Steve Harley with Jim Cregan and Guests

Steve Harley with Jim Cregan and Guests - Acoustic and Pure LIVE - 2002-  Comeuppance Discs

Some really talented and genuine bands and artists were caught up in the notorious "Glam Rock" net in Britain in the mid seventies. Many of these bands were overnight sensations, or one hit wonders, and many were studio manufactured. Some of these bands were also hugely successful, due to clever management and by recording songs written by top class songwriters. It is well known that many of these artists couldn't play, or sing, (the perfect recipe for success in the glitzy seventies, and now it seems in the 2000's!). However, some of these artists had predated the "Glam Rock" era, and were hugely talented. Just to name a few - T.Rex, David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Abba, Elton John, Roy Wood & Wizzard, and Roxy Music. All these artists could sing, play, write brilliant songs, and they would have made the grade regardless of the ridiculous studio trickery that went into other "Glam Rock" bands that eventually fell by the wayside..... "You can fool some of the people, etc, etc....". Anyway, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were one of THE great "Glam Rock" bands, and without a doubt, one of the most talented bands to emerge in the seventies. You may not like Rod Stewart's later music, but some of his 70's work with the Faces was terrific rock 'n' roll. He penned some great songs, and he remains a very respected artist. Rod said that Steve Harley was "one of the finest lyricists the UK has ever produced". Very true, but Steve is also a great musical composer, and his music included some of the best pop rock songs ever to come out of the UK. His songs included "Make Me Smile", "Judy Teen", "Mr. Raffles", "Mr. Soft", "The Best Years Of Our Lives", and "Psychomodo". Steve confesses the effects of his childhood polio still haunt him. “As you know, I’m never going to run the marathon. I can’t walk very far these days and have to go at my own pace. Joni Mitchell won’t fly anywhere and that’s because she too had polio. One of her legs was affected. She said ten years ago that there’s something called ‘secondary polio’ and that kind of depressed me. As I’m getting older I don’t feel any worse but I can’t walk as well as I did ten years ago. It doesn’t stop me going on stage but when the weather is bad I just can’t walk in the snow and ice because I’m afraid of slipping. What I most enjoy is going on the road and performing with the band which has my old Cockney Rebel pal Stuart Elliott on drums. It’s just like the old days.” "Acoustic and Pure LIVE" is a great album with a unique folk-pop/soul sound from the legendary Cockney Rebel main man, and is one of his best albums. All the tracks were selected from Steve's Autumn 2002 concerts and includes the great Jim Cregan on all lead guitar parts. Steve Harley was, and still is a superb songwriter, singer, and showman who retains a loyal and enthusiastic international following and could teach some of todays "pop" stars a few valuable tricks. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 158 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Nothing Is Sacred
2. Two Damn'd Lies
3. Mr. Soft
4. Audience With The Man
5. The Last Time I Saw You
6. Sweet Dreams
7. Psychomodo
8. All In A Life's Work
9. Riding The Waves (For Virginia Woolf)
10. Tumbling Down
11. A Friend For Life
12. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
13. The Last Feast *

All songs composed by Steve Harley except "A Friend For Life" by Steve Harley & Jim Cregan: * Track is an un-retouched mini-disc recording

MUSICIANS

Steve Harley - Guitar, Harmonica
Jim Cregan - All Lead Guitar Parts
Barry Wickens - Guitar On Track 13: Guitar/Violin on tracks 3,4,11: Violin On Track 10
Lincoln Anderson - Bass On Track 13
James Lascelles - Percussion & Melodica On Tracks 3,4,11: Percussion on track 13
Stuart Elliott - Drums On Track 13

SHORT BIO

British rocker Steve Harley was born Steven Nice in London on February 27, 1951; the son of a jazz singer, he was stricken with polio at age two and spent the better part of his adolescence in and out of hospitals. After trying his hand at journalism, by the early '70s Harley was busking throughout London, forming the band Cockney Rebel in 1973 with guitarist Jean Paul Crocker, bassist Paul Jeffreys, keyboardist Milton Reame James, and drummer Stuart Elliott. Signing to EMI, the group debuted with The Human Menagerie; the single "Judy Teen" followed in early in 1974, becoming Cockney Rebel's first hit. Psychomodo was also a success, but as Harley's combative relationship with the press worsened he dissolved the group soon after. A Harley solo single, "Big Big Deal, " preceded the formation of a new Cockney Rebel lineup, which again featured drummer Stuart Elliott in addition to new guitarist Jim Cregan, bassist George Ford and keyboardist Duncan McKay. 1975's The Best Years of Our Lives generated Harley's first U.K. chart-topper, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), " on its way to selling over a million copies; the follow-up Love's a Prima Donna also launched a Top Ten hit with its cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." But in the wake of 1977's Face to Face -- A Live Recording, Harley again disbanded Cockney Rebel and relocated to the U.S., recording the better part of Hobo With a Grin in Los Angeles before returning to Britain. 1979's The Candidate failed to restore his commercial lustre, and with the exception of a minor 1983 hit "Ballerina (Prima Donna)" he spent the better part of the '80s removed from the pop scene. When his recording of "Mr. Soft" experienced a rebirth thanks to its use in a television commercial, Harley assembled a hits collection of the same name. Soon after he formed a new incarnation of Cockney Rebel and regularly toured into the following decade. 1999's Stripped to Bare Bones documents an acoustic set recorded the year previous. Yes You Can was issued in summer 2000. © Jason Ankeny © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/steve-harley-p84327/biography