I took another walk down Memory Lane listening to Petula Clark CDs last week. “Downtown” received heavy airplay on our local radio stations back in the Sixties. The 1964 version became an international hit, reaching Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number Two on the UK Singles Chart.
“southpawgrammar Jan 17, 2022 Edited 4 years ago: Despite being the most commercially successful British female singer of the post-war era with numerous charting singles under her belt, Petula Clark’s stature in the post-modern musical landscape is largely built on her crowning achievement, the Ivor Novello-winning U.S. Number One “Downtown”, which admittedly still wields the power to enthrall and stir souls, but should not be considered her only masterpiece. After starting out as a child star, Clark shed her ’50s teen pop image and rode the British Invasion wave in America, where she achieved huge success in the mid-’60s, racking up several Top Ten hits courtesy of the extremely competent songwriting team Tony Hatch and his wife Jackie Trent, most notably “I Know a Place,” “Color My World,” “Call Me,” “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” and “My Love”.
“Ultimate Petula Clark” contains all of the aforementioned ecstatic post-“Downtown” singles alongside a clutch of equally sophisticated and well-arranged sides drawn from her edgier light pop period, giving casual fans of the crystalline-voiced international chart-topper all they could ever want from a single-disc collection of her career highlights, minus any superfluous remixing or heavy-handed remastering to ruin what should be (and thankfully is!) a very satisfying and stimulating nostalgia trip.”
These two collections of Petula Clark songs provided hours of listening pleasure over the years. Are you a Petula Clark fan? Any favorite songs here? GRADE: A (for both CDs)
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Downtown | |
| 2 | I Know A Place | |
| 3 | You’d Better Come Home | |
| 4 | My Love | |
| 5 | A Sign Of The Times | |
| 6 | I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love | |
| 7 | Who Am I? | |
| 8 | Colour My World | |
| 9 | This Is My Song | |
| 10 | Don’t Sleep In The Subway | |
| 11 | The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener | |
| 12 | Kiss Me Goodbye |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | DowntownWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 3:08 | |
| 2 | I Know A PlaceWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 2:45 | |
| 3 | You’d Better Come HomeWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By, Conductor – Tony Hatch | 2:53 | |
| 4 | Round Every CornerWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 2:38 | |
| 5 | You’re The OneProducer, Arranged By, Conductor – Tony HatchWritten-By – Petula Clark, Tony Hatch | 2:27 | |
| 6 | Call MeWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 2:48 | |
| 7 | My LoveWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 2:44 | |
| 8 | A Sign Of The TimesWritten-By, Producer, Arranged By – Tony Hatch | 2:57 | |
| 9 | I Couldn’t Live Without Your LoveProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 2:55 | |
| 10 | Who Am IProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 2:20 | |
| 11 | Color My WorldProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 2:52 | |
| 12 | This Is My SongArranged By, Conductor – Ernie FreemanProducer – Sonny BurkeWritten-By – Charles Chaplin* | 3:17 | |
| 13 | Don’t Sleep In The SubwayProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 2:57 | |
| 14 | The Cat In The Window (The Bird In The Sky)Arranged By – Jack NitzscheProducer – Charles Koppelman, Don RubinWritten-By – Alan Gordon, Gary Bonner* | 1:58 | |
| 15 | The Other Man’s Grass Is Always GreenerProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 2:53 | |
| 16 | Kiss Me GoodbyeArranged By, Conductor – Les ReedProducer – Tony HatchWritten-By – Barry Mason, Les Reed | 3:55 | |
| 17 | Don’t Give UpConductor – Johnny HarrisProducer, Arranged By – Tony HatchWritten-By – Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch | 3:06 | |
| 18 | Happy HeartArranged By, Conductor – Ernie FreemanProducer – Claude WolffWritten-By – Jackie Rae, James Last | 3:29 | |
| 19 | Neon RainbowProducer – Chips MomanWritten-By – Wayne Carson Thompson | 2:51 | |
| 20 | The Song Is LoveProducer, Arranged By – Arif MardinWritten By – David George DixonWritten-By – Richard L. Kniss*, Mary Travers, Paul Stookey*, Peter Yarrow | 3:55 | |
| 21 | I Don’t Know How To Love Him/SuperstarArranged By, Conductor – Johnny HarrisProducer – Claude Wolff, Johnny HarrisWritten-By – Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice | 4:15 |