The Rock Connection

The Rock Connection
Studio album by Cliff Richard
Released November 1984
Recorded May 1980 - August 1984
Genre
Label EMI
Producer
Cliff Richard chronology
Silver
(1983)		 The Rock Connection
(1984)		 Always Guaranteed
(1987)
Alternative cover
Cover for the Australian release

The Rock Connection is the twenty-seventh solo studio album by Cliff Richard. Released in November 1984 on EMI, the album is a part studio, part compilation album. It includes seven studio tracks recorded exclusively for the album, five tracks from the previous year's limited release album Rock 'n' Roll Silver, one previously released single, and one B-side from 1980.

The album reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart. Two singles were released to promote the album. "Shooting from the Heart" was released in October 1984 and only reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart. "Heart User" was released in January 1985 and only reached number 46. Most notably, although released almost two years prior, the hit single "She Means Nothing to Me" - a duet with Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers featuring Mark Knopfler - was included. Originally released in January 1983 and lifted from Phil Everly's self-titled solo album, "She Means Nothing to Me" made it to number 9 on the UK Singles Chart.[1][2]

Critical reception

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic Bruce Eder wrote of the album "The resulting album was decidedly uneven -- much of it came off as a loud, lean, crisp mix of rock & roll and power pop, Richard's voice surrounded by (and often immersed beneath) in-your-face electric guitars and synthesizers."[3]

Track listing

  1. "Heart User" (Terry Britten, Sue Shifrin) - 3:40
  2. "Willie and the Hand Jive" (Johnny Otis) - 3:52
  3. "Lovers and Friends" (Jon Sweet, Rod Trott) - 4:32
  4. "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (Baker Knight) - 4:03
  5. "La Gonave" (Cliff Richard) - 3:57
  6. "Over You" (Dave Cooke, Richard) - 3:11
  7. "Shooting from the Heart" (Roger Greenaway) - 3:09
  8. "Learning How to Rock and Roll" (Zoe McCulloch) - 3:12
  9. "Lucille" (Albert Collins, Little Richard) - 3:37
  10. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Gene Vincent, Donald Graves, Bill "Sheriff Tex" Davis) - 3:15
  11. "Donna" (Ritchie Valens) - 4:21
  12. "Dynamite" (Ian Samwell) - 3:11
  13. "She Means Nothing to Me" (Sunny David) - 3:34
  14. "Makin' History" (Graham Lyle) - 3:47
Additional tracks

Personnel

Tracks 1-3, 6-8

  • Cliff Richard - producer, lead and backing vocals
  • Keith Bessey - producer, engineer
  • John Clark - guitars
  • Mark Griffiths - bass guitar
  • Stuart Tosh - drums
  • Dave Cooke - keyboards
  • Alan Park - keyboards

Tracks 4, 9-11, 14-19

  • Cliff Richard - producer, lead vocals
  • Thunder - producer
  • Keith Bessey - engineer
  • John Clark - guitars
  • Martin Jenner - guitars
  • Mark Griffiths - bass guitar
  • Graham Jarvis - drums
  • Dave Cooke - keyboards
  • Alan Park - keyboards
  • Stuart Calver - backing vocals
  • Tony Rivers - backing vocals
  • John Perry - backing vocals

Track 5

  • Cliff Richard - producer, lead vocals, backing vocals
  • Craig Pruess - producer, keyboards, programming
  • Keith Bessey - engineer
  • John Clark - guitars
  • Mark Griffiths - bass guitar
  • Graham Jarvis - drums

Track 12

Tracks 13 & 20

Chart performance

Chart (1984) Position
Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)[4] 30
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[5] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[6] 43

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Silver 60,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "The Rock Connection" (2004 Digitally Remastered Edition) (Media notes). Cliff Richard. EMI. 1984.
  2. ↑ "Cliff Richard on UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  3. ↑ AllMusic review for The Rock Connection
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Cliff Richard – The Rock Connection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Cliff Richard | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "British album certifications – Cliff Richard – The Rock Connection". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Rock Connection in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
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