Like a number of other fans I know I, was delighted when the package, containing this set of albums, arrived thru my letter box from Amazon.Cilla's studio albums were made available as digital downloads a couple of years back and the bulk of these tracks have appeared on CD compilations, but any fan of any artists will tell you there's nothing like having a physical copy of a selection of songs as they were intended on the original albums. As they work out at under £3.00 each no on can complain about the price. Contained in the outer box are Cilla's first 5 albums in cd sized replicas of the vinyl LPs artwork. An extra booklet with a few photos and details would have been nice, but given the price and that Warners have issued a number of this type of sets by other performers, with long careers, it was what I expected. I’d imagine the success of Cilla's "Very Best" set has spurred on this release.
Cillla fans will know all the tracks and familiar with and various details about them, but for the more casual buyer I'll mention what I consider some of the highlights. These days, lots of new acts start their careers recording whole albums, so looking back it seems incredible that EMI waited almost 18 months ,and until she had half a dozen singles under her belt ,before releasing her initial album, simply called "Cilla" .Success came quickly to Cilla with her second single topping the charts so 1964/65 was a very busy time and the number of different musical directors used indicates that recording sessions were slotted in where time in her schedule allowed.The album opens with "Goin' Out Of My Head" ,which was an American hit for Little Anthony And The Imperials.Cilla performed this song so often on her TV appearances that the public could be forgiven for thinking she was the girl who had the UK hit with it., which was in fact Dodie West. It was very much in the style of her own dramatic hit ballads and therefore suited her perfectly. The same can be said of "One Little Voice”, an Italian original. "Dancing In The Street" provided an upbeat tune for the album and her stage act at the time.Cilla also recorded Martha And The Vandellas' "Heatwave" ,but as she had used “Dancing” it was initially only released in the USA and remained a rarity for a good number of years. In latter years Cilla used her lighter voice so her low register on "Love Letters" may be a surprise to those who haven't heard it.
Cilla's second album "Sing a Rainbow" opens with her hit single "Love's Just a Broken Heart" where she's at her dramatic best. It always amazes me that so many of her successes were sad songs about lost love which was at odds with her own happy ,bubbly personality - still, chart positions proved it worked! The albums title song may have started off life sung by Peggy Lee in the film "Pete Kelly's Blues”, but Cilla made it her very own and as Tony Barrow said in his sleeve notes for this LP it was partly down to Nicky Welsh's music box like accompaniment. Bacharach and David are represented by "Make It easy On Yourself" and Lennon and McCartney by "Yesterday”. It also includes the standard "When I Fall in Love".Cilla performs it very well with a similar arrangement to Nat King Cole's definitive version. A trio of dramatic ballads close this album.
Cilla's official website informs us her third album,"Sher-oo!" was her personal favourite. It was released, in 1968, as her first BBC TV series ended and reflected some of the songs used during the series. Mike Vickers conducted and provided some imaginative arrangements so that some of the, then current ,hit songs such as "Suddenly You Love Me" and "What The World Needs Now is Love" aren't just carbon copies of the originals.
"Step Inside Love”, which is included, was released half way through the series. It was the show's theme and anyone who's seen Cilla interviewed on chat shows will know that she claimed Paul McCartney had not completed the middle part of the song when the first programme aired. It has more paice than a lot of her singles, which makes it stand out. I recall the upbeat "Yo Yo" was used with some still photos in a BBC promotion for the TV series. Cilla makes Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses" her own with her delicate rendition.
"Surround Yourself With Cilla" includes not only her big hit "Surround Yourself With Sorrow", but also most her famous B side,” Liverpool Lullaby ".It was so strongly associated with her that EMI could have easily saved it up as another A side and another hit. Cilla is on top form and tackles songs by Nilson, Bacharach and David, Tim Hardin, The Gibb Brothers and Neil Diamond. The album opens with a rousing version of "Aquarius" from "Hair”, which she performed on her second BBC TV series along with many of the others. Drama is provided by the ballad "Think of Me" and Greenaway and Cook's "I Am a Woman".
Her fifth album, "Sweet Inspiration" is my personal favourite. I like all of the tracks so I'll just mention ones that have interesting facts connected to them. On the cover of this 1970 album Cilla proudly shows off her "new" nose. There were no UK singles taken from this album and the title song was hit for Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon shortly before. Her version of the Beatle's "Across the Universe" was released as a single down under. It includes the first of Elton John- Bernie Taupin composition Cilla was to record,"I Can't Go On Living without you”. This started life as one of the songs that Lulu was given as a possible candidate for Eurovision, but was beaten by "Boom Bang a Bang". (Lulu's version did finally appear some years later on a compilation).Cilla is in great voice on this one and it provides a lively contrast from the two more gentle songs it's sandwiched between. "Black Paper Roses" has beautiful lyrics and is a real gem.” Dear Madame" by Geoff Stephens and Les Reed is a wonderful story song about an aupair who has fallen in love with the man of the household .It pulls at the heart strings with lyrics such as "I don't want to go ,but there's just no other way".Sandie Shaw and Dana also recorded it. As a sort of bonus, "funny" item Cilla ended the album with a short version of "Rule Britannia" starting with one voice and gradually adding to it until she sounds like choir. It provided her with a nice publicity item for the press when the album was launched. It is wonderful to have all of these albums available again in physical form and fans will be hoping for a "Volume Two" to continue with the late and great Cilla's albums where this one leaves off.

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Gullible Traveller

Cilla's wonderful musical legacy - a must buy!

Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 1. Februar 2016

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I think Cilla's fans are a rather special breed because, even though I have EVERY record Cilla has ever recorded (or, at least, all of those that have been released to date) I HAD TO BUY this original album set! I also had to listen to them! The 'Cilla' LP was the first album I ever bought, for 32s and 6d, from the basement Co-op record department on Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham! I loved it and played it to death!! I was in heaven when her LP Rainbow was released, and it suffered a similar fate to the first album! I was absolutely ecstatic with Sher-oo! because it featured Step Inside Love and Yo-Yo! songs that I had seen Cilla perform live in her very first "Cilla" show at the BBC Shepherd Bush theatre on Tuesday 30 January 1968. It was two days before my 15th birthday and I'd received tickets to go to the show via Cilla's fan club and the BBC. What a fantastic present that was, and thank you to my late mam for letting me have the day off school and treating me to the train fare to go to London from Nottingham! 1969, when I was 16, Cilla got married to Bobby Willis on January 25th, and later in the year released Surround Yourself With Cilla. I'm not sure why it wasn't as big a hit as the previous three albums, but it featured some wonderful songs, such as Forget Him, Red Rubber Ball, and It'll Never Happen Again. Cilla's Sweet Inspiration (featuring a picture of her new nose!) was released in 1970, and I think this was a truly wonderful LP which, again, didn't sell as well as it should. I can't believe that it was 1963 when I was 10 years old that I bought Cilla's first single and now, 53 years later, I am - once again - buying her albums in CD format. I have such wonderful memories from the 53 years I have been a Cilla fan. Seeing her live at the BBC, her Way Out in Piccadilly show (with Frankie Howerd), the October 1973 fan club convention at Tiffany's on Shaftesbury Avenue, at which Cilla and Bobby met all of her fans, followed by an evening at The London Palladium watching Cilla work her magic as she shone in her own big West End variety show and so many, many more memories. I was absolutely stunned when she died (six months today, which is also my 63rd birthday!) and it's incredible how fast those years have passed. Cilla was a truly great star of the 60s, and her Very Best Of . . . album deserved to go to number one. I just hope that more new fans will buy this wonderful set of albums because they will hear for themselves how good she truly was. Cilla was a fantastic singer, and I will miss her very, very much, but what a wonderful musical legacy she has left behind. Don't believe me? Buy this set and see for yourselves.

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D. W. Peirce-hendriks

Pure gold....

Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 4. Februar 2016

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Firstly....AT LAST! I have been waiting for these albums to be re-issued on CD for years. The first two albums, "Cilla" and "Cilla Sings A Rainbow" were issued by EMI in 2002, both in Mono. This set re-issues both albums in Stereo finally. The remaining three albums have never been released on CD...which is shocking. The presentation is excellent, no frills or booklet but complete copies of the original vinyl releases. Remastering was done on most of these releases in the mid 2000's for a digital only release. That release also included extra material, bonus tracks for each album, which are not included here. The sound quality is excellent, the first two albums are especially good comparing them to the EMI (Mono) release, which suffered greatly from 'tape hiss'.
For more Cilla Black, I highly recommend, 'Completely Cilla: 1963-1973, (2012), 'Cilla in the 60s' (2005) and
'Cilla in the 70s' (2005). The first set is a 5CD set that includes all of her A-side and B-side singles released between 1963 and 1973 plus the songs from her first seven studio albums.
Finally, on a sad note, it is a a great shame that it took Cilla's death to finally get anything like this released on CD. I hope that we will get the second set of albums "Images" (1971), "Day by Day with Cilla" (1973), "In My Life" (1974), "It Makes Me Feel Good" (1976) and
"Modern Priscilla" (1978), all given a CD release soon....the last three have never had a complete re-issue.

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GEORGE LYALL

this is a good starting point

Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 8. März 2016

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For anyone unfamiliar with the legendary Cilla Black's recording output, this is a good starting point, or for fans who already ARE aware, this is a SUPERB collectible! Five original albums released track for track on CD with replica sleeves of their original vinyl versions proving that there was much more to Cilla than the nation's favourite TV hostess on "Surprise Surprise" and "Blind Date". Her vocal range and the diversity of the material contained within this package, make it a must hear collection for anyone who may have explored Cilla's recent Greatest Hits CD. A big band swing version of "Ol' Man River" to Cilla's takes on "Dancing In The Street", "Make It Easy On Yourself", "Red Rubber Ball" and much much more belted out showing just what a voice Cilla had! I urge you to buy this and hear for yourself - if you like Cilla Black, you'll LOVE this! I would now like to see the rarer 70s albums by Cilla released in a follow up set....

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Lollipop_league

Five great albums .... Now release the others!

Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 31. Januar 2016

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At last! The biggest selling British singer of the 60's and one of Britain's best loved entertainers finally gets her recording career recognised by her record company! It's a shame her death had to trigger these releases as she always seemed so proud to be known as 'Cilla the singer' but it's a thrill to have these mini albums available. A wealth of material, all produced by George Martin, including especially written songs by Lennon & McCartney, hit singles, covers of Bacharach, Elton John, and many more. A real snapshot of an incredible career! Now come on Parlophone/Warners there are FIVE more Cilla albums you have to give us - Images, Day by Day with Cilla, In My Life, It Makes Me Feel Good & Modern Priscilla! Make us happy and celebrate this great star .... Cilla!

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