Having recorded for over 40 years now, Cliff Richard presents quite a variety of styles on this compilation. Perhaps there is something for every taste here. It does cover the big hits (with "Congratulations" strangely missing). Cliff is a top-tier vocalist, and this is a huge comprehensive collection for those new to his singing. Old-time fans have no reason to buy this compilation, however, unless they want to replace some of the tracks they only have on vinyl. Try listening to his latest studio cd: "Real As I Wanna Be" to hear what Cliff has been up to lately. You won't be disappointed.

Although this CD is like a sentimental journey through five decades of hits (and testimony to the VERY best of British pop music through the ages), these beautiful songs and Cliff's faultless vocals are truly timeless. The early "Rock&Roll" type songs "Move It", "Bachelor Boy", "Living Doll", (watch it, Cliff, - locking women in trunks is v. un-p.c.) and are rhythmic, melodic and make you "wanna dance" - unlike the junk you get in the charts nowadays - and above all are fun. The love ballads (even those recorded when Cliff was very young eg "I Love You", "The Young Ones",) are sung with such sensitivity and depth of feeling, and the later ballads e.g. "Miss You Nights", "We Don't Talk Anymore" and "I Still Believe In You" are profoundly moving and possess deep, inner beauty which speaks to the soul. Many songs on this album also promote unity, harmony and love (in a Christian not romantic sense) eg "Power to all our friends", "From a distance" and "Millennium Prayer" and these touch the heart as Cliff's amazing voice is allied to undoubted heartfelt sincerity. He truly believes in his music. He's not fake. There's no singer I ever heard who communicates such a profound and intense relationship to his lyrics as Cliff! His voice is infinitely rich, strong and versatile. RocknRoll ("Move It") Rock ("Carrie"), country ("The Minute You're Gone"), ballads ("Miss You Nights"), soul "Can't Keep This feelin In", disco ("We Don't Talk Anymore".) Seriously, his catalogue would be impressive were it ten singers combined. When I heard Cliff for the first time first ("Mistletoe and Wine" (aged nine) it was the most beautiful song I ever heard; and he really has the most beautiful male singing voice that I ever encountered. If you don't know Cliff, it's YOUR LOSS; this guy is as good as, maybe better than Elvis. If you don't believe me, buy the CD and see for yourself. One more thing: this is just an introductory guide to Cliff and to really appreciate the full range of his talents, you need to buy some of his 45 years worth of albums. I recommend (for starters) "Me And My Shadows (1960), "When in Spain (1962), "I'm Nearly Famous (1976), "Green Light" (1978), "Rock and Roll Juvenile" (1979), "I'm No Hero" (1980), "Wired For sound" (1982) and "Real As I Wanna Be" (1999). Happy listening!

The CD is just great, you can listen again and again, along the years some different styles and sounds, but always a wonderfull performer.From the first British Rock'n Roll, Move It through greats Living Doll,Carrie and many more.

Compiling a collection of Cliff's hits on just one or two CD's is never easy, because there are so many good ones as the six CD boxed set (Singles collection) demonstrates. Most people really don't want that many CD's by one singer, even one as brilliant as Cliff. This double CD contains a reasonable selection of his UK hits from 1958 to 2000 that will satisfy most people. If you are looking for a particular song that isn't here or if you are only interested in a particular period of his career, there are many other Clifftastic compilations around quite apart from that boxed set.

Cliff had his greatest commercial successes in the fifties and sixties but of the 46 tracks here, only 20 are from that part of his career. Perhaps the compilers felt that anybody who wanted those songs already had them anyway, but it is worth noting that Voice in the wilderness, Fall in love with you, Nine times out of ten, Theme for a dream, A girl like you, When the girl in your arms, I'm looking out the window, Lucky lips, Twelfth of never, Wind me up and Congratulations are among the major sixties UK hits (all top four or higher) that were left out of this collection. Some of these songs are not as popular as they once were and were left out for that reason, but I don't believe all of them fit that description.

26 tracks represent the seventies onwards, culminating in The millennium prayer - actually Auld lang syne sung to the tune of The Lord's prayer (December 2000). While this period contained many more Cliff hits in total than the fifties and sixties, there were plenty of minor hits among them. Every UK top ten solo hit is included from 1973 (Power to all our friends) onwards.

As an overview of Cliff's career, this is brilliant despite the fact that I would have preferred more sixties songs and fewer from the eighties and nineties. In any case, you might not agree with me. If you only want one collection of Cliff's music and you are interested in his whole career, choose this or the boxed set according to how much of his music you want.

This has to be one of the most essential greatest hits collections around. Cliff is one of the most versatile people in pop and this record has many of his best moments from his rock n' roll debut, through his boy band style chart busters, his religious hits, his rock return in the mid '70s and the later songs that made him into the new Santa Claus. He is a much underrated artist mainly due to those people who judge music by lifestyle rather than sound. But he is still one of the UK's top legends. May he carry on!