Splinter
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1972-84) - Bill Elliott -- vocals - Bob Purvis -- vocals, acoustic guitar
supporting musicians (1975) - Bill Dickinson -- bass - Hari Georgeson (aka George Harrison) -- lead guitar - Ralph McDonald -- percussion - Earl Palmer -- drums - Tom Scott - sax, synthesizers, percussion - Chris Spedding --- lead guitar - John Taylor -- keyboards - Waddy Wachtel -- lead guitar
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- Bill Elliot and The Elastic Oz Band - Bob Purvis (solo efforts)
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Genre: pop Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Harder To Live Company: Dark Horse Catalog:
SP 22006 Country/State: South Shields, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened); lyric insert; original Dark Horse inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1982 Price: $15.00 |
I've never known what to make of Splinter. Bill Elliott and Bob Purvis were enormously talented; attracting a mega fan and mentor in the form of George Harrison who even signed them to his Dark Horse label, but for some reason they never managed to break through.
Released in 1975,"Harder To Live" was the duo's sophomore album for Harrison's Dark Horse label. With Harrison otherwise engaged, this time around the pair undertook recording sessions at A&M's Los Angeles studio with production responsibilities falling to Tom Scott (best known as an in-demand sax player). Maybe I'm being hypercritical, but Scott's work (solo and otherwise) has always struck me as being almost sterile, almost clinical. There's no denying his professionalism, but to my ears virtually everything he's touched comes out sounding soulless. Unfortunately, the same fate seems to have fallen on this album. Basically a hired gun, it was pretty clear that Scott lacked the personal link, or interest in the pair that Harrison had. Add to that, the Purvis written material was nowhere near as good this time around. Sure, their harmonies remained impeccable and there were a couple of decent performances. 'Harder To Live' was mildly funny. The bubbly opener 'Please Help Me' was probably the most commercial track on the album. Unfortunately, exemplified by tracks like 'Which Way Will I Get Home', 'Berkley House Hotel' and 'After Five Years', the album was chock full of pretty, but ultimately bland ballads.
"Harder To
Love" track listing: 1.) Please Help Me (Bob J. Purvis) - 2:37 Even
though the stop and start song structure was kind of irritating, 'Please
Help Me' was one of the most poppy and commercial things they ever
wrote. Would have made a nice single. Better than the track Dark
Horse tapped. rating:
**** stars 'Sixty
Miles Too Far' was a pretty country-rock
tinged acoustic ballad with a decent
enough refrain ... yeah, kind of a standard Splinter tune.
This one's always reminded me a bit of a Sutherland Brothers and Quiver
tune. rating: ***
stars The
bubbly, almost rocking title track might come as a surprise if
you thought these guys didn't have a sense of humor. Admittedly it
wasn't the most original concept you've ever heard, but Purvis'
taste-of-reality lyrics ("bills,
taxes, rents, rates, checque")
always make me smile. rating:
*** stars Too
country-tinged for my tastes ... why are UK acts so enchanted with
American C&W ?
rating: ** stars Yes, I'll admit 'Which Way Will I Get Home' was one of their prettiest ballads, though the Tom Scott sax solos gave it kind of a bland adult contemporary vibe ... Dark Horse apparently had some commercial hope for the track, releasing it as a US promo single:
- 1976's 'Which Way Will I Get Home' b/w 'After Five Years' (Dark Horse catalog number DH 10007) rating: *** stars
(side
2) Pretty
ballad that showcased the duo's nicely blended vocals. The strings were a
bit overwhelming, but the song's real highlight came in the form of Hari
Georgeson's instantly recognizable slide guitar. For anyone interested
YouTube has an interesting audio clip of the pair performing the song in an
acoustic arrangement for Rochester, New York radio station WCMF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVGKe88sjAU
rating: *** stars Showcasing the pair's nicely blended vocals and sporting what sounded like another George Harrison slide guitar solo, 'After Five Years' was another pretty ballad. The problem with this one was the hackneyed orchestration. The tune would have been far stronger without the strings. The song was also released as a promo single:
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1975's 'After Five Years' b/w 'Half Way There' (Dark Horse catalog number DH
10010) rating:
*** stars Hum,
the pair trying their hands at a rocker. Not entirely
convincing, but a nice change of pace. This time around they
sound a little bit like a second tier Stealers Wheel. rating:
*** stars Co-written by Purvis and Beatles road manager/Apple talent scout Mal Evans, the ballad 'Lonely Man' was one of the first tunes the pair recorded after being signed by Harrison. The tune was originally included in the Harrison produced and Stuart Cooper directed film 'Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs'. Wonder how many folks saw the film ... With Harrison producing, the song was rerecorded for the second album, though the results were no better than the first time around - namely a sappy and thoroughly forgettable ballad. For hardcore fans, Harrison was also featured on guitar with Billy Preston providing organ. The song's history gets even stranger. The tune was released as a Japanese single with the pair recording the song with some Japanese lyrics (courtesy of Japanese actor/singer Nakamura Masatoshi.
- 1976's 'Lonely Man (Japanese) b/w 'Lonely Man' (English) (Dark Horse catalog number CM 2006) I
have no idea where is came from, but YouTube has a short promotional clip
for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb_dLI2toq8
rating: ** stars Reggae ? Seriously, this wasn't a genre the pair should have investigated. If you something like 10cc's 'Dreadlock Holiday' was bad, you might not want to hear this one. rating: * star
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