Reply With QuoteI always liked Linda Clifford and I find her a little underrated. Even "Bridge over troubled water" is a smasher. Don't give me the Simon & Garfunkel version coz' I can't stand those two wheepers.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
I have to say Miss Clifford is one of my fave disco ladies, and this cut stands above even the mighty "Runaway Love" & "Shoot Your Best Shot" as my fave Clifford tune. Perhaps the one song I would best sum why I love disco...warm, heartful, uplifiting, spiritual and genuine. This is the sort of dance music that all the Blaze's & MAW wish they could make! :lol: Now show love ladies & gents!!!! *hee hee hee*
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I always liked Linda Clifford and I find her a little underrated. Even "Bridge over troubled water" is a smasher. Don't give me the Simon & Garfunkel version coz' I can't stand those two wheepers.
Gold Record [Level 7]
I love "Runaway love" but my first introduction to Linda Clifford was "From now on" off her first lp "Linda", pure Disco written by Bunny Sigler and a vocal prelude to " Runaway".....the 12" was difficult to get back then and is longer (7:01)than the Lp version (5:10) I used to play this over and over.....
http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/6584_0_2_0_C/
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I really dug "Never gonna stop". Linda Clifford is very underrated as is the Claudine soundtrack that Curtis Mayfield produced. Mass retailer have tones of that soundtrack on DVD but the CD is long out of print.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I too am a huge fan of Ms.Clifford but I don't agree about 'You Are You Are' being her best track, sorry. :( Just my opinion but I think 'If My Friends Could See Me Now' & 'Runaway Love' are her best tracks but everything she did was good in its way. I've been recently getting into her early 80s stuff too like the 'Ill Keep On Loving You' LP from '82 on Capitol & the 'Sneakin Out' LP from '84 on the red Label (she never stuck to a label for long did she?! :-? )
She's one of those acts who appeals across the board; soul fans love her, disco bunnies love her & even modern-day 'house-heads' like Joey Negro dig her & have even brought her back from obscurity to sing on new tracks. :P
No Longer Charting
Sorry, but to me it sounds like a bog standard, run of the mill, workmanlike, sausage factory disco cut. Pleasant enough, but nothing outstanding to set it apart from the crowd. A fate that befell soo many disco records. Certainly NOT her best.Originally Written by FrontPage22
As for Bridge Over Troubled Water....what were they thinking when they made THAT!!!???
I think her trouble was that she was an artist in search of better songs/material. She never quite gave a totally convincing performance. Maybe that was down to the songs/producers or maybe it was simply down to her.
I'd bet that Blaze and MAW have had more fans than her, so they must do something right, even if YOU don't like it.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
Now I never said I don't like Blaze or MAW.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Listening to today's female pop singers has to make one appreciate the soulfulness and richness of the women from the 70's and 80's. When I listen to a Linda Clifford song, I can tell there is a person who's singing because she wants to sing. Maybe it's naive, but I don't hear someone bent on selling and hoping to make millions (Ashlee Simpson or Pink anyone?!)
My favourite track of hers is the ballad 'Let Me Be Your Woman'. I listened to it last night for the first time in a long time and just was overwhelmed with the voice. Man, she must have loved singing that song! On the uptempo side of things, I think 'Redlight' is such a storming groove...right up to that last second.
For Linda Clifford fans, if you haven't seen or heard it, Linda did a cover of Sharon Ridley's 'Changin' about four years ago that ranks up there as a pure musical gem. I just listened to the Tom Moulton mix that is ten minutes of disco heaven.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
*****
...ummmm...... :roll: ....
......Maybe I'll give her another chance and hear something more than I did back then ....but for now I'll file myself under the "leave it " column. "IMFCSMN" is a classic ...no doubt ... loved it then and played it to death , as well as "RUNAWAY LOVE " ....but my interest in those two has waned . Is "IF MY FRIENDS ..... " just looped to be a nine -ten minute song ? because it seems to be the same segments playing over and over .... trying to figure out why I can't sit still through it ... & maybe that's why .... :-? I know I also find those shrill "do do do " backgrounds vocals most unpleasant ... ( I'm picky !! :roll: )
After that I found her rather bland ... desperately putting out tons of so-so product ..... :( Finally "RED LIGHT " had some inventive sparkle ....
.. I'll have to listen to her again but right now I'm too excited about it ...........
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I have to add this ... since your topic is more specifically about "YOU ARE YOU ARE " I have to admit this is one I'm fuzzy about recalling .... Seems I either liked it alot .... or really hated it !! :lol: I'll look forward to digging it out .... thanks for the reminder about it... 8)
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Great Curtis Mayfield song.. I'm not sure who recorded it first Linda or Curtis. In any case, melodically and lyrically simple, but very effective. I thought Linda's vocal was a definite improvement on Curtis' version, she puts it on another level.. IMO, Linda's done lots of great material, I don't think I have an album of hers that I don't like (yet). She's definitely one of the more underrated disco ladies out there. For me, she's easily in the same league as Donna Summer and the like..
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They were thinking: let's take this song from the boring hippies, let's spice up the stuff from Simon & Garfunkel, two guys that must have been/are the most boring schoolboys ever and turn it into a great Disco-extravaganza. It's not her best record but I don't understand why some many people hate her cover. It's powerful, it's uplifting and for once a cover beats the original.
I once picked up a beautiful german girl in a club. We went to her home and she lit some candles and put on S&G. I fell asleep after 5 minutes. This wouldn't have happened if she had played the Linda Clifford version. She was so mad at me she threw me out at 4 in the morning. This is a true story! And remember: this can happen to you!
BTW, my wife deeply hates S&G too, so that risk is gone :D
Chart Hit [Level 6]
LOL !
(note to self...get rid of the Simon and Garfunkel Greatest Hits album)
I've never put Linda up there with Donna Summer or Patti Labelle (until now) but going thru my collection of albums that I have of hers, I think she's pretty grand! Another ballad that she did was "All The Man I Need"...long before Whitney did it and I still like Clifford's version better.
I used to close some of my sets in the 80's with 'Don't Give It Up'. I loved her opening line "All right girls, here we go again, we're going to have to figure out what we're going to do with all these men".
Chart Hit [Level 6]
...Love Linda C. and all the
cuts mentioned(except "bridge"-sorry!)and
especially "I just wanna wanna"
-which has not been mentioned
P.S-what about the 12" mix of
"don't come cryin' to me" this
was smokin'out here in So Cali
Thom
Underground Hit [Level 5]
There is a lot of love for "If My Friends Could..." on this site! Wow. This is not a fave of mine, a little campy. I mean, it's fun don't get me wrong, but not my cuppa for a night out. I'd take "Shoot Your Best Shot" any day.
Back to the original thread, "You Are, You Are" really shines for me. Her voice stands out and the production isn't overblown. Really feel good IMHO. Anyway, nice to see the Linda love...
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
******
Well since the board is a little edgy today I thought I might as well go off to somewhere else within here ........... and make it worse there as well !!! :P
Check this out :
http://www.photofeatures.com/lindacl...es/ppage1.html
If this was Linda Clifford in 1979 ( ????) ..... and after seeing the France Joli of today ...... compared to what she looked like in '79
well .... I dread the results :roll: ..... but....
Oh, MARCIO !!! ......
*****
No Longer Charting
Trust me if you ever watch the original DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS MOVIE from 1978 you will have a whole new appreciation for that song.Is "IF MY FRIENDS ..... " just looped to be a nine -ten minute song ? because it seems to be the same segments playing over and over .... trying to figure out why I can't sit still through it ... & maybe that's why .... I know I also find those shrill "do do do " backgrounds vocals most unpleasant ... ( I'm picky !! )
In fact you might even start complaining about the version used in the movie being too short.
They even used the instrumental too I do not know where they found it but they had it.
The song is definitely a CLASSIC in my opinion.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
C'mon people what about 'Don't give it up'?
"Beware Sista sista, you gotta beware"
Indie Release [Level 4]
Re: Appreciation: "You Are, You Are" by Linda Clifford
Right now I'm trying to remember if there was an extended version of a great electro/NRG top 40-style tune on IKOLY, "I Lied." Maybe there is an unreleased Rusty Garner mix circulating on tape? That four-track 12-inch RSO special from "Here's My Love" should be of of interest to Munich and Philly disco collectors for pop tunes like " I Just Wanna Wanna" and "Repossessed"/ "King for a Night,"post-peak Baker/Harris/Young for sure, but still first-rate.I think Linda demonstrated her command of R&B, jazz, soul and top 40 on each and every album. I wish more youngsters had the same maturity and secure delivery. Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Barrino are miles ahead in that aspect. I miss the time when a female singer needed to study up on Aretha, Mitty Collier ("I Had a Talk With My Man," faultless cover on "I'm Yours" LP produced by Isaac Hayes) and Shirley Bassey and cover every base.
Last edited by skiddlybop; April 2nd, 2012 at 04:40 AM. Reason: typo
skiddly bop doo wow! (Billy Paul) Scooby dooby doo yow! (Natalie Cole)
Bow-chick-a-bow, Chick-a-bow, Chick-a-bow-wow-wow! (Hugh Roy)
Pray like it's all up to God, work like it's all up to you.
The only people you need to get even with are the ones who helped you.(Patti LaBelle)
When life hands you lemons, marinate the chicken.(Anne Burrell)
Chart Hit [Level 6]
"If my friends could see me now" is a song I never get tired of. The 12" version has some repetitive moments but also some parts are not on the lp version. With a disco break, the song would have been perfect.
When Clifford re-recorded it in 1996 («Rockin' "D" House remake»)*the arrangement was truly awful and her singing less than subtle. In fact this 12" is the low point of her discography (the only one, imo).
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