Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Neil Diamond (1972) **UPDATED**

I know 'The Long Way Home' had a dodgy beginning, and I tried pitch correcting and got nowhere, but then I had a brainwave and patched it with sections from the middle of the track, so download again for a better copy of the song.  

Neil Diamond started his musical career writing and singing his own songs for demos, and his first recording contract was billed as "Neil and Jack", an Everly Brothers-type duet with high school friend Jack Packer. They recorded the singles 'You Are My Love At Last'/'What Will I Do', and 'I'm Afraid'/'Till You've Tried Love', both released in 1962, and despite positive reviews from Cashbox and Billboard magazines they were not successful. Diamond signed with Columbia Records as a solo performer later in 1962, and in July 1963 they released the single 'Clown Town'/'At Night', which once again received complimentary reviews, but it still failed to make the charts. Columbia dropped him from their label and he went back to writing songs in and out of publishing houses for the next seven years. He wrote wherever he could, including on buses, and used an upright piano above the Birdland Club in New York City, but he was only able to sell about one song a week during those years, barely enough to survive. The privacy that he had above the Birdland Club allowed him to focus on writing without distractions, and this freedom resulted in more interesting songs beginning to appear, including 'Cherry, Cherry' and 'Solitary Man', and the latter was the first record that Diamond recorded under his own name which made the charts. He spent his early career in the Brill Building, and his first success as a songwriter came in November 1965 with 'Sunday And Me', a Top 20 hit for Jay and the Americans, but that was just the beginning, as this was followed by 'I'm A Believer', 'A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You', 'Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)', and 'Love To Love', all performed by the Monkees. 'I'm A Believer' became a gold record within two days of its release and stayed at the top of the charts for seven weeks, and other notable artists who recorded his early songs were Lulu, Cliff Richard and Deep Purple. In 1966, he signed a deal with Bert Berns's Bang Records, then a subsidiary of Atlantic, and his first release on that label was 'Solitary Man', which was his first true hit as a solo artist, and he followed that with 'Cherry, Cherry' and 'Kentucky Woman'. He began to feel restricted by Bang Records because he wanted to record more ambitious, introspective music, such as 'Brooklyn Roads', but Berns wanted to release 'Kentucky Woman' as a single, while Diamond proposed 'Shilo', which was about an imaginary childhood friend. Berns believed that the song was not commercial enough, so it was relegated to being an LP track on 'Just for You', his second album for Bang. Diamond wrote every song on 'Just For You', and it included his own versions of the hit singles 'I'm A Believer' by The Monkees and 'The Boat That I Row' by Lulu, but it wasn't long before all of the songs on the record had been noticed and covered by other artists, and so this post is Neil Diamond's second album as interpreted by some well-known and some not so well-known artists of the late 60's. To flesh out the post to a reasonable length I've also included the b-sides to a couple of his 1967 singles, taken from his previous album on Bang. 

Track listing

01 Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Cliff Richard 1968)
02 The Long Way Home (Quentin E. Klopjaeger With The Gonks 1968)
03 Red Red Wine (Jimmy James And The Vagabonds 1968)
04 You'll Forget (The Wanderer's Rest 1967)
05 The Boat That I Row (Lulu 1967)
06 Cherry Cherry (Wishful Thinking 1967)
07 I'm A Believer (The Monkees 1966)
08 Shilo (Springbok 1971)
09 You Got To Me (Gene Pierson 1968)
10 Solitary Man (The Kitchen Cinq 1967)
11 C'est Pour Vous Que Je Chante (Thank The Lord For The Night Time) (Les Hou-Lops 1967)
12 Oh, No No (I Got The Feeling) (Wool 1972)
13 Do It (Keith Allison 1967)

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Tony Hazzard (1969)

Anthony Hazzard was born on 31 October 1943 in Liverpool, and is best known as a successful songwriter of the late 60's. He learned the guitar and ukulele when young, but didn't start his music career until he finished his education at Durham University, and with the encouragement of Tony Garnett of the BBC, he moved to London where he signed a contract with publisher Gerry Bron. Bron could see potential in Hazzard's songs, and wanted him as a solo artist, releasing his first single 'You'll Never Put Shackles On Me' in 1966. Although it didn't chart, another of his songs was submitted to Herman's Hermits, who had a Top 20 hit with 'You Won't Be Leaving' in 1966. Following a dry spell where he struggled to write anything that he considered worthy, he gave 'Ha! Ha! Said The Clown' to Manfred Mann, who took it to the upper reaches of the UK charts. In 1968 his psyche-tinged 'The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet' was recorded by Cliff Richard and entered into the 1968 'Songs For Europe' preamble for the Eurovision Song Contest, although it lost out to 'Congratulations' in the final vote. Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, The Casuals, The Family Dogg, and The Swinging Blue Jeans all turned to Hazzard's pop tunes in the late 1960's, and many of them scored hit singles with their recordings. In the midst of all this success as a writer, Hazzard released his first solo album 'Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard' in 1969, and despite the fact that every single track had been successfully released as a single by another artist, it was commercially unsuccessful, although his second album, 'Loudwater House', fared much better. It could have been the fact that he was a relatively unknown singer which caused that first album to flop, as it certainly wasn't the quality of the songs, and so to make it appeal to a wider audience I've replaced Hazzard's own versions of his songs with the hit single versions from a wide variety of 60's artists, and we end up with a great tribute album by some of the biggest names of the era, and a fitting celebration of Hazzard's songwriting. 

Track listing

01 Listen To Me (The Hollies)
02 Brown Eyed Girl (The Family Dogg)
03 Me, The Peaceful Heart (Lulu)
04 The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet (Cliff Richard)
05 Hello It's Me (The Casuals)
06 Fox On The Run (Manfred Mann)
07 Hello World (The Tremeloes)
08 Goodnight Sweet Josephine (The Yardbirds)
09 Ha! Ha! Said The Clown (Manfred Mann)
10 Hey Mrs. Housewife (The Swinging Bluejeans)
11 You Won't Be Leaving (Herman's Hermits)
12 Fade Away Maureen (Cherry Smash)

Cliff Richard - Nine Times Out Of Ten (1962)

For the final collection of Cliff singles and b-sides we arrive at the beginning of the 60's, and start with a couple of songs which later appeared on the 'Expresso Bongo' EP, albeit with different recordings, and then we work our way through some big and not so big hits from 1960 to 1962, along with their b-sides. At this point in his career he was still billed as Cliff Richard and The Shadows, and the band's distinctive sound can be heard on a number of these songs, although towards the end of the album the backing was more session musicians and orchestral arrangements. I'd never really paid much attention to Cliff's recorded output of the 60's and 70's, and assumed that most of his singles were taken from his albums, and so was astonished to find that he'd released over a hundred non-album tracks in the twenty years between 1960 and 1979, and if you'd bought all his albums as they came out in the 60's and 70's you'd have very few of the songs featured on these six collections.  

Track listing

01 A Voice In The Wilderness (single 1960) 
02 Don't Be Mad At Me (b-side of 'A Voice In The Wilderness')
03 Please Don't Tease (single 1960)
04 Where Is My Heart (b-side of 'Please Don't Tease')
05 Fall In Love with You (single 1960)
06 Willie And The Hand Jive (b-side of 'Fall In Love With You')
07 Nine Times Out of Ten (single 1960)
08 Thinking Of Our Love (b-side of 'Nine Times Out Of Ten')
09 I Love You (single 1960)
10 'D' In Love (b-side of 'I Love You')
11 Theme For A Dream (single 1961)
12 Mumblin' Mosie (b-side of 'Theme For A Dream')
13 A Girl Like You (single 1961) 
14 Now's The Time To Fall In Love (b-side of 'A Girl Like You')
15 I'm Lookin' Out The Window (single 1962)
16 Since I Lost You (b-side of 'It'll Be Me' 1962)
17 Do You Want To Dance (b-side of 'I'm Lookin' Out The Window')

I've found this site http://www.cliffrichardsongs.com/cliffuksingles/index.htm invaluable in helping to compile these albums, and if you're a Cliff fan then you need to check it out as there's a wealth of information on there that you'll find fascinating.

Cliff Richard - Constantly (1965)

Moving further back towards the start of his career, we have another solid collection of non-album singles and b-sides from Cliff, spanning the years 1963-1965. The one includes a rare Australian single from 1964, plus a good selection of well-known and lesser-known hits, and their flips, making for another fine album showcasing songs that could easily be overlooked.  

Track listing

01 Lucky Lips (single 1963) 
02 I Wonder (b-side of 'Lucky Lips')
03 It's All in the Game (single 1963)
04 Your Eyes Tell On You (b-side of 'It's All In The Game')
05 Don't Talk to Him (single 1963)
06 Say You're Mine (b-side of 'Don't Talk To Him')
07 I'm the Lonely One (single 1964)
08 Watch What You Do With My Baby (b-side of 'I'm The Lonely One')
09 I Only Have Eyes For You (Australian single 1964)
10 Constantly (L'Edera) (single 1964)
11 True, True Lovin' (b-side of 'Constantly')
12 The Twelfth of Never (single 1964)
13 I'm Afraid To Go Home (b-side of 'The Twelfth Of Never')
14 The Minute You're Gone (single 1965)
15 Just Another Guy (b-side of 'The Minute You're Gone')
16 On My Word (single 1965)
17 Just A Little Bit Too Late (b-side of 'On My Word')

Cliff Richard - Our Story Book (1968)

We move back another few years for the next collection of non-album singles and b-sides from Cliff, and this time the quality was so good that I didn't have to omit any out of place tracks. Once again the timespan is pretty much three years, with just the final tracks creeping into 1968, so enjoy Cliff at his very best in the mid 60's. 

Track listing

01 The Time In-Between (single 1965)
02 Look Before You Love (b-side of 'The Time In-Between')
03 Wind Me Up (Let Me Go) (single 1965)
04 The Night (b-side of 'Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)')
05 Blue Turns to Grey (single 1966)
06 Somebody Loses (b-side of 'Blue Turns To Grey')
07 Visions (single 1966)
08 What Would I Do (For The Love Of A Girl) (b-side of 'Visions') 
09 It's All Over (single 1967)                               
10 I'll Come Runnin' (single 1967) 
11 I Get The Feelin' (b-side of 'I'll Come Runnin'')
12 The Day I Met Marie (single 1967) 
13 Our Story Book (b-side of 'The Day I Met Marie')
14 All My Love (Solo Tu) (single 1967)
15 High 'n' Dry (b-side of 'Congratulations')
16 Sweet Little Jesus Boy (b-side of 'All My Love (Solo Tu)')
17 Congratulations (single 1968)

Cliff Richard - Reflections (1970) What The L?

This post has been up for about a week now and downloaded over 100 times, and I've been waiting for a comment on it, but so far nothing has appeared, so I'm adding this extra post. I based the cover on the Yugoslavian picture sleeve of his 1968 single 'Marianne', and I had to do quite a bit of tidying up, removing the name of the two songs on it and replacing them with the title of the album, and then trying to clean up the creases and faded parts of the cover. This took a while, and I was really pleased with the result, as I liked the concept and the picture that was used. About a week later I readied the post, uploaded the cover, gave it one last check over, and only then thought to myself, why are there two 'L's in Cliff!!!! This wasn't me, as here is the cover on Discogs, so it was sold like this, and now I know it I just can't un-see it, but did anyone else spot it?

Luckily I noticed it in time to add a corrected version to the folder, but how did I work so closely on this for about an hour and not see such a massive typo?

Cliff Richard - Reflections (1970)

For the next collection of singles and b-sides we're looking at the years 1968 to 1970, and once again there are enough non-album tracks to put together a superb album. There were a few of the singles that I wasn't that familiar with, which was even better for me as it made it sound like an actual album rather than just a collection of random recordings. Nearly all of the songs made it this time, as there were only a couple that didn't really fit with the reflective mood of the album, hence the title.   

Track listing

01 Good Times (Better Times) (single 1969)
02 Occasional Rain (b-side of 'Good Times (Better Times)')
03 What's More (I Don't Need Her) (b-side of 'Don't Forget To Catch Me' 1968)
04 Mr. Nice (b-side of 'Marianne')
05 Marianne (single 1968)
06 Big Ship (single 1969)
07 She's Leaving You (b-side of 'Big Ship')
08 Throw Down A Line (single with Hank Marvin 1969) 
09 Reflections (b-side of 'Throw Down A Line')
10 With The Eyes Of A Child  (single 1969)
11 So Long (b-side of 'With The Eyes Of A Child')
12 The Joy Of Living (single with Hank Marvin 1970) 
13 I Ain't Got Time Anymore (single 1970) 
14 Monday Comes Too Soon (b-side of 'I Ain't Got Time Anymore')
15 Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha (single 1970)

Cliff Richard - Brand New Songs (1973)

After posting my first Cliff Richard b-sides compilation, Man From Mordor commented that Cliff often put high quality songs on the b-sides of singles throughout the 60's and 70', and after a bit on investigation I discovered that between 1960 and 1975 he'd released nearly ONE HUNDRED songs that were not taken from his many albums. I was astounded that many of these were hit singles, and not just obscure b-sides, and while the quality might have dropped on a few of them, most would have been perfectly acceptable additions to his albums of the period. So, working backwards from the first post, I'm picking the best of these tracks to pull together the songs that I think would have made a nice album at the time. Not every song is going to make it, as some were a bit too bubblegum-pop for my liking, and some didn't really sound right on an album, but there are plenty of other songs to choose from, so I'm going for quality over quantity. This post is a perfect example of the quality of the songs that he released in the early 70's, with all the tracks coming from a three year period from 1971 to 1973. 

Track listing

01 Power To All Our Friends (single 1973)
02 Help It Along (single 1973)
03 Silvery Rain (single 1971)
04 Time Flies (b-side of 'Silver Rain')
05 Sing A Song Of Freedom (single 1971)
06 A Thousand Conversations (b-side of 'Sing A Song Of Freedom')
07 Living In Harmony (single 1972)
08 Empty Chairs (b-side of 'Living In Harmony')
09 A Brand New Song (single 1972)                       
11 Tomorrow Rising (b-side of 'Help It Along')
12 Flying Machine (single 1971)
13 I Was Only Fooling Myself (b-side of 'Sunny Honey Girl')
14 Sunny Honey Girl (single 1971)

Cliff Richard - Imagine Love (1979)

Over a career spanning 60 years, Cliff Richard has had more than 130 of his singles, albums and EPs reach the UK Top 20, which is more than any other artist. His 67 UK top ten singles is the second highest total for an artist behind Elvis, and he holds the record (with Elvis) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950's–2000's). While I appreciated his work in the 60's, I wouldn't say that I was a massive fan, but some of his 70's singles did appeal to my tastes at the time, when I was just starting to get heavily into music. In 1973 he sang the British Eurovision entry 'Power to All Our Friends', which finished third, close behind Luxembourg's 'Tu Te Reconnaîtras' and Spain's 'Eres Tú', and this was one of the first singles of his that I really liked. In 1975, he released the single 'Honky Tonk Angel', produced by Hank Marvin and John Farrar, oblivious to its connotations or hidden meanings, and as soon as he was notified that a "honky-tonk angel" was southern US slang for a prostitute, the horrified Richard ordered EMI to withdraw it. EMI agreed to his demand despite the fact the single was expected to sell well, and only about 1,000 vinyl copies are known to exist. In 1976, the decision was made to repackage Richard as a "rock" artist, and with Bruce Welch in the producer's chair, he released the landmark album 'I'm Nearly Famous', which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track 'Devil Woman', and the ballad 'Miss You Nights'. In 1979, he teamed up once again with producer Bruce Welch for the hit single 'We Don't Talk Anymore', written and composed by Alan Tarney, which hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single worldwide, selling almost five million copies throughout the world. With the success of 'We Don't Talk Anymore' in 1979, he finally began to receive some recognition in the United States, and in 1980 'Carrie' broke into the US top 40, followed by 'Dreamin'', which reached No. 10. The 70's were a productive period for Richard, and many of his singles included non-album songs on the flip, and I've gathered the best of them here, including that controversial 'Honky Tonk Angel' single, which not surprisingly never appeared on an album.   

Track listing

01 The Days Of Love (b-side of 'Ashes To Ashes' 1973)
02 Celestial Houses (b-side of 'Take Me High' 1973)
03 You're The One (b-side of 'Its Only Me You've Left Behind') 
04 Love Enough (b-side of 'Miss You Nights' 1975)
05 Honky Tonk Angel (single 1975)
06 Love On (Shine On) (b-side of 'Devil Woman' 1976) 
07 Nothing Left For Me To Say (b-side of 'My Kinda Life' 1977)
08 No One Waits (b-side of 'Hey Mr. Dream Maker' 1976)
09 Love Is Here (b-side of '(You Keep Me) Hangin' On' 1974)
10 That's Why I Love You (b-side of 'When Two Worlds Drift Apart' 1977)
11 Needing A Friend (b-side of 'Can't Take The Hurt Anymore' 1978)
12 Imagine Love (b-side of 'Green Light' 1978)
13 Walking In The Light (b-side of 'Hot Shot' 1979)
14 Moving In (b-side of 'Carrie' 1979)