Rockspel

Description

Rockspel is a compilation album by the British singer and songwriter Cliff Richard, released on Kingsway Music in October 2002.

Putting aside the nuclear holocaust warnings of «Under The Gun» and the ever so saccharine sweet «Butterfly Kisses», which isn’t as good as the Bob Carlisle original, what you will find here are 15 or so well crafted Christian songs with extremely high production values, superb musicianship and not bad singing! For fans of this living legend ‘Rockspel’ will be a must for the collection. For the rest of us, give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised by this compilation of spiritual pop tunes and power ballads. [Heather Marsden, Cross Rhythms, September 2003]

Released in 2003, Rockspell was Cliff Richard’s first full-on religious disc since Small Corners, a collection of his best-known gospel rockers that drew its title from a term Richard coined in the mid-’80s to encapsulate his own brand of Christian rock. Back then, he performed a dozen songs for the BBC’s cameras, on a show that was likewise titled Rockspell; the album repeats some of those selections, but it is not (sadly) the original soundtrack to the show. Richard’s core audience largely remains ambivalent about his religious recordings. The singer’s own sincerity and determination are, of course, admired, and several of the songs do stray into the average listener’s “best-of” collection – «From a Distance», which of course titled (and helped highlight) Richard’s 1989 Wembley extravaganza, is a case in point. «Every Face Tells a Story» and «Fighter/Thief in the Night» are likewise excellent contributions to the canon. It should also be pointed out that, though Richard’s conviction shines through every song, he rarely allows his lyrics to pontificate (on the one hand) or flap fatuously in the breeze (on the other). Indeed, Rockspell has a rocking edge that rivals any of his better-known albums. Nevertheless, fans (and sales figures) effortlessly line it up alongside those other sacred collections that Richard has released over the years, and Rockspell remains recommended only to listeners who absolutely have to experience every album he has ever made. [Dave Thompson, AMG]

CD tracklist:

01. Only Way Out
02. Every Face Tells A Story
03. Peace In Our Time
04. Reunion Of The Heart
05. Butterfly Kisses
06. Such Is The Mystery
07. Walking In The Light
08. Summer Rain
09. Dicovering
10. Winner
11. Yes He Lives
12. Lost In A Lonely World
13. Under The Gun
14. Gonave
15. Fighter/Thief In The Night
16. Where Do We Go From Here
17. Better Than I Know Myself
18. From A Distance

Note: The CD is housed in a Digipak.