Mike Harrison 1971 Album

Mike Harrison

Mike Harrison's debut is generally like a continuation of his old band's original send-off platter The Last Puff. The material is morose, singer-songwriter roots-rock, with the odd cover (Cat Stevens' "Hard Headed Woman") placed for effect. This is one of those grow-on-you-over-time records, because Mike and his backing band are content to play the music stripped of flash and power, but to emphasize the subtleties of emotion - whether it is love or pain - when necessary. It's a slight change from his overwrought performances in his former band, but then again, it just goes to show the man had an awful lot of range vocally. The standouts here are the lead two tracks, which function as an impromptu suite ("Mother Nature" and "Call It A Day") and "Pain", which is ironic because Mike sings it in quite the aloof tone, as if pain might be the furthest thing from his mind. The album is fairly short and therefore, might seem inconsequential, but it's worth a few spins.