Touch : Mike Harrison meets the Hamburg Blues Band

Ruf Records Cat No Ruf 1077

Mike Harrison might well be familiar to the more grey haired and balding readers as his more famous exploits stem from the Anglo-American Band of the late sixties and early seventies, Spooky Tooth.

In the music business however, Mike Harrison has a reputation as a fine vocalist and front man. There is an important entrepreneurial man in the record industry who knows of this excellent singer and his name is Thomas Ruf. Mr Ruf (pronounced Roof) is the head of the blues and rock record label Ruf Records. To illustrate the standing of this label you will be impressed to know some of the artists on the the Ruf Label. These include Luther and Bernard Allison, Walter Trout, and also The Paladins among many others.

Thomas Ruf had the idea of backing Mike Harrison with an established and successful working band with a view to cutting a disc (or two). So Mike Harrison was introduced to the excellent Hamburg Blues Band, a group of musicians with a tremendous reputation. The resulting CD is Touch and is a credit to the union of the two parties.

So let's get down to the business end of this review. Actually this CD is more Rock biased but is still a very enjoyable and hugely competent album of songs mostly written by the members of the Hamburg Blues Band, this being Lange/Waullbaum/Conti/ Becker/Brown. The Brown in the credits is actually Pete Brown, the lyricist and who is also the man responsible for the famous Cream song –Sunshine of Your Love.

Produced by the superb Studio-Meister, Jim Gaines, the album kicks off with Hold Back, a great rocker with power chords, hammer-ons, and pinched harmonics. It has a Van Halen feel to it, but all in the best possible taste! Alex Conti on lead guitar and Mike Harrison's cool vocals make this a straight between the eyes opening track-great!

The second track Movin' On starts with a lovely big chord with some kind of Leslie effect on it. Then it goes into a driving beat which is like a cross between Steely Dan and Wishbone Ash. The solo from Alex Conti is marvellous. Mike's voice is the superb too. Good track! The slower number next up is Try Me Again. The jangly chords and guest musician, Ingo Bischof's Hammond B3 sounded excellent. Mike Harrison's voice is uncannily like Steve Winwood! The track finishes with a country blues into rock guitar solo which lifts the song.

On the track Make Me Smile, Mike chants the story as the Hammond floats under the lyrics. The truly superb Dick Heckstall-Smith gives a great Saxophone solo in this song as you would expect from this living legend of the saxophone world. Some nice guitar fills also add to this listenable song.

As the number five comes up on the CD player, Mike sings over the repetitive theme riff of the guitar then Ingo Bischof's B3 comes in again under the guitar chords to fill out the plot. The track is called Security and ends with another good guitar solo from Alex Conti.

Mike Harrison has a chameleon quality about him. This time he goes into Michael Stype (REM) mode to sing the song There's a Road. This slow lament about a train that is leaving has a really nice slow guitar solo in there with some atmospheric Hammond playing from Roel Spanjers. Following on is a country style trck sang by the bands prime mover, Gert Lange. Entitled King of Hearts,it is a very pleasant inclusion to this CD. There is a Bernie Bird Dobro sound in there but it seems to be a little lost in the mix.

Nothing at all to do with Lou Reed who has a song of the same name, Mike Harrison goes into REM mode again to sing Perfect Day. A Peterson/Story composition, it has a strong piano underlying theme which is later complemented by a superb Dick Heckstall-Smith solo. This might even be a soprano sax but I can't really tell. It sounds great. Gert Lange takes up the mantle of lead singer to sing the rock'n' roll style Hittin'The Spot. Strangely, Mike Harrison has his name on the credits for writing the song but merely harmonises with Gert's lead lines. Roel Spanjers excels on rock'n'roll piano and the combined guitars add the Chuck Berry ingredients.Nice.

The tenth track, True Lies has some nice female harmony backing to Mike Harrison's well phrased vocals and some choppy guitar rhythms to create a great mover. Yet another good song.

As a bonus track the powers-that-be have included a Spooky Tooth song, and a live one at that. Another great rocker which puts me in mind of Blue Oyster Cult. Don't worry, this is a great song with Mike Harrison's superb voice and the Hamburg Blues Band doing their brilliant best to re-live a fabulous song from a bygone era. What a success!

This album was described to me as old fashioned, but I like it immensely. I've never stopped playing this CD since I received it and old fashioned or not, I thoroughly recommend it, especially if you are partial to a bit of rocky blues.