Harvey, Alex - The Blues (CD)

Original release 1964
Re-isse 2006 Walhalla Records

For his second album, Harvey eschewed the full R&B combo sound of his debut for a solo set of traditional blues, accompanied only by a couple of guitars. No one would mistake this for a hard-bitten set by a wizened Delta bluesman, but Harvey doesn't make an attempt to disguise the fact that he's a hard-living, life-loving Scotsman plunging full-tilt into the music he loves. As British trad blues efforts go, this is pretty good. Harvey attacks standards with a gusto that is wrenching and jolly (sometimes both at once) on this set of fairly raw performances.