The older an artist grows, the more he or she is likely to start pumping out the live albums -- souvenirs, every time, of what might well prove to be the last time (and proof, cynics smirk, that the legs haven't quite gone just yet). And so it is with Cliff Richard, although, as The World Tour rumbles on, it's sometimes easy to forget that you are listening to (or, on the companion DVD, watching) a man who was then staring 64 in the face. Recorded during the U.K. leg of the outing in 2003, The World Tour is predictably little more than a showcase for the "greatest hits live," although with around 125 U.K. chart singles to choose from, there is still plenty of room for surprise -- "Born to Rock 'n' Roll," from the musical Time is one such; a sugar-sweet "I Honestly Love You" is another. But the highlights are those that you could list with your ears closed -- the opening flourish of "We Don't Talk Anymore," an energetic blast through "Move It," and a bunch of '50s rockers to prove where his heart has always been. In terms of all-around action, the DVD necessarily leaves the CD in the shade -- if nothing else, it boasts more tracks. But the 14 songs on the CD can rightly claim to be the best of the batch.
© Dave Thompson /TiVo