|
 (1976) |
SIDE 1
1) Waves (Instrumental) |
SIDE 2
1) Waves - Part Two (Instrumental)
Philips 9109 216 BD |
| Vocals: Clifford T. Ward Keyboards: Clifford T. Ward, John Mealing Electric Guitar: Paul Keogh Acoustic guitar: Derek Thomas. Alto Sax: Pete King. Bass: Terry Edwards. Drums: Keith Smart String synthesiser: Ken Freeman String Arrangements: John Mealing. Arrangements on 'Avenue Dreams' & 'Susan': Richard Hewson. Recorded at 'Chipping Norton Recording Studios' and R. G. Jones, Wimbledon. Mixed at R. G. Jones Produced by Clifford T. Ward All songs written by Clifford T. Ward |
Waves - Fanzine (Clive Winstanley) comments:
Clifford was now including copies of his lyrics with his albums as a matter of course, and most of the songs on 'Waves' stand up well as poems. Unfortunately, the melodies were sacrificed as Clifford tried to rock and jazz things up a bit, perhaps in response to criticism from some quarters that his vocals weren't the strongest. Mind you, including two unmemorable instrumentals was taking things a bit too far. The emotional, haunting Ocean Of Love bode well though. One of CTW's most atmospheric compositions, it builds steadily to an almighty melodic climax but, with the notable exception of the gorgeous Heaven and pleasant Moonlight, the rest of 'Waves' is unexceptional. Clifford seemed to be letting other people's heads rule his heart or maybe he really thought that his fans wanted leaden riffs and sub-Santana guitar solos. (1976).
Star Rating: * * (out of 5)
My comments:
A strange album. It contains four brilliant tracks; namely Ocean Of Love, Heaven, Moonlight and A Song For Susan - which are as good as anything Cliff has ever produced; but the album generally has a very bland feel to it. I agree with Clive - the two instrumentals are a complete waste of time - the final track Witches and Ghosts is not much better; though I know one person who believes the long guitar instrumental in this song is 'the most innovative thing Clifford has ever done' - just goes to prove - beauty is in the ear of the beholder! Although I rate the quality of Cliff's singing and his song presentations second to none, I never felt his arrangement of Heaven was as good as it could have been, though it is a beautiful song. The album includes a new rendition (more 'up tempo' version) of his earlier song Not Waving, Drowning - interesting, but I definitely prefer the 'Mantle Pieces' version. I'm not sure what Cliff was attempting to do with this album - he seemed to be trying to retain the 'rocked' and 'jazzed up' style of 'No More Rock 'n' Roll' while at the same time return to his original 'steady ballad' form he presented on his earlier albums. Whatever it was, it didn't work too well. I believe Cliff lost his way a little here.
Marks: 6 out of 10.
 'No
More Rock 'n' Roll' |
'Waves' | 'New England Days'  |
RETURN:
Clifford
T Ward
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