The Rock Connection is the twenty-seventh solo studio album by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

. Released in November 1984 on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, 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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

from 1980. The album reached number 43 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "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 The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

featuring

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

- 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.

Critical reception

Reviewing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, 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."

Track listing

# "Heart User" (

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten (along w ...

, Sue Shifrin) - 3:40 # "

Willie and the Hand Jive "Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly in ...

" (

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

) - 3:52 # "Lovers and Friends" (Jon Sweet, Rod Trott) - 4:32 # " Never Be Anyone Else But You" (

Baker Knight Thomas Baker Knight Jr. (July 4, 1933 – October 12, 2005) was an American songwriter and musician. His best known compositions were "Lonesome Town", "The Wonder of You", and " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time". His songs have ...

) - 4:03 # "La Gonave" (

) - 3:57 # "Over You" (Dave Cooke, Richard) - 3:11 # "Shooting from the Heart" (

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

) - 3:09 # "Learning How to Rock and Roll" (Drew McCulloch) - 3:12 # " Lucille" (

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

) - 3:37 # " Be-Bop-A-Lula" (

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

, Donald Graves, Bill "Sheriff Tex" Davis) - 3:15 # "

Donna Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

" (

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...

) - 4:21 # "

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

" (

Ian Samwell Ian Ralph Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut single "Move It", and his association with the rock band America, with ...

) - 3:11 # " She Means Nothing to Me" with

Phil Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock music, rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (Januar ...

( John David) - 3:34 # "Makin' History" ( Mark Griffiths,

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entrie ...

) - 3:47 ;Additional tracks

Personnel

Tracks 1-3, 6-8 *

- producer, lead and backing vocals * Keith Bessey - producer, engineer * John Clark - guitars * Mark Griffiths - bass guitar *

Stuart Tosh Stuart Mcbeath Tosh (born 26 September 1948), also known as Stuart Tosh, is a Scottish drummer, songwriter and vocalist. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He recorded and toured with a succession of bands during the 1970s and 1980s, including ...

- 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 *

- producer, lead vocals, backing vocals *

Craig Pruess Craig Pruess (born 1950) is an American composer, musician, arranger and gold & platinum record producer who has been living in Britain since 1973. His career has covered diverse areas including: record production for international stars such a ...

- producer, keyboards, programming * Keith Bessey - engineer * John Clark - guitars * Mark Griffiths - bass guitar * Graham Jarvis - drums Track 12 *

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 Spencer ...

- producer, bass guitar * Ashley Howe - engineer * Cliff Richard - lead and backing vocals *

Trevor Spencer Trevor Spencer (born 1947 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian songwriter, record producer and drummer. He studied drums and percussion from the age of 10. By the age of 14, he was playing professionally in bands in Adelaide and Melbourne, w ...

- drums *

Nick Glennie-Smith Nickolas Glennie-Smith is an English film score composer, conductor, and musician who is a frequent collaborator with Hans Zimmer, contributing to scores including '' The Rock'' (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound), the 2006 histori ...

- synthesizer *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

- synthesizer Tracks 13 & 20 *

/Cliff Richard - lead vocals, backing vocals *

Stuart Colman Ian Stuart Colman (19 December 1944 – 19 April 2018) was an English musician, record producer and broadcaster. Allmusic noted that he "has an impressive catalogue as a record producer and much of Shakin' Stevens success can be attributed to ...

- producer, lead guitar, bass guitar, percussion * Rod Houison - engineer, percussion * Neil King - engineer * John David - guitar *

- guitars * Billy Bremmer - guitars *

Mickey Gee Michael Richard Gee (3 July 1944 – 21 January 2009) was a rock and roll guitarist who played alongside some of the most prominent Welsh musicians of the last forty years. He died on 21 January 2009 in Cardiff, Wales, from emphysema. Career ...

- rhythm guitar *

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, he ...

- piano * Terry Williams - drums

Chart performance

Sales and certifications

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Connection 1984 albums Cliff Richard albums EMI Records albums Albums produced by Alan Tarney British rock-and-roll albums