Customer Reviews

Cilla in the 70's

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I must agree with the reviewer from Singapore - in the 70s, Cilla Black's singing style changed, and perhaps not for the better. Her voice became softer, lighter and more airy. Gone was the soulfulness and vibrancy of her 60s recordings. Many of her 70s recordings were poor adult contemporary songs that were dull and listless. Some of the production sounds very dated now. This CD may feature a number of Cilla recordings that have not been available on CD before but they exist more for curiosity sake rather than an enjoyable listen.

What happened to the girl with the jet black voice, the belter with the two-toned voice you either loved or hated but could never feel indifferent about, a voice that could in an instant switch from a siren's wail to a wallflower's burble ? Well, with the 70s went that famous foghorn and in came this soft new voice that sang mostly lame covers of other people's hits under David Mackay's tepid production. To be honest, Cilla was still delivering the goods under George Martin's direction until 1973 but after that, it was downhill all the way.

This compilation isn't bad, simply dull and I can't imagine anyone other the hardcore Cilla fan wanting or needing it. To the casual buyer I'd say, forget about Cilla in the 70s, go get the wonderful not-to-be-missed 3CD "The Abbey Road Decade", or the two-in-one "Cilla/Sings A Rainbow" or any of the "best of" compilations to hear Cilla at her peak in the 60s. EMI should reissue on CD "Sheroo" and "Surround Yourself With Cilla", her other two original albums from the late 60s. They're excellent.

Okay I am biased as I compiled these collections for EMI but I honestly believe for the money both offer great value and provide a good chronological insight into Cilla's musical heyday of the '60s & '70s.

Each CD in the "Cilla in the..." series features essential recordings each digitally remastered at the legendary Abbey Road studios. This includes chart hits, classic album cuts, fan favourites and material by songwriting greats like Burt Bacharach, Marvin Gaye, Phil Spector, Paul McCartney, The Bee Gees, Jackie DeShannon, Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

If that wasn't enough incentive to pick up a copy each CD contains rarities, stunning photos and detailed sleeve notes taking you step-by-step through Cilla's career/life!

A lot of time and effort went into this project and hopefully you'll enjoy it.