The Rock Connection

The Rock Connection
Studio album by Cliff Richard
Released	November 1984
Recorded	May 1980 - August 1984
Genre	Pop Rock rock & roll rock hard rock
Label	EMI
Producer	Cliff Richard Keith Bessey Craig Pruess Stuart Colman Alan Tarney Rod Houison
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

Bonus tracks on the 2004 release
"Move It" (Ian Samwell) - 3:06 "Teddy Bear" (Bernie Lowe, Kal Mann) - 3:06 "It'll Be Me" (Jack Clement) - 3:13 "Little Bitty Pretty One" (Bobby Day) - 2:42 "Tutti Frutti" (Dorothy LaBostrie, Joe Lubin, Little Richard) - 2:26 "I'll Mend Your Broken Heart" (Stewart Blandamer) - 3:24

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 Alan Tarney - producer, bass guitar Ashley Howe - engineer Cliff Richard - lead and backing vocals Trevor Spencer - drums Nick Glennie-Smith - synthesizer Michael Boddicker - synthesizer Tracks 13 & 20 Phil Everly/Cliff Richard - lead vocals, backing vocals Stuart Colman - producer, lead guitar, bass guitar, percussion Rod Houison - engineer, percussion Neil King - engineer John David - guitar Mark Knopfler - guitars Billy Bremmer - guitars Mickey Gee - rhythm guitar Pete Wingfield - piano Terry Williams - drums

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	Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[7]	Silver	60,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified 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

External links