Mike Harrison promptly resumed his solo career with the release of 1975's "Rainbow Rider". Released in the UK on the Goodear label (Goodear catalog number 7002), Island Records acquired US distribution rights where for some reason the company decided to slap different cover art on the album.
Produced by Chris Kimsey, the set found Harrison recording in Nashville with a mix of American and English studio musicians. Musically the set wasn't a major change from earlier efforts. Harrison's voice remained instantly recognizable with tracks such as "Maverick Woman Blues", "You and Me" and "I'll Keep It with Mine" offering an enjoyable set of R&B flavored rock. Highlights included a weird cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and his collaboration with longtime buddy/former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor on "Okay Lay Lady Lay" (the latter redeemed by some nifty voice box guitar work.).
Highlight songs, the opening "Maverick Woman Blues" with some blazing twin lead guitar (Bob Cohen and Micky Jones) and pounding keyboards (courtesy of Morgan Fisher), 'Maverick Woman Blues' was the album's toughest rocker and one of the most Spooky Tooth-styled numbers on the set. At least to my ears Harrison even sounded a bit like Gary Wright on this one. Nice way to start off the collection. Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine" with a Spooky Tooth/Gary Wright-styled arrangement may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but the keyboard-propelled arrangement never gathered much energy and the backing gospel church choir simply blew Harrison off the stage. The song's highlight came in the form of the nifty lead guitar.
The driving blues-rocker, "Okay Lay Lady La" actually came in the form of Luther Grosvenor's voice box guitar solo. The finale with 'Friend' a breezy, slightly jazz-tinged ballad that actually benefited from Harrison's laid back and measured delivery. One of the best performances on the album .
by Scott R. Blackerby November, 2024
Tracks
1. Maverick Woman Blues (Don Nix) - 3:37
2. You And Me (Will Jennings, Troy Seals) - 2:40
3. I'll Keep It With Mine (Bob Dylan) - 4:22
4. Like A Road (Leading Home) (Don Nix, Dan Penn) - 4:40
5. We Can Work It Out (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:24
6. Okay Lay Lady Lay (Luther Grosvenor, Mike Harrison) - 6:33
7. Easy (Aitkin, Brown, Mike Harrison) - 4:25
8. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg) - 2:39
9. Friend (Arthur Belcher, Mike Harrison) - 4:32
Personnel
*Mike Harrison - Vocals,Harmonica
*Kenneth Buttrey - Drums
*Morgan Fisher - Keyboards
*Norbert Putnam - Bass
*Bob Cohen - Guitar
*Kirk Lorange - Guitar
*Mick Jones - Guitar
*Arthur Belcher - Saxophone
*The Memphis Horns - Horns
*Corona Stage School - Vocals
*Del Newman - String Arrangements
Related Acts
No comments:
Post a Comment