I've just given it its first listen. And I can honestly, truthfully say that I thought it was...
BRILLIANT!!!!
Anyone who knows me will know that I am not easily pleased and that I am speaking as someone who is mainly into the Shadows 1970s output and hasn't really liked anything Cliff has done for at least 20 years. So, I was very uncertain about how much I'd enjoy this album and quite uncertain as to their wisdom in re-recording all the old tracks. I can now honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and, indeed, I'd go so far as to say that it's the most enjoyable Shadows album I have heard since Change of Address (1980) and the most enjoyable Cliff Richard album since Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile (1979). The Shads actually sound like the Shads in a way that they didn't for most of the 1980s and Cliff sings most of the songs as well, if not better, than I have heard him sing in decades. I was prepared to make allowances for the fact that he's now 68 years old, but, if anything, his age has given his voice a maturity that it didn't have in the 1960s, without making it sound weaker. Certainly his delivery is more expressive here and there than I had expected it to be. Hearing these songs presented like this, makes you really realise how brilliant these guys were (and are) as composers and performers. The only gripe is why, oh why, did they choose to release the weakest song on the album as the single?!!!! In short, I was not at all disappointed by this album and, indeed, enjoyed it far, far more than I had expected to. I will, therefore, give my unreserved Thumbs Up to everyone involved and say that I am really, really, really looking forward to seeing them live!!!! Nice one guys. Nice one.