In 1972, Yorkshire-born Tony Christie took Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield's jaunty "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo" to the top of the pops throughout the world: No. 1 in Belgium and Germany, the top ten in Switzerland, The Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, and the top twenty in his native United Kingdom.  Thirty-three years later, in 2005, the same recording was re-released to raise funds for the Comic Relief charity.  Propelled by a music video featuring comedian Peter Kay, it topped the U.K. Singles Chart for seven weeks, becoming the U.K.'s biggest single of the year and spawning a No. 1 album, The Definitive Collection, for Christie.  A member of that rarefied club of artists to have a hit single twice with the same song, the singer has gone onto further successes including 2008's Made in Sheffield featuring songs by Arctic Monkeys, Jarvis Cocker, and album producer Richard Hawley.  As part of its Essential series (also featuring entries from Dusty Springfield, Kenny Rogers, Chris DeBurgh, and others), UMC has released a comprehensive (and budget-priced!) 3-CD, 70-song compendium from Tony Christie that lives up to its title with eight previously unreleased tracks and numerous CD debuts.  It adds up to almost four hours of vintage pop from one of Britain's finest voices.

Though Christie made his first professional recordings for CBS (under the aegis of Shel Talmy, no less) and MGM in the mid-sixties, his breakthrough came when manager Harvey Lisberg caught him performing in Blackpool.  Lisberg, well-known for his work with Herman's Hermits and others, introduced Christie to the songwriting-producing team of Mitch Murray and Peter Callander ("Billy Don't Be a Hero," "The Night Chicago Died," "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde").  Murray and Callander paired Christie with two of their newest tunes, "Las Vegas" and "I Did What I Did for Maria," for release on MCA Records.  Upon their appearance in 1971, both songs scored heavily on the U.K. Singles Chart, reaching No. 21 and No. 2, respectively.  Christie would complete his hat trick that year with the even catchier "Amarillo," produced by the team.  (Neil Sedaka's own version of "Amarillo" has just been reissued on CD as part of his new compilation All You Need Is the Music: The Elektra Years (1977-1981).)

The first disc of Essential Tony Christie roughly spans 1971-1974 and chronicles the period of the LPs Tony Christie, With Loving Feeling, and It's Good to Be Me.  In addition to featuring Christie's trio of 1971 hits, it's chockablock with more from the Murray/Callander team and similarly-pedigreed U.K. hitmakers such as Tony Macaulay, Rogers Cook and Greenaway, and Graham Gouldman.  The disc is also peppered with his big-voiced and lushly-arranged interpretations of the expected pop fare of the day including Jimmy Webb's "Didn't We," David Gates' "Baby, I'm-a Want You," Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "A House Is Not a Home," George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," and even Otis Redding and Steve Cropper's "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay."  A distinctive singer who nonetheless can invite comparisons to the illustrious likes of the U.K.'s Vince Hill or Engelbert Humperdinck or the U.S.' Andy Williams, Christie delivered impressive versions of Sedaka and Greenfield's "Solitaire" and Macaulay, Cook, and Greenaway's "Home Loving Man" (both, incidentally, would later become hits for Williams).

In continuing the geographic theme, Christie followed up "Las Vegas" and "Amarillo" with the bubbly "Avenues and Alleyways."  The made-to-order Murray/Callender confection went to the U.K. top 40 and opens Disc Two here.  This disc is heavy on smooth renditions of top 40 fare personalized by Christie, including Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Jerry Ross' "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (most famous in Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations' joint version, a top five hit in both the U.S. and U.K. in 1969), 10cc's "I'm Not in Love," Marvin Hamlisch and the Bergmans' "The Way We Were," and Morris Albert's "Feelings."  A medley of "Land of a Thousand Dances" and "Hey Jude" and a rip-roaring take on "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" from 1975's Live, recorded in Sheffield, showcase Christie's club-honed R&B roots and rapport with his appreciative audiences.  Another side of the artist is revealed via his studio reading of Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day."  It's a reminder of his affection for Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and the realm of American standards. "Easy to Love," Tony's lightly disco-fied single collaboration with War of the Worlds' Jeff Wayne, isn't the Cole Porter song but is another highlight.

Collectors will most thrill, however, at the inclusion of most of 1974's From America with Love.  Though "Amarillo" had only "bubbled under" the U.S. Hot 100, Christie hadn't given up on cracking the U.S. market.  From America with Love was primarily recorded in California with producer Snuff Garrett (Cher, Gary Lewis and the Playboys) and arrangers Al Capps and Steve Dorff.  (A couple of U.K. tracks helmed by Peter Sullivan - a cover of Mentor Williams' "Drift Away" and the moderate hit "Happy Birthday, Baby" - were appended to the LP; both are included here.)  From America featured both lesser-known and original material (Joel Diamond and Errol Sober's wistful "Stained Glass Blue," Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart's big, anthemic Italian adaptation "Words (Are Impossible)") and strong, well-chosen covers (Eagles' "Tequila Sunrise," Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl"), all suited to Christie's resonant, expressive voice.  Chris Arnold, David Martin, and Geoff Morrow's bouncy "Can't You Hear the Song" was first recorded by their band Butterscotch but best-known via Wayne Newton's U.S. No. 3 AC cover while Dottie and Bill West's "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" took Christie into countrypolitan territory.  Of the dozen songs on From America with Love, only Alan O'Day's "Gifts" is absent from this compilation.

1976's I'm Not in Love is sampled on all three discs of Essential Tony Christie.  In addition to the title track, a credible cover of the 10cc hit, the album found Christie in eclectic territory, whether taking Rodgers and Hammerstein to the disco ("No Other Love") or revisiting Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, and Geoff Stephens' 1973 Drifters hit "Like Sister and Brother."  Tony brought a touch of vulnerability to Richard Kerr and Will Jennings' "Somewhere in the Night" after Helen Reddy's hit version but before Barry Manilow's.

The third disc also presents a clutch of catchy non-LP A- and B-sides from the Murray/Callander team as well as the "pop version" of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," introduced by Christie in the role of tango singer Agustin Magaldi on the original Evita concept album.  Essential then jumps ahead by three decades, overlooking (presumably due to licensing restrictions) the material Christie recorded for Polydor, RCA, and a host of smaller labels.  It samples a couple of the strongest cuts from 2008's Made in Sheffield (the music hall-esque "All I Ever Care About Is You" and James Bond-recalling "Danger Is a Woman in Love") and then presents a generous eight previously unreleased tracks from Christie's 21st century renaissance.  Rather than emulating the style of old, the material was all well-chosen for the veteran artist.  He's in fine fettle on the nostalgic "Dancing Days" and "Valentine," while he brings a touching dimension to Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield's "The Hungry Years" and Peter Callander, James Wold, and Richard Wold's "I Can't Lie to Me Anymore."  Christie's big band remake of "Amarillo" would round out the set if not for two Christmas selections: his swingin' 2005 hit single cover of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" and a sweet new track, "It's Getting Close to Christmas."

The Essential Tony Christie has been compiled and beautifully remastered by Richard Moore (Matt Monro, Peter Skellern).  The packaging is in the simple, no-frills style of the series but does have full songwriter credits and images of six of the albums represented in the set.  A British national treasure who deserves to be better-known outside his native U.K., Tony Christie has never sounded better than on this sensational collection which hopefully will open the door to further excavations from his catalogue.  The Essential Tony Christie is available now from UMC at the links below!

Tony Christie, The Essential Tony Christie (UMC 539716, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
2. Las Vegas
3. I Did What I Did for Maria
4. Walk Like a Panther
5. On Broadway
6. Didn't We
7. Have You Ever Been to Georgia
8. Home Loving Man
9. Solitaire
10. My Sweet Lord
11. A House Is Not a Home
12. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
13. God Is On My Side
14. Smile a Little Smile for Me
15. So Deep Is the Night
16. Don't Go Down to Reno
17. Part Time Love
18. God Bless Joanna
19. Give Me Your Love Again
20. Life Without You
21. Love and Rainy Weather
22. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
23. Baby I'm-A Want You
24. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree

CD 2

1. Avenues and Alleyways
2. Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast
3. Happy Birthday Baby
4. Drive Safely, Darlin'
5. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
6. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
7. Here's That Rainy Day
8. If It Feels Good - Do It
9. Tequila Sunrise
10. Love Hurts
11. (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher (Live)
12. Hey Jude/Land of 1,000 Dances (Live)
13. Can't You Hear the Song
14. Here Comes My Baby Back Again
15. Mary Lee
16. Drift Away
17. Vado Via
18. Stained Glass Blue
19. Easy to Love
20. Feelings
21. I'm Not in Love
22. Like Sister and Brother
23. The Way We Were

CD 3

1. Queen of the Mardi Gras
2. No Other Love
3. Somewhere in the Night
4. On This Night of a Thousand Stars
5. Love Is a Friend of Mine
6. Sunday Morning
7. Celia
8. I Never Was a Child
9. You Just Don't Have the Magic Anymore
10. A Lover's Question
11. Underneath the Covers
12. All I Ever Care About Is You
13. Danger Is a Woman in Love
14. Dancing Days
15. The Hungry Years
16. Valentine
17. I Can't Lie to Me Anymore
18. In the Arms of Angels
19. Nothing Left to Lose
20. Let's Get Together Again
21. (Is This the Way to) Amarillo (Big Band Version)
22. Merry Xmas Everybody (Big Band Version)
23. It's Getting Close to Christmas

CD 1, Tracks 1, 5, 9, 11-12, 15-16, 18, 20 & CD 2, Tracks 1-2 from With Loving Feeling, MCA LP MUPS 468, 1971
CD 1, Tracks 2-4, 6-8, 10, 13-14 & 19 from Tony Christie, MCA LP MAPS 4738, 1971
CD 1, Track 17 & CD 2, Tracks 4, 10, 20-23 & CD 3, Tracks 1-3 from I'm Not in Love, MCA LP MCF 2755, 1976
CD 1, Tracks 21-24 & CD 2, Tracks 5, 7-8 from It's Good to Be Me, MCA LP MCF 2534, 1974
CD 2, Tracks 3-4, 6, 9, 13-18 & CD 3, Tracks 10-11 from From America with Love, MCA LP MCF 2577, 1974
CD 2, Tracks 11-12 from Live, MCA LP MCF 2703, 1975
CD 2, Track 19 from MCA single 212, 1975
CD 3, Track 4 from MCA single 269, 1977
CD 3, Track 5 from MCA single MKS 5073, 1971
CD 3, Track 6 from MCA single MKS 5089, 1972
CD 3, Track 7 from MCA single MKS 5095, 1972
CD 3, Track 8 from MCA single MKS 5101, 1972
CD 3, Track 9 from MCA single MUS 1217, 1973
CD 3, Tracks 12-13 from Made in Sheffield, Decca/Autonomy AUT 023, 2008
CD 3, Tracks 14-20 & 23 previously unreleased
CD 3, Tracks 21-22 from Amarillo Records single CD1, 2005​