In October 1967,
Cliff Richard and the Norrie Paramor Orchestra embarked upon a fabulously successful Japanese tour, climaxing with a solidly sold-out appearance at the Shibuya Public Hall in Tokyo, recorded for both domestic and international release the following year.
It's a magnificent performance, spinning through highlights of
Richard's entire career, all the way back to "Move It" and "Dynamite," but eschewing the easy route of simply piling hits upon hits, by concentrating as much on rocking covers as on the expected hits -- "What'd I Say," "Shout," and "Twist and Shout" make it onto the album; left on the cutting room floor are equally powerful takes on "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." Of
Richard's own hits, the album's emphasis is equally unpredictable. "Finders Keepers," "On the Beach," "Visions," and "La La La La La" made it onto wax; "Bachelor Boy," "It's All in the Game," and "The Day I Met Marie" were all left off. But even with the excisions,
Cliff in Japan remains a vivid snapshot of a triumphant concert, with the finale medley of hits packing a staggering punch, "The Young Ones," "Lucky Lips," "Summer Holiday," and "We Say Yeah" all cascading out of an opening "Let's Make a Memory" with contagious panache. Popular histories of late-'60s pop barely grant
Richard a mention, writing him off as little more than the lucky survivor of a much earlier age.
Cliff in Japan didn't change that scenario, but only because the historians never gave it a listen. If they had, they'd have heard the sound of
Richard firing on so many cylinders that other period live albums sound positively anemic by comparison. ~ Dave Thompson