The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Live Cleveland, OH. 1974

Rebooted by request...
Originally posted December 12, 2014

 

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Live The Agora

September 12, 1974

Cleveland, Ohio
WMMS - FM Broadcast source @320

We've posted this before, we're posting this again. 

Enjoy!

*Original Notes*
Alex Harvey (February 5, 1935 - February 4, 1982) was a Scottish rock and roll recording artist. With his Sensational Alex Harvey Band, he built a strong reputation as a live performer during the 1970s glam rock era. The band was renowned for its eclecticism and energetic live performance, Harvey for his charismatic persona and daredevil stage antics.

Alex's younger brother Leslie Harvey was also a musician and became guitarist for Glasgow band Stone the Crows.

Harvey was born at 49 Govan Road, Kinning Park, Glasgow. His musical roots were in Dixieland jazz and skiffle music, which enjoyed considerable popularity in England and Scotland during the late 1950s. During this period, he won a competition that sought "Scotland's answer to Tommy Steele". Alex Harvey was literally the "last of the teenage idols," a distinction he made much of during his subsequent career - practically worshipped by his fans.

In 1959, Harvey formed "Alex Harvey's Soul Band," and recorded blues and rock and roll material, to modest success. In 1966, Harvey found more success as a member of the cast in the London stage production of the musical Hair.

In 1972, Harvey formed the Sensational Alex Harvey Band with guitarist Zal Cleminson, bassist Chris Glen, and cousins Ted and Hugh McKenna on drums and keyboards respectively, all previous members of progressive rock act "Tear Gas".

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (often shortened to SAHB) produced a succession of highly regarded albums and tours throughout the 1970s, and would give Harvey his greatest successes, both musically and commercially.

Initially considered a part of the burgeoning glam-rock movement, Harvey's wild imagination and unusual skiffle background led the band to explore an extremely diverse range of topics and styles in the course of their career, from film-noir ("The Man In The Jar") to surf music-tinted tales of shark attacks ("Shark's Teeth") to ominous odes to demented faith healers ("The Faith Healer") and epic symphonies about prostitution ("Isobel Goudie").

Perhaps most unusual for the time were the band's forays into Broadway, evidenced on tracks such as "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". Other musical styles explored included the the folk music of both Harvey's native Scotland ("Anthem") and countries such as Turkey ("Action Strasse").

The impression is one of an unhinged circus of free-flowing events and emotions and moods, Harvey as its semi-demented, ironic ring master,something captured brilliantly by the cover art of 1974 album "The Impossible Dream"


Set List:
01. Faith Healer
02. Midnight Moses
03. Next
04. Give My Regards to Sergeant Fury
05. Framed
06. Anthem
07. Jumpin' Jack Flash


Thanks to the ORIGINAL SOURCE!!

Agora '74

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Alex Harvey - Soldier on the Wall (1982) {Out of Print}

Alex Harvey - The Soldier on the Wall

Studio recordings @160
{Out of Print}

Completed just a month before Alex Harvey's death in February 1982, Soldier on the Wall is generally regarded as little more than a career afterthought, the last sad recordings of a man whose golden years were now seven or eight years behind him. Part of that, of course, was due to the circumstances of its posthumous release, a barely publicized appearance on a tiny northern England indie label that went out of business within the year; but it also reflects upon the distinctly underwhelming nature of Harvey's own last two albums, the SAHB farewell Rock Drill, and the solo The Mafia Stole My Guitar.

Yet Soldier on the Wall is actually one of Harvey's most fulfilling albums ever. From the synth-packed romp of the opening "Mitzi," through to the closing reprise of the spellbinding title track, the somewhat low-budget feel of the record perfectly matches the deliciously downtrodden glamour of both its maker and its contents. The western lament of "Billy Bolero" and a rip-roaring take on Buddy Ebsen's "Snowshoes Thompson" are absolute stand-outs, while the mix of new material, oddball covers, and one Harvey oldie (the late-'60s "Roman Wall Blues" epic) have a dynamic sheen that catapults matters straight back to the glory days of the similarly-constituted Penthouse Tapes, the last truly great Harvey album, in 1975.

No bonus tracks round out the CD reissue, but the accompanying booklet includes a lengthy reflection on the album's making, disappearance, and, now, its return to the shelves. And, for that, we should all be truly thankful. ~Dave Thompson

Track List:
1. Mitzi
2. Billy Bolero
3. Snowshoes Thompson
4. Roman Wall Blues
5. The Poet And I
6. Nervous
7. Carry The Water
8. Flowers Mr Florist
9. The Poet And I

Bass – Jack Dawe 
Drums – Colin Griffin 
Guitar – Ian Taylor 
Keyboards – George Hall, Tony Lambert 
Percussion – Andy Nolan 
Vocals – Alex Harvey 

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The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Live In Sheffield City Hall 1975

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Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Cleveland, OH. 1974

A special thanks to zigzagwanderer!

Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Agora Ballroom

Cleveland, OH.

September 12, 1974

FM Source @320

Track List:
01. Faith Healer
02. Midnight Moses
03. Next
04. Give My Regards to Sergeant Fury
05. Framed
06. Anthem
07. Jumpin' Jack Flash

Thanks to our friend zigzagwanderer!

Agora '74