Mark C

There's an eerie unsettled vibe that looms throughout the rapid 17 song 32 minute album. Is it the quavering warping of the lo-fi cassette media? the distressing soul revealing words? or the feeling that you are standing outside a therapy session voyeuristically eavesdropping?

Whatever the experience is; I've never listened to music that has given me an anxiety headache the way that Hi, how are you? did.

Happy to have listened to such a seminal album. But not an album I will be returning too any time soon.

40 minutes of bland pop-soul music that is little more than call centre hold Muzak with lyrics.

The album starts comparatively strong with "Something got me started" and "Stars" before embracing the uninspired mediocrity that is the following 30 minutes. When "Wonderland" finally ceases its repetitious dirge and brings Stars to an end, you will be left thinking if sitting in a room listening to nothing would have been more enriching.

While bringing nothing of substance and totally lacking in creativity, it is amazing then that Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom. Out selling such luminaries as Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over troubled water, and even topping Adele's 25.

Save your eardrums for something worthwhile,… More

A vaguely likeable, occasionally warming, collection of Cliff's music from a pop/synth decade. Difficult to not enjoy the rhythmic drum machine tempos on the majority of the songs in the collection.

However it is impossible to remove almost all of Richard's music from the latter ridicule typified by Smashie and Nicey.

The duets cut through the "Cliffness" of the majority of the album. The rendition of "All I ask of you" with Sarah Brightman is strong, but Cliff is channeling Micheal Ball to such a degree that you could almost believe that Micheal is trying to sing in the style of Richard's himself.

Slushy. Shallow. And mostly forgettable.

And do I really wish I could forget Mistletoe and Wine.… More