''It Makes Me Feel Good'' is the title of
Cilla Black's ninth solo
studio album released in 1976 by
EMI Records. The album was Black's second to be produced and arranged by
David Mackay.
Mackay revealed on an interview on Cilla Black's official website that he considered this album as his best work with the songstress and by far the project with the most memories attached. This was mainly down to the fact that some of the album's recording sessions were held in the United States away from the distractions of Black's usual television work commitments.
The creative process involved Mackay flying out beforehand to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
where he scouted for suitable song material and session musicians. Mackay achieved his goals and hired acclaimed musicians, such as guitarist
Lee Ritenour (
Carly Simon,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
), bassist
Herbie Flowers
Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky.
Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
(
Elton John,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...
) and
Alan Tarney
Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spence ...
(
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
). Black with her husband
Bobby Willis then joined Mackay to finalise the song selection and lay her vocals. This was her first recording sessions to be held outside the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Although completed in 1975, the release of the album was purposely delayed until Black returned to
BBC television with her 1976 variety show series ''Cilla''. The album however eluded chart success but did receive critical acclaim in the national press. Black's official website also conducted an opinion poll in the 1990s which revealed the album to be one of her fans all-time favourites. The sessions also yielded Mackay's personal favourite Cilla Black recording which was the cover of "I'll Take a Tango".
CillaBlack.com - Interview with David Mackay
Re-release
On 7 September 2009, EMI Records released a special edition of the album exclusively to digital download. The re-issue featured all of the album's original recordings plus rare bonus tracks. A digital booklet Digital booklet is the digital equivalent of booklet attached to physical release that often accompany digital music purchases. They are most commonly distributed in PDF. One well-known distributor of digital booklets with digital purchases is the ...
containing original album artwork
An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rpm ...
, detailed track information and rare photographs was made available from iTunes with purchases of the entire album re-issue.
Track listing
Side one
# " Something About You"
# "I'll Take a Tango"
# "September Love Affair"
# "Lay the Music Down"
# "San Diego Serenade"
# " Heartbeat"
Side B
# "Running Out of World"
# "To Know Him is to Love Him
"To Know Him Is to Love Him" is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father's tombstone, "To Know Him Was to Love Him." It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member, the Teddy Bears. Their recording ...
"
# "It Makes Me Feel Good"
# "Lay it All Down"
# "One Step from Your Arms"
# "Lovin' Land"
Personnel
* Lead vocals by Cilla Black
* Produced and arranged by David Mackay
* Album cover photograph by Allan Ballard
References
External links
CillaBlack.com Discography – It Makes Me Feel GoodEMI Music Official Site
*
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
1976 albums
Cilla Black albums
Albums produced by David Mackay (producer)
EMI Records albums