Petula

If you enjoy listening to quality sixties music sung extremely well then you should buy the Petula Clark Spectacular.

If you know the song titles then you will already know how superb is the quality of the music in this show. Containing the following songs the show is at once put on a foundation of becoming a must see movie for the music lover:

Downtown; Don't Sleep In The Subway: Who Am I; Color My World; The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener: The "In" Crowd; Music; We Can Work It Out; The Life And soul Of The Party; How Are Things In Glocca Morra: Just Say Goodbye; Have Another dream On Me; Come Rain Or Come shine; Las Vegas; Imagine: Live For Life; Elusive Butterfly; *If A Better Time's Comin'; *Both Sides Now; *On The Path Of Glory.

You may not have heard of all the songs, neither did I before I saw the video but I now find every song is a pleasure to listen to. I do not think there is a weak part of the show, but the first half I like particularly because one song effortlessly glides into the next. It really is quite pacey is the beginning, we are presented with song after song in a wonderful stream of music. A section that deserves especial praise is a segmment where Petula sings,"Elusive Butterfly", "Imagine", "Come Rain Or Come Shine"; and "Just Say Goodbye". Here you will witness how good a singer Petula Clark is, how powerful her singing can be. I would be surprised if most people were not to be impressed, perhaps transfixed by Petula's performance of, "Just say Goodbye" it is that good.

As mentioned, the show is halfway to being a must watch because of the song content. But it's the quality of the singing that really settles the matter. Petula hits the notes, and has wonderful diction. She really is a great singer with a very pleasing tibre to her voice. She was John Lennon's favorite singer no less.

The guest in the show is Harry Belefonte. He sings the songs asterisked above. Harry and Petula made TV history when she grasped his arm during the duet of "Path Of Glory". That was seen by some as quite controversial in 1968.

Typical for the time we have dancing. I don't think dancing is Petula Clark's forte, but she manages well enough. The dancing is entertainment in itself. Watch out for the comic element involving the guys and the gal. An added bonus is that the video retains the original sponsor advertisements.

The sound reproduction is to to be noted. I believe the show received praise if not awards at the time for the sound recording.

I am a Petula Clark fan, but I believe this show is required watching for any music lover, the songs and the singing transcend time. A good song and a great singer will always be that.

Petula Clark, who skyrocketed to the top of pop music charts worldwide with "Downtown" in early 1965, had already enjoyed a few years of success Stateside when NBC approached her to headline a musical variety special. Rather than clutter the hour with multiple guests, Clark opted to invite only one - Harry Belafonte - to join her on the show, which adopted her song "Who Am I?" as its theme. In an attempt to discover if she was something more than "that girl from England who sings 'Downtown'," Clark embarked on a musical journey that proved she was indeed far more than a one-song wonder.

The hour-long program, practically void of the between-song chatter that tends to clutter this type of entertainment, is absolute magic, opening with a segment that allows Clark to display her versatility as she sings and dances her way through a lengthy medley. It's a bit frustrating to hear only bits and pieces of most of the included songs, as she segues from "The In Crowd" to "Las Vegas" to "We Can Work It Out," among several others. (Even "Downtown" is given short shrift, heard only briefly over the closing credits.) In a slightly more satisfying portion of the hour, Clark offers us full versions of her interpretations of "Elusive Butterfly," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and the stunning "Just Say Goodbye," which would have brought down the house had she performed it with an audience. Only the final section of the show is "live," and Clark treats her guests to her hit "Don't Sleep in the Subway," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" from her then-forthcoming film "Finian's Rainbow," and "Have Another Dream on Me," at the time under consideration for release as a single, but which ultimately became a track on her "Petula" LP (better known to fans as "The Pink Album").

Belafonte's solos lack the excitement of any of Clark's songs, but he more than redeems himself with their duet, "On the Path of Glory," an anti-war anthem she composed. The show received unexpected advance publicity when a representative for the sponsor, Plymouth, objected to Clark's touching Belafonte on the arm during a duet, fearing the moment wouldn't play well in the South in an era before the civil rights movement fully had hit its stride. NBC requested an alternate take be used, but Clark stood her ground and delivered to the network - just days before airtime - a finished production that included the touch. With all other takes intentionally destroyed, there was nothing to do but air the show as is. Even then, the touch was nothing more than a lovely moment in which Clark, stirred by the lyrics the two were singing, instinctively placed her hand on Belafonte's arm, but amazingly it was the first time that a man and woman of different races had physical contact on American television.

As a bonus, the original Plymouth commercials - all starring Petula - that aired during the hour are included here. They are mini-production numbers in themselves, and prove that Petula Clark was as capable of selling the American public shiny new cars as she was of convincing us that she was a lot more than "that girl from England who sings 'Downtown'." Check out this extraordinary video and find out for yourself.