Although history records the last years before
Alex Harvey
formed his
Sensational Alex Harvey Band
as a confused period marked by mere passing fancies, none of which came to fruition until he linked with the similarly flailing
Tear Gas
, he was in fact already blueprinting much of what
SAHB
would soon be accomplishing via the academically named, but
blues
-wailing nevertheless
Rock Workshop
.
Harvey
appears on just four of the eight songs on its debut album, but the presence of both a couple of subsequently familiar songs and a vocal workout to rival anything on
Framed
or
Next
establish them among his finest performances. A savage rearrangement of the
traditional
"Wade in the Water"
and his own (with fellow
Workshop
-per
Ray Russell
)
"Hole in Her Stocking"
are both bruising
R&B
stampers, punctured by howling horns and a guitar riff, in the first-named case, that could have escaped from
"Walk Don't Run,"
Blood, Sweat & Tears
-style.
himself is in breathtaking form, utterly undistinguishable from the showman who brought listeners
"Vambo,"
and the only regret is that he is confined to just the four songs -- the remainder of
, while certainly a blistering blur of hot and sweaty
jazz-soul
-
boogie
, also sinks into anonymity by comparison, just another white English
fusion
band honking and stomping around the room. Indeed, there are moments when the sound effects that open and link the songs are more interesting than the songs themselves. Nevertheless,
remains a key passage in
's career, all the more so in its 2002 CD incarnation, where the original LP is appended by half a dozen bonus tracks, including alternate takes of
and
"Born in the City,"
plus a couple of songs that didn't make the album itself. (Despite the track listing's claims to the contrary, incidentally,
does not sing the prettily
Traffic
-like
"Primrose Hill."
) ~ Dave Thompson