Published on Jun 12, 2016
Even Ed Sullivan liked Petula Clark, and there weren’t many 1960s musicians that appealed to Ed (they were mostly vehicles to increase his television ratings).
Clark was a byproduct of the British Invasion. While testosterone-fueled male rock bands dominated it, she was a thirtyish female who produced a string of upbeat pop hits. Songs such as “Downtown,” “I Know A Place,” “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” and “My Love” were bright and polished, making AM radio airplay of the day a little more listenable.
After the big hits ran out at the end of the decade, Clark recorded for a number of labels. One of her shortest label stops was during 1981-1982 when she was signed to Scotti Brothers. Her entire American output was four singles. Real Gone music has now gathered those eight sides with an English only single release, plus two outtakes. The result is a fairly short 11 track album titled Natural Love: The Scotti Brothers Recordings.
The best song here is “City Of Dreams,” which is the closest to her 1960s hits. The lyrics are more dramatic than her earlier material, but the production gives it a smooth pop feel. 1982’s single “Natural Love” reached number 66 on the pop charts and was her final chart single. It is an inoffensive piece of pop fluff. The most adventurous track is the classic country tune “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.” She toyed with country music during the late 1970s and this is a leftover from those experiments.
Clark is now approaching her mid-eighties and continues to record and perform. Her material for the Scotti Brothers label has long been scattered and out of print for years, so Natural Love: The Scotti Brothers Recordings fills in some gaps in her available catalogue of music. Still, this is more of a release for hardcore Clark fans. If you want an introduction to her music, there are a number of releases from her big hit Warner Brothers years.