the event.
1. Norrie Paramor;Norrie Paramor & His Orchestra - Welcome to Stoneybroke
2. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Why Wasn't I Born Rich 3. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Peace and Quiet
4. The Shadows - The Flyder and the Spy 5. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Poverty
6. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - The Hunt 7. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - In the Country
8. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Come Sunday 9. Jackie Lee - Dare I Love Him Like I Do
10. Various Interprets;Cliff Richard/Jackie Lee - If Our Dreams Came True 11. The Shadows - Autumn
12. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - The King's Place 13. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Peace and Quiet
14. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - She Needs Him More Than Me 15. Cliff Richard & The Shadows - Hey Doctor Man
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