Harley

Jazz bagpipes? The one master is Rufus Harley, who does about all that can be done with that unpromising instrument. After all, once one blows a note, the sound is sustained until the air empties out. This well-conceived sampler draws its music from Harley's Atlantic albums (Scotch & Soul, Bagpipe Blues, and Deuces Wild), plus his guest spot on a Herbie Mann album. Harley, who also is heard playing a bit of soprano, tenor, and flute, performs such numbers as "Feeling Good" and "Pipin' the Blues," the latter teaming him with altoist Sonny Stitt. This sampler is worth exploring.

Rufus Harley - Re-Creation of the Gods (1972) {Transparency ‎0235 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 294 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2006 Ankh Record / Transparency ‎| 0235
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Deep Jazz / Soul Jazz / Bagpipes

This is bagpiper Rufus Harley's finest moment. All the songs on this disc were written by the man himself. All are loosely related in an Eastern spiritual vein, and the man plays them like he means it, like his own offering to God. Contemporaries like Pharoah Sanders or Archie Shepp had introduced a lot of Middle Eastern instruments to jazz listeners. Heard in that context, the hissing overtones of the bagpipes really aren't all that jarring. This record would have fit nicely among the offerings from such labels as Strata East or BYG.

Although he created a decadent glam rocker image through early albums like The Human Menagerie and The Psychomodo, Steve Harley soon revealed a romantic heart beating beneath all the artsy sleaze on singles like "Judy Teen" and "Make Me Smile (Come up and See Me)." This 1976 album, the last studio outing Harley would record under the Cockney Rebel banner, allowed him to give full vent to his romantic thoughts via lushly crafted songs about the travails of love. Love Is a Prima Donna features two of Harley's finest songs in the title track, a bracing song that features the writer waxing comical about the pitfalls of love over a briskly paced pop tune that fleshes out its pub-piano melody with flamenco guitar and a choir, and "(Love) Compared With You," a delicately orchestrated love ballad that manages to be touching and heartfelt without lapsing into sappy sentimentality. This album also produced one of Harley's biggest hits with an arty, synthesizer-laced cover of the Beatles' classic "Here Comes the Sun".

From their early days in the 1970s through to recent sell-out rock festivals Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel have written and performed some of the most timeless songs. This DVD includes some of the most popular tracks including Make Me Smile (Come Up See Me) which has been confirmed by the PRS as one of the most played records in British Broadcasting being featured in films and television advertising across the globe. Recorded in 1982 over two nights at the Dome Theatre, Brighton and Derngate Theatre, Northampton.