One of the least celebrated, albeit deeply respected, ensembles emerging at the tail end of British blues boom, KEEF HARTLEY BAND were a genuine music institution whose alumni went to grace such collectives as JUICY LUCY, URIAH HEEP and T.REX to name but three and whose five studio albums haven’t lost an iota of their brilliance even fifty years later. As for the group’s concert documents, those are really rare, the only live record released during the team’s lifespan being “Little Big Band” from 1971, with a couple more discs that appeared in the last decade characterized by poor sound quality – which is about to change on April 26th.
What will see the light of day on that date is a double-CD set titled “Live At Essen Pop And Blues Festival” and capturing the quintet of drummer Hartley, singing guitarist Miller Anderson, bassist Gary Thain, keyboard player Mick Weaver and reedman Chris Mercer in top form, the two performances preserved for posterity six months apart allowing to savor the artists’ proclivity for improvisation. A tremendous archival find! Read the review.
Live At Essen Pop And Blues Festival
1969/1970
CD 1 – October 11th, 1969:
1. Too Much Thinking
2. Leavin’ Trunk
3. Just To Cry
4. Sinnin’ For You
5. Rock Me Baby
6. Believe In You (excerpt)
CD 2 – April 25th, 1970:
1. Think It Over
2. Believe In You
3. Leavin’ Trunk
4. Just To Cry
5. Sinnin’ For You
6. Me And My Woman
7. Too Much Thinking
