Post Description

Alex Harvey - The Joker Is Wild (1972)
Classic Rock/Blues | MP3@256kbps | 00:38:28 | 73 MB

“Joker Is Wild was the second album and created by Alex Harvey after the Soul Band. The album was released in 1972. Some time after 1972 the album Joker Is Wild was reissued and repackaged, the album song listings stayed the same, but the album was credited as being made by "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band" even though Alex Harvey wasn't with this band at the time, and the title was changed from Joker Is Wild to This Is.”

Track listing

“1. "The Joker Is Wild"
2. "Penicillin Blues"
3. "Make Love To You"
4. "I'm Just A Man"
5. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (Bob Scott, Bob Russell)
6. "Silhouette And Shadow"
1. "Hare Krishna"
2. "Willie the Pimp" (Frank Zappa)
7. "Flying Saucer's Daughter"”


“Although this record isn't recognized as the first Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alex Harvey is accompanied with all the SAHB's members that is to say : Zal Cleminson on guitars, Chris Glenn on bass guitar and the cousins McKenna on keyboards (Hugh) and drums (Ted). In spite of a bad quality production (many sputterings and keyboards in the background) and the fact that there aren't any "cabaret music" as on the following records (for example "Next", "Tomorrow belongs to me", "Cheek to cheek"...), we can find the contagious joyful, enthusiastic, dementia and unbridled side of the band.

There are many covers on "Joker is wild", and a few songs composed by Harvey himself, as "Penicilline Blues", in which Alex's voice is getting more and more anxious and alarming, because of the subject that deals with the drugs'withdrawal symptoms. Bass guitar roars and is placed foreground, as if madness seemed to smolder...
The other Harvey song is "Flying Saucer's Daughter". Everything is said in the title and the lyrics are repetitive, but it's a real gas to hear Harvey's voice modulations ("she walked like she oughta, like a flying saucer's daughter"), a kind of "Framed" foretaste, really amusing with lots of strange sounds (a kind of helicopter helix sound that grows more and more, leaving and coming back).

Some of the covers are played in a punky style, that's interesting because the songs come from the 50ies. For example, "The Joker Is Wild" is really swinging, the guitar licks blend with Alex's angry voice in the chorus and leaves a great impression on you. Without hesitation, the musicians, already on this pre-sahb album, knew that Alex was their man ! A great combination, as you can also notice on "Make love to you", performed before by Muddy Waters or "I'm just a man"...all the musicians play really well and the wild drumbeat played by Ted McKenna contributes to create that punky tribal style.

The masterpiece is undoubtedly the seventh song in two parts called Hare Krishna/Willie the Pimp. A 11 minute song really incredible and intense, in spite of a rather rotten sound, on which Alex says constantly with a murmured voice the words "Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Hare..." before the exploding chorus break that brings to light his vocal ability to make shiver your spinal cord with the following 4 letter-word "love". Alex is at his best and the musicians add-libb in a creative way, turning that peace and love philosophy song to a wild and disturbing song...A song full of surprises because towards the 8th minute, Harvey gives a guideline to the others and here we are with that Zappa "Willie The Pimp"'s version...11 minutes, no one yawns !
No breaks, Alex Harvey's attack squadron are always squaring up ! The Sensational Alex Harvey Band story can start.