This release
presents the very first attempt to join forces between the renowned player Mick
Taylor and Alabama born blues hero James Harman with his band. The recording is
very nice and well balanced, just the last number is cut, and it is accompanied
by a review of the concert courtesy of Jim Washburn (L.A. Times), the author
was previously the roadie/guitar technician for the James Harman Band.
This review
is, however, full of contradictions, like “You might think that the combination
of a genuine British blues-rock guitar hero with one of America’s most
authentic and exciting blues bands would result in a deeper shade of blues. But
while the teaming of former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and Orange County’s James
Harman Band on Wednesday at the Belly Up Tavern did have some moments of pure indigo,
the combination just as often showed how incompatible varying schools of blues
can be.
Taste is a
very relative thing, and Taylor came up in a musical framework founded on
excess. It was with the British guitarists that solos came to be judged as
sporting events, where quantifiable items such as speed, volume and sustain
were revered. While some undeniably great music resulted, its players generally
went for the obvious sucker punch, rarely becoming immersed in the depths to be
found in American blues styles.
The
Southern California blues scene, conversely, abounds in players thoroughly steeped
in those styles, and who possess a rich, nuance-laden vocabulary and innate
feel for the music--not to mention a greater spirit of invention born from that
firmer base. After one has heard such local luminaries as the Harman Band’s
Joel Foy, ex-Harman player David (Kid) Ramos, Junior Watson and the Mighty
Flyers’ Alex Schultz, most so-called guitar gods who dabble in the blues can’t
help but seem like boys sent out to do a man’s work,”
Having said
so, then we read: “It may have been inevitable that Taylor and the Harman
band’s disparate styles would clash onstage on wednesday, what with only one
rehearsal the previous day under their belts. If it was one of the better
clashes one could hope to see--plenty of fine music came from both sides--there
also was a sense of missed potential, of what could result were their
approaches reconciled”.
So, did
they clash with a resulting failure to excite the audience or did their
approaches reconcile?
Let’s forget
about stupid remarks about “so called guitar gods etc.” (see above) and just
compare the careers of Taylor and Harman and the impact they both had on white
blues. Again:
“The Harman
band opened both sets with three numbers on their own, including tunes from
their new album. The present band line-up behind singer/harpist Harman consists
of guitarist Foy, bassist Jeff Turmes and drummer Steve Mugalian. They possibly
gave Taylor the best band setting he’s enjoyed since, say, 1974 (sic) and there
were moments when he seemed to revel in the company. The material fell into two
camps: blues-standard guitar showcase numbers, with Taylor providing
serviceable vocals, and Harman band tunes on which Taylor joined in. It was in
that latter category--when Taylor actually concentrated on playing in a band
context and on having his solos serve the song--that his formidable talents
were best served. (Nevertheless, the delicate art of backing a harp solo seems beyond
him).
On Harman’s
Slim Harpo-derived Swamp Thang, You’ve Got to Lose and the jumping Nitro,
Taylor displayed a masterful touch; whether working the fret-board with his
fingers or a slide, he still has one of the most distinctive vibratos around,
with an expressive, crying, human tone few guitarists can match. On a couple of
numbers, Harman coaxed him into an engaging call-and-response, with Taylor
answering Harman’s wailing harmonica phrases.
There was
also some fine playing in Taylor’s showcase numbers, but often he seemed
adrift, playing solo after solo with no dramatic construction or sense of
purpose. There was some genuine intimacy and communication in his playing on
Jimi Hendrix’s Red House and Freddie King’s The Stumble, but it was largely
diluted by his interminable, formless soloing.
Such extended
workouts don’t have to be emotional dead-ends, as Foy displayed on the Magic
Sam and Otis Rush-influenced Crazy by Degrees. Foy looks rather more like a
professor or rock critic than a blues guitarist and his technically tremendous
playing can at times seem too studied. On wednesday, though, his fire was equal
to his skill, and, in the brief windows afforded by Taylor’s busy playing, he
really burned. Taylor still possesses a beautiful talent--though it has perhaps
been numbed by years of unfocused guitar hero-dom and one can only presume that
he will benefit from this association”.
Speculations
apart the combination of Taylor’s guitar prowess and Harman average harp playing
did not achieve anything on record, so we are left with few concert recordings
like this to imagine what could have been, but was not.
