You probably don't like this song. You might well find it hectoring, self-righteous and sickeningly pious. You might also be put off by the synthesized pan pipes and the overall dated sound and production. Perhaps the singer gets on your wick royally. Or maybe it's all of the above — and, indeed, maybe there are many more elements of this you dislike that I haven't even mentioned. And I would mostly agree with you except for one crucial aspect: I like it.
I followed the race for the UK Christmas number one in 1988 and figured like most youths that it was either going to be teen sensations Bros with their double A-side "Silent Night"/"Cat Among the Pigeons" or the cozy duet of TV/real life couple Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan with "Especially for You". These were far from the best singles on offer — the choice cuts included the Pet Shop Boys' "Left to My Own Devices", New Order's "Fine Time", Erasure's Crackers International E.P., Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance", Inner City's "Good Life" and U2's "Angel of Harlem" — but they seemed like the only two that stood much of a chance. During the first week of December Bros began to fall, their loyal (at least for the next year) teen following having bought up their copies a week earlier with fewer remaining record buyers interested which seemed to open the door for the Australian couple. But then Cliff Richard edged them out for the top spot and he stayed there for the rest of the month. Repeated plays of "Mistletoe & Wine" every Sunday on the chart rundown and every Thursday night on Top of the Pops did not allow for the single to grow on me and I was only too pleased for January to roll around just to see it rapidly drop off.
I was back in Canada a few months later but I tried to follow the British music scene as closely as possible back in those pre-internet days. One of my main sources of info was Good Rockin' Tonite, a weekly Vancouver-based music videos and interviews program that I never missed and which would give regular updates of the UK top five singles and albums. I tuned in one night around Christmas, 1990 and learned that "Saviour's Day" by Cliff Richard was at the top spot, giving him another festive number one. I missed Britain greatly back then but I was rather glad to be in Canada at least for that week.
I probably wouldn't have liked it at the time but adulthood was when I had my belated maiden listen to "Saviour's Day" and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I dug it. The chilled atmosphere of peasants patiently waiting and making their journeys home is touching and I can't help but sing along with the refrain at the end. Where Richard attempts to be all things Xmas to all people in "Mistletoe & Wine" (but only ends up meaning it on the religious bits anyway), "Saviour's Day" is much more in line with his own view of the holidays. It's all about Jesus (unless ver "King" happens to be Elvis) and how we all need him in our lives and "life can be our's". He is calling us, calling us, you know. I'm not buying what our Cliff is selling but I buy him, if only just this once. (It no doubt helps that's it's possibly his finest vocal since "Miss You Nights")
Sure, all of the above complaints are valid but Richard is hectoring, self-righteous and sickeningly pious and we're supposed to be true to ourselves. The synthesized tune probably ought to bother me but I'm such a sucker for such stuff and I'm not convinced that guitars and pianos and "real instruments would improve things any (not unlike Paul McCartney's similarly maligned "Wonderful Christmastime" which is better off being so synth heavy). Yeah, he gets on my wick — especially in the awful video which spoils the frozen medieval wastes vibe in the song — but it's something I can overlook if the record is half-decent. I probably ought to hate it but I'm awfully pleased that I don't.
Tom Ewing, in a relatively sympathetic review, points out that "Saviour's Day" isn't even a Christmas song since the holiday isn't mentioned at all. I'd say that it's clever rebranding of the holiday away from its commercialization and secularization. Those PC types are clever, aren't they? They render the term Christmas meaningless and then won't even let us use it. It's almost as if political correctness was just some made up nonsense meant to distract us, right?
I followed the race for the UK Christmas number one in 1988 and figured like most youths that it was either going to be teen sensations Bros with their double A-side "Silent Night"/"Cat Among the Pigeons" or the cozy duet of TV/real life couple Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan with "Especially for You". These were far from the best singles on offer — the choice cuts included the Pet Shop Boys' "Left to My Own Devices", New Order's "Fine Time", Erasure's Crackers International E.P., Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance", Inner City's "Good Life" and U2's "Angel of Harlem" — but they seemed like the only two that stood much of a chance. During the first week of December Bros began to fall, their loyal (at least for the next year) teen following having bought up their copies a week earlier with fewer remaining record buyers interested which seemed to open the door for the Australian couple. But then Cliff Richard edged them out for the top spot and he stayed there for the rest of the month. Repeated plays of "Mistletoe & Wine" every Sunday on the chart rundown and every Thursday night on Top of the Pops did not allow for the single to grow on me and I was only too pleased for January to roll around just to see it rapidly drop off.
I was back in Canada a few months later but I tried to follow the British music scene as closely as possible back in those pre-internet days. One of my main sources of info was Good Rockin' Tonite, a weekly Vancouver-based music videos and interviews program that I never missed and which would give regular updates of the UK top five singles and albums. I tuned in one night around Christmas, 1990 and learned that "Saviour's Day" by Cliff Richard was at the top spot, giving him another festive number one. I missed Britain greatly back then but I was rather glad to be in Canada at least for that week.
I probably wouldn't have liked it at the time but adulthood was when I had my belated maiden listen to "Saviour's Day" and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I dug it. The chilled atmosphere of peasants patiently waiting and making their journeys home is touching and I can't help but sing along with the refrain at the end. Where Richard attempts to be all things Xmas to all people in "Mistletoe & Wine" (but only ends up meaning it on the religious bits anyway), "Saviour's Day" is much more in line with his own view of the holidays. It's all about Jesus (unless ver "King" happens to be Elvis) and how we all need him in our lives and "life can be our's". He is calling us, calling us, you know. I'm not buying what our Cliff is selling but I buy him, if only just this once. (It no doubt helps that's it's possibly his finest vocal since "Miss You Nights")
Sure, all of the above complaints are valid but Richard is hectoring, self-righteous and sickeningly pious and we're supposed to be true to ourselves. The synthesized tune probably ought to bother me but I'm such a sucker for such stuff and I'm not convinced that guitars and pianos and "real instruments would improve things any (not unlike Paul McCartney's similarly maligned "Wonderful Christmastime" which is better off being so synth heavy). Yeah, he gets on my wick — especially in the awful video which spoils the frozen medieval wastes vibe in the song — but it's something I can overlook if the record is half-decent. I probably ought to hate it but I'm awfully pleased that I don't.
Tom Ewing, in a relatively sympathetic review, points out that "Saviour's Day" isn't even a Christmas song since the holiday isn't mentioned at all. I'd say that it's clever rebranding of the holiday away from its commercialization and secularization. Those PC types are clever, aren't they? They render the term Christmas meaningless and then won't even let us use it. It's almost as if political correctness was just some made up nonsense meant to distract us, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment