10 May 2007

Cliff Richard - Jesus

Columbia
DB8864
1972


Cliff Richard - Jesus 7 inch

No, really.

I found this one in Oxfam in Bradford. With that title, you've gotta give it a go. And my, how it rocketed past my expectations and into the stratosphere.

To start with, the lyric is breathtakingly brazen:

Jesus, Jesus won't you come back to earth?
Jesus, Jesus come back to earth


We apparently want him to save us from people who think 'the world is OK' (yeah, I know it's an abomination since we were cast out of the Garden, eh Cliff?), from 'the love of death' (not at all paradoxical from people who worship an image of a man dying very slowly).

But the best is yet to come. Cliff repeatedly belting out

Save us from the Devil!
Save us from Satan!
Save us from hell!


We've been gently immersed in decades of Cliff's emetic yuletide sludge, so hearing him say anything so loud and proud is a great comic shock.

However, it's the tune that does it. There is something really good about it. Really though. It's got this funky rolling drum pattern, a real groove that's something akin to Young Americans with a Ringoid looseness (albeit with a tinge of something from the Hair soundtrack). And the flanged drums, five years before White Man In Hammersmith Palais.

Then that guitar, nasally distorting like a stylophone until it finally breaks free into what you've been gagging for from the first note, its own free flying freakout solo.

It's a tremendously sticky song - I do warn you that you'll have it going round your head for fuckin ages.

I implore readers to leave suggestions in the comments for excuses to use when someone catches you singing 'Jesus, Jesus won't you come back to earth' or 'save us from hell! save us save us!'.

[MP3 deleted to make room for new ones. Sorry!]

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got this fucken tune going round in my head for about a week thanks to Radio Savage Houndy Beasty.

You can turn it into 'Satan, save us from Jesus' in your mind. It doesn't help much though.

Really beware

lazy said...

LOL lol lol lol go on Cliff LOL
http://bloggersdelite.blogspot.com/
Lazy

arkizzle said...

you completely failed to mention there's two lovely fat breaks on it! (under all the crackle)

also, saw that particular 45 going for £30 the other day, probably in better nick tho..

have a gander:
http://www.vinylrecords.co.uk/Cliff-Richard.html

Anonymous said...

Great.

I was searching for this song for a long-long time.... thanks for uploading it.

I am looking for another of Cliff's rare songs - Psalm 23

WongKC
Singapore

Vikas said...

i was lookin for this song since 15 years when i first saw the movie disco dancer but didnt knew the title and singer of theis song.Thanks a lot to everyone onnected to this site.

Vikas said...

can anyone tell me the artist of the disco version of the song"Jesus wont you come back to us" used in the movie "disco dance".I m desperately lookin for that song since a long time

merrick said...

A disco version? holy fucketty fuck fuck fuck! I shall not rest until I hear that!

Vikas said...

The disco version of the song "krishna dharti pe aaja tu" what i am sure about is "Oh Jesus" By "Judas Priest".

Anonymous said...

Yeah, disco version of this song rocks. Wish would know who ir performer. You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7nErdyBSPE

merrick said...

Fucking hell anonyperson, thankyou so much for that video. Fucking staggering stuff. Kinnell.

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is viJe....

Artist name is :Billy Boys

AND song name is Jesus...