The Final Reunion:
Live From The 02 Arena In London

Cliff And The Shadows

Talk about surviving. Perennial teenager Cliff Richard has continued to sing his quirky pop tunes since he was 17. He’s the only UK singer to chart over five decades. His backing band the Shadows turned surf-style instrumentals into mega hits, with 35 singles landing on the UK charts (plus 35 more with Richard), making them Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group of all time! John Lennon once claimed: "Before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music." When you listen to the wealth of songs on The Final Reunion: Live From The 02 Arena In London, you can see why the Beatle felt this way.

Led by Richard's voice and Hank Marvin's signature vibrato sound on the guitar, the band rifled through 42 songs for a sold-out crowd at London’s 02 Arena in the autumn of 2009. Opening with the bouncy "We Say Yeah" into "Gee Whizz It's You," the quasi-surfer, old time 50s vibe is prevalent throughout. Richard is in decent voice, although at times he sounds a little winded. Still, the man delivers, especially on slow ones like "A Voice In The Wilderness" and "I Am The Lonely One." What's truly apparent, however, is the mastery of the Shadows.

The band show off their instrumental credentials, running through "Shadoogie," "Dance On," a subtle "Sleepwalk," and their big hit, "Apache." Richard comes out with a jacket change and sings "C'mon Everybody." Then there is a 30-minute break (no more then 20 seconds on this expertly shot DVD) and the guys come out for another batch of songs. "Lucky Lips" sounds especially good with the three-part harmonies. The entire 137 minute-performance ends with "The Young Ones." There's some extras, mostly rehearsal footage, but the strength of The Final Reunion: Live From The 02 Arena In London is in the performance — revisiting classic songs for the very last time.

~ Ralph Greco, Jr.

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