{"id":7436,"date":"2015-08-20T14:26:16","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T13:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/?p=7436"},"modified":"2023-08-05T14:46:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T13:46:32","slug":"the-love-affair-steve-ellis-scenester-lp-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-scenester-lp-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Love Affair & Steve Ellis \u2013 Scenester LP Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Love Affair & Steve Ellis<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Time Hasn\u2019t Changed Us\u00a0<\/strong>(RPM Records RPMBXM 526)<\/em><\/p>\n

Of huge interest to blue-eyed soulies and late 60\u2019s pop fans alike, this RPM Records 3 CD set collects together the wildly successful recording career of The Love Affair, and singer Steve Ellis\u2019 subsequent solo work in neat card sleeves, especially for those of you who, like me, hate those awful plastic jewel cases.<\/p>\n

That much of what we hear was accomplished using the cream of Britain\u2019s session musicians, rather than the band, is not something that should concern us. It was common practice at the time, as many now legendary figures have owned up to availing themselves of. When the results are as good as this, who\u2019s going to complain?<\/p>\n

CD1:\u00a0The Love Affair<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beginning with (what else?) The Love Affair\u2019s glorious, life-affirming \u2018Everlasting Love\u2019, the opening bass pulse taken up by muscular brass and Ellis\u2019 heartfelt, pleading voice laying all his cards on the table to the object of his adoration. A triangle interlude provides a moment\u2019s respite from what is otherwise a relentless plea for love to be returned. One of the most successful songs of the 60\u2019s, and still requested on many a nostalgia show today.<\/p>\n

A woodwind intro and a bluesy voice close to cracking characterises \u2018Gone Are The Songs Of Yesterday\u2019, which acts as a complete contrast to the other barnstorming bookend, \u2018Rainbow Valley\u2019, another slice of beautifully orchestrated longing, and another monster hit for the band.<\/p>\n

\u2018Someone Like Me\u2019s slow lament features a highly emotional performance by Ellis, but is easily outbid by \u2018A Day Without Love\u2019, with its soul rhythm, powerful brass, lively female backing vocals and a suggestion of Steve Marriott about the vocal.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s take on eternal standard \u2018Hush\u2019 hurtles along like an out of control train, easily as good as other covers of this wild, unrestrained slice of blues rock. The sub-Marriott voice returns in \u201960 Minutes of Your Love\u2019, with its robust, libidinous performance from all concerned. \u2018Could I Be Dreaming\u2019 s innocent, child-like atmosphere doesn\u2019t quite hit the druggy notes they were doubtlessly aiming at, but is easily redeemed by their take on \u2018The First Cut Is The Deepest\u2019, with a pared\u2013back guitar and horn backing behind one of Ellis\u2019 finest performances. My only grumble is the simplified chorus, no doubt done with good reason.<\/p>\n

A further, this time creditable attempt, at a psychedelic atmosphere in \u2018Once Upon A Season\u2019, with an insistent beat, assured guitar picking, a sitar sound and general air of doper ennui. The finest vocal here is surely on \u2018Tobacco Road\u2019, with its slow, sinister, slap-round-the-face backing, giving a more menacing tone to the proceedings.<\/p>\n

A pleasing suggestion of The Love Affair\u2019s contemporaries and rivals, the mighty Traffic, can be heard on \u2018The Tree\u2019, leading into their quotidian performance of \u2018Handbags and Gladrags\u2019, the presence of a harpsicord doing little but sitting pretty here. \u2018Build On Love\u2019 has a great beat and resolution, but veers about in the meantime, but again, redeemed in the next one up, their fine version of tear-jerker \u2018Please Stay\u2019, with its subtle bass and guitar intro.<\/p>\n

The mind-numbingly traditional pub sing-along makes an unwelcome appearance in \u2018Tale Of Two Bitters\u2019, a thudding drum, boozy piano and cock-er-ney vocal confection, only recalling The Small Faces, and not advancing The Love Affair\u2019s stock one point.<\/p>\n

The orchestration and fine backing of \u2018One Road\u2019 raises us out of the mire, and \u2018Let Me Know\u2019s full throated vocal, hand clapping and wild lead guitar storms ahead, back into more familiar pop territory. The true successor to \u2018Everlasting Love\u2019 comes next, the magnificent, soaring \u2018Bringing On Back The Good Times\u2019, a song which surely deserved better that a mere no. 9 in the UK Charts.<\/p>\n

\u2018Another Day\u2019s Nick Drake-like chord changes please without satisfying, and our first CD closes with \u2018Lo Senza Te\u2019 an Italian lyric to \u2018Rainbow Valley\u2019.<\/p>\n

CD2: The Love Affair<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rousing opener, \u2018Baby I Know\u2019 is a great, dramatic soul track, leading into the fuzzy, driving blues of \u2018Accept Me for What I Am\u2019, with a pleasing soul interlude. No let up as third track \u2018Time Hasn\u2019t Changed Us\u2019 hits us between the ears with its powerful horns. Not for the first time, The Love Affair perform a song in Italian, the soaring melody, \u2018Un Giorno Senza Amore\u2019.<\/p>\n

A couple of covers from their 1969 appearance on TV\u2019s \u2018Colour Me Pop\u2019 follow; the moody cover of Dylan classic, \u2018All Along The Watchtower\u2019, doing it some credit, with its suitably tense organ intro and plaintive voice, and a surprising instrumental of Lennon\/McCartney\u2019s \u2018A Day In The Life\u2019.<\/p>\n

The nervous, rim-tapping atmosphere of \u2018Walk On Gilded Splinters\u2019 heavy blues takes Ellis\u2019 voice from a dry, rough, Eric Burdon cough to a Robert Plant-like shriek, but the band make a wise return to the exuberant pop that made their name, in \u2018Lincoln County\u2019, with Ellis\u2019 voice a throaty rasp.<\/p>\n

The half-hearted \u2018Sea of Tranquillity\u2019 is a rare clunker, but is easily forgotten in the lively \u2018Speak of Peace, Sing of Joy\u2019; an Indian style riff with a flute part that you would swear blind was a Jethro Tull album track. The jaunty \u2018Bring My Whole World Tumbling Down\u2019 relies a little on the admittedly great keyboard, and \u2018New Day\u2019s organ and guitar are a pleasure, but there\u2019s something missing here, and it might be the elusive fire and excitement of their bona fide hits.<\/p>\n

\u2018Walking Down The Road\u2019 has more flute jiggery-pokery, but at least has a good, rasping vocal, a redeeming feature absent from the annoying organ and bass riff of \u2018Gee\u2019s Whizz\u2019, a song which makes an excellent case for outlawing flutes altogether.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Spooky\u2019 style atmosphere of \u2018Gypsy\u2019 does much to make amends for the previous item, with its moody bass and electric piano and excellent vocal. \u2018Goodbye Brother, Farewell Friend\u2019 is a heavy-handed pedestrian piece, with its regretful soldier\u2019s story, but organ interjections do their job nicely.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hurt by Love\u2019 is another step back to their early winning ways, with a great vocal, yet a trippy style to it that would not have sounded out of place in a 1990\u2019s outfit. \u2018Bad Girl\u2019s acoustic intro leads straight into a Stones\u2019 style libidinous rocker, with a touch of prog about it. \u2018Nine To Five\u2019s rocking beat gets a little lost in the predictable hardness-of-life lyric, and our second slice ends with \u2018Thank You Bean\u2019 a mood piece with jazzy piano, the most uncharacteristic departure here.<\/p>\n

CD3:<\/strong> Steve Ellis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the break-up of The Love Affair, singer Steve Ellis pursued a solo career, which is well covered in the third disc to this collection.<\/p>\n

Those of you with a louche taste in cinema may recognise \u2018Loot\u2019, theme song from the film of the same name, based on the Joe Orton play. It features a huge, expansive brass treatment with a hint of Hammond. \u2018More More More\u2019 puts its hand into the soul bran tub and comes up with a rangy brass and piano piece with some nifty electric guitar. The MOR \u2018Evie\u2019 has a fine, typical Ellis vocal performance to liven up this \u2018goodbye\u2019 lament.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fat Crow\u2019 represents a complete break from light pop, with a slow meditation on death; the singer\u2019s or the crows? Who knows? \u2018Take Your Love\u2019 is a more bile-spitting type of kiss-off song, and shows another side to Ellis\u2019 vocal talents. \u2018Jingle Jangle Jasmine\u2019 strips it down to just acoustic guitar, piano and vocal for this steady blues, and is all the better for it. \u2018Have You Seen My Baby\u2019s jaunty boogie, backed up with plenty of brass and piano puts you in mind of Mr Rod Stewart, and no bad thing. \u2018Goody Goody Dancing Shoes\u2019 has a backing vibe reminiscent of Texan beardies ZZ Top, and is one of the disc\u2019s standouts.<\/p>\n

\u2018Good Time Livin\u2019 marks a return to The Love Affair template, with its soaring chorus and powerful brass, in this tale of getting back to the land. Ellis offers up a very different version of \u2018Something\u2019s Gotten Hold Of My Heart\u2019, with rather syrupy strings and a light-touch backing that seem a poor support to a vocal performance that Long John Baldry might have delivered. Ellis\u2019 heartfelt performance of \u2018It\u2019s A Man\u2019s Man\u2019s Man\u2019s World\u2019 goes well with the worried string sound, although may not light the fires of the James Brown fans.
\n\u2018Bread And Wine\u2019 follows the rising, life affirming template that brought Ellis and the band to our attention in the first place, and the slow, soulful performance from Ellis, with some creditable backing vocals, put in a fine performance of \u2018Lean On Me\u2019. \u2018Rainy Night in Georgia\u2019 shows ambition, and although there\u2019s a nice catch in the voice, it\u2019s not the finest version around, and \u2018Holly Holy\u2019s climbin\u2019-the-stairs beat and sitar-like lead weave a good atmosphere from a simple riff.<\/p>\n

\u2018Charley Patten Rides the Delta\u2019 is a genuine slice of blues from one so young, the train sounds adding atmosphere to the splendid organ and brass. \u2018Don\u2019t Know Why\u2019s wistful guitar plicker\u2019n\u2019 chopper makes for a mocking sort of sound, but Ellis take on \u2018Gimme Shelter\u2019 again belies his age, with a raspy vocal and a solid guitar intro, well suited to this desperate howl of a song. The swampy ragtime piano of \u2018Pisces Apple Lady\u2019 proves that Ellis had no intention of getting stuck in a rut, even if the results were less than happy, but \u2018Way Up On A Hill\u2019 takes us back to the Rod Stewart\/Free sound that allowed his voice full rein, a guitar solo and all, which should have provided Ellis with a hit.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Free\u2019 boogie vibe continues with \u2018I Got a Feelin\u2019, a steady truckin\u2019, life-as-it-is-lived song, and \u2018Can\u2019t Stop Worryin\u2019, Can\u2019t Stop Lovin\u2019s Stewart-like raspy delivery is another to enjoy. Perhaps the best track here is the soulful \u2018Take Me to the Pilot\u2019, Ellis pouring his heart into this prime Bernie Taupin\/Elton John offering. \u2018Sympathy\u2019 closes, its urgent piano and horns supporting Ellis\u2019 pleading vocal performance that is all well and good, but a little too familiar to be remarkable. BUY HERE!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of huge interest to blue-eyed soulies and late 60\u2019s pop fans alike, this RPM Records 3 CD set collects together the wildly successful recording career of The Love Affair, and singer Steve Ellis\u2019 subsequent solo work in neat card sleeves, especially for those of you who, like me, hate those awful plastic jewel cases.
\nThat much of what we hear was accomplished using the cream of Britain\u2019s session musicians, rather than the band, is not something that should concern us. It was common practice at the time, as many now legendary figures have owned up to availing themselves of. When the results are as good as this, who\u2019s going to complain?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,71,74],"tags":[750,962,305,1157,1156],"series":[],"class_list":["post-7436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-plugs","category-music","category-reviews","tag-cherry-red-records","tag-rpm-records","tag-scenester","tag-steve-ellis","tag-the-love-affair"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7436"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16290,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7436\/revisions\/16290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7436"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=7436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}