''Harmony Row'' is the third studio album by Scottish musician

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

, originally released in July 1971. The album takes its title from a tenement street in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, near where Bruce grew up.Liner notes to the album's 2003 reissue, Polydor Records, catalog No. 065 605-2, page 10. The street, since demolished, was famous as the largest unbroken houserow in Europe, stretching for over a mile. The album's cover photo was taken near the Harmony Row tenement in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

. Although since cited by Bruce as his favourite solo album, ''Harmony Row'' did not chart upon its release. The album would be his last solo effort for over three years, as Bruce would join the

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

West, Bruce and Laing (with whom he would record three albums) in early 1972. The song "The Consul at Sunset", which was inspired by the

Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list.

novel ''

Under the Volcano ''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by the English writer Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) published in 1947. It tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British Consulate general, consul in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, Quauhnahuac on the D ...

'', was released as a single in 1971 (Polydor 2058–153, b/w "A Letter of Thanks"). On its release, Tony Palmer wrote in the ''London Observer'':

The musicality is polished and exact. The spontaneity of the performance suffers a little, but that is a small price to pay for the skill of the recording. The music flows precisely out of the nuances of the words; their meanings inexplicably linked with the kind of sound produced. It’s almost impossible to imagine the songs being performed in any other way by any other group of musicians.Tony Palmer, ‘Bruce comeback’, London Observer 1 August 1971 p. 24

Track listing

All lyrics composed by Peter Brown and music composed by

, unless otherwise noted. #"Can You Follow?" – 1:32 #"Escape to the Royal Wood (On Ice)" – 3:44 #"You Burned the Tables on Me" – 3:49 #"There's a Forest" – 1:44 #"Morning Story" (Jack Bruce, Peter Brown, Janet Godfrey) – 4:55 #"Folk Song" – 4:20 #"Smiles and Grins" – 6:05 #"Post War" – 4:20 #"A Letter of Thanks" – 2:54 #"Victoria Sage" – 5:02 #"The Consul at Sunset" – 4:14

2003 CD bonus tracks

"Green Hills" (instrumental version of "Can You Follow?") – 2:16
"You Burned the Tables on Me" (remix including electric piano) – 4:10
"There's a Forest" (first take) – 2:11
"Escape to the Royal Wood (On Ice)" (instrumental demo version) – 4:01
"Can You Follow?" (first take) – 1:32

Personnel

*Jack Bruce – vocals, basses, acoustic piano, organ, cellos, harmonica, production,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s *

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

– guitars *

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

– drums ;Technical *

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' (1977), ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(track 15) *Barry Ainsworth – engineer (all other selections)
Track No. 15 recorded at Morgan Studios, London, 6 October 1969.
All other tracks recorded at Command Studios, London, mid- to late January 1971.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Jack Bruce albums 1971 albums Atco Records albums Polydor Records albums Albums produced by Jack Bruce