Search - Sensational Alex Harvey Band :: Hot City: 1974 Unreleased Album

Call it WIP

Vambo | Cary, IL USA | 04/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The "lost" SAHB album is an interesting artifact, and one every SAHB fan should hear if not own...but I strongly recommend absorbing The Impossible Dream first.



Often times, the early work in progress offers raw and exciting versions of what ultimately makes the final album (a perfect examble is the out-take of Cheap Trick's "Stiff Competition" included as a bonus track on the Heaven Tonight disc). In this case, however, the orginal effort appears at times clumsy and struggling to define itself. The "finished" versions of "Hot City", "The Man In The Jar", and "Long Haired Music" from The Impossible Dream are vastly superior--I suspect because the band had a year or so to hone the tunes in front of live judges/audience.



The liner notes are fantastic, as it's mostly Chris and Ted commenting as they listen to this album for what has to be the first time in 35 years. Their mostly critical comments are dead-on, and support the reason the band shelved this album and went back to the drawing board with this material.



The huge exception here is "Tomahawk Kid", this early version puts the version from Impossible Dream to shame and is much closer to the version on the Live album. This tune alone makes "Hot City" worth acquiring.



As an aside, it's fantastic that the band even re-recorded "Hey You" for Impossible, so complete was the re-work."

And 35 Years Later!

Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 07/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The back story to this previously unreleased album is fascinating....the band went into the studio with ace producer Shel Talmy (the Easybeats, The Who, The Kinks, musical score for Be My Guest) for a serious of recording sessions that ultimately ended up in a vault to gather dust for a "mere" 35 years. Former SAHB manager Martin Kielty signed off on its release, which occurred in March 2009.



It was well worth the wait.



The material is extremely strong - Vambo, Man in the Jar, Tomahawk Kid, Anthem - with one real surprise track, Ace in the Hole, that is worth the price of admission for long-time fans of the band. There are alternate versions of Anthem & Tomahawk Kid and an impressive 20-page booklet.



Rarely does digging through a vault yield such a gem of a find. Not only is this an incredibly solid album, the historical aspect - hearing a number of top tracks in their original mix - cannot be casually dismissed.



"