Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

If you believed some of the hate campaign in the press recently you'd think Sir Cliff had not only released a terrible album but was also drowning kittens at weekends! The truth is that this album is yet another fine piece of pop slickly produced by Peter Wolf. It's been a while since Cliff has offered us a brand new pop album and at 58 years old. you don't expect Cliff to be cutting edge anymore but what you do expect is a fine selection of songs well arranged and performed and that's exactly what you get here! There's big gospelly vocal flavours on "The Miracle" and the laid back chart hit "I Can't Keep This Feeling In" and the usual incredibly catchy songs that Cliff always manages to find like "Climbing Up Mount Everest" and "Woman And A Man". As we head into the next century, Cliff continues to make music that sounds contemporary whilst maintaining his own hallmark sound. The next single, Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses" is given the sugary Christmas treatment and is a strong contender for no 1 ! (though isn't this a strange choice of song for a childless bachelor boy to sing a song to a non-existent daughter? Hmmm...). The breadth of Cliff's tastes include an operatic duet with tenor Vincenzo La Scola on "Vita Mia" which closes the album. This isn't an absolute classic Cliff album but it's a welcome return into the pop marketplace after his theatrical endeavours of the last few years.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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