I ordered two copies of this album, one for my sister from who I long ago eventually took the point about the sheer greatness of Cliff, and also sent an e-mail of complaint to the BBC about the coverage of the police raid on his apartment.
What else can you do in a democracy. We will see what happens but at present Cliff is voluntarily talking to the police but the BBC and South Yorkshire Police are less voluntarily being asked questions, too.
This album came out in 2011, a set of duets with soul singers, and I was immediately very taken by Saving a Life with Freda Payne, some kind of middle of the road masterpiece of songwriting and performance, but I wasn't as convinced about the other songs I heard from it. All too often one sees reviews of some so-called back number, even if it is David Bowie, that this time they are really back to their good, old best. But it is rarely the case.
This is it, though, now that I hear it in its entirety, having already seen the DVD of the concert. Cliff is by no means the best singer on the album but then it does have Candi Staton twice, Percy Sledge, Freda and one of the greatest songwriting team in pop history, Lamont Dozier, among others and so he wouldn't expect to be. But, of course, he holds his own. They wouldn't give him anything to do that he wasn't capable of.
Saving a Life is a classic; we get a very credible re-work of Womack & Womack's Teardrops and then Candi is even more Staton on This Time with You, which would not be out of place on one of her own tremendous albums of recent years.
It could always have been done with some genuine songwriting and production, Cliff is a limited singer compared to some of his partners here but he is good at what he does and much cleverer than many of his critics. When they've written songs like Don't Talk to Him and Bachelor Boy then perhaps they would like to show me.
There is a bit of meandering hidden in the middle and it ends with some brave shots at 'funky' which we will see about but, not even considering that he was 70 years old at the time, this is a great album for me. It is no older fashioned than the re-invented rock posturings of the likes of the Arctic Monkeys. Oh, dear me, for how many decades have we seen the latest coolmongers try to sell yet more of that to a new generation of needy teenagers.
Soulicious is a fine album. Hope it all goes your way, Cliff. And then perhaps we can deal with the BBC and the police.
Don't they know there's a war on. Several of them. Just because the Sunday Sport closed, it is not the BBC's role to take their place as arbiters of tawdry allegations. They should cover the Proms, do Round Britain Quiz, The Danny Baker Show and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Useful, meaningful, quality broadcasting.
