AMG Review of Dressed for the Occasion [Bonus Tracks]

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

Cliff Richard's most ambitious live recording (made at ~Royal Albert Hall on November 23, 1982, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra), which was already one of his finest records, got a lot better when it was re-released on CD in early 2004, mostly by virtue of the fresh remastering that boosted the volume and gave all of the music a much deeper, closer presence. There are also five bonus tracks retrieved from the multi-track tapes recorded at the concert -- among the latter, "The Golden Days Are Over" is a solid rocker along lines similar to "Devil Woman" in beat and texture, while "Discovering" and "Daddy's Home" are a pair of gorgeous orchestral ballads, the latter dating from the 1950s and offering the one instance here of Richard reaching back to his past. "Little Town" and "You, Me and Jesus" are a pair of very catchy religious songs that, amazingly, don't disrupt the pacing of the concert or the CD by a single beat; indeed, "Little Town" closes the concert and, amazingly, might rival "We Don't Talk Anymore" from this same album as one of the transcendent moments of Richard's entire career. The annotation is extremely thorough and the price is a bargain.