Notes

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needledrop

SIDE 1:
1. Gravy Train [Purvis] (4:09)
John Lennon (September 28, 1974): "Here's the first track from side 1 on the Splinter album, and we'll see...it sounded like George on the radio last night."
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Mike Kelly
guitars: George Harrison and Alvin Lee
horn arrangements: Mel Collins
electric piano: Billy Preston
2. Drink All Day (Got To Find Your Own Way Home) [Purvis] (3:24)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
acoustic bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Jim Keltner
6 and 12-string guitars, dobro, harmonium, jew's harp, percussion: George Harrison
3. China Light [words: Purvis & Elliott; music: Purvis] (4:35)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Willie Weeks
drums: Mike Kelly
electric & acoustic guitars, mandolin: George Harrison
piano: Gary Wright
organ: Billy Preston
4. Somebody's City [Purvis] (5:53)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Mike Kelly
6-string, 12-string and electric guitars, percussion: George Harrison
piano: Gary Wright
horn arrangements: Mel Collins

SIDE 2:
1. Costafine Town [words: Purvis & Elliott; music: Purvis] (3:12)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass and 8-string bass, harmonium, percussion: George Harrison
drums: Mike Kelly
piano: Gary Wright
accordian: Graham Maitland
2. The Place I Love [Purvis] (4:29)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Mike Kelly
acoustic & electric guitars, percussion: George Harrison
electric piano: Gary Wright
3. Situation Vacant [Purvis] (4:01)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Willie Weeks
drums: Jim Keltner
guitars: George Harrison
piano: Gary Wright
horn arrangements: Mel Collins
4. Elly-May [Purvis] (2:45)
lead vocal: Bill Elliott
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
acoustic bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Mike Kelly
acoustic guitar, moog synthesizer: George Harrison
piano: Gary Wright
5. Haven't Got Time [Purvis] (3:58)
lead vocal: Bob Purvis
harmony & backing vocals: Bill Elliott & Bob Purvis
bass: Klaus Voorman
drums: Mike Kelly
guitar, percussion: George Harrison
guitar: Alvin Lee
horn arrangements: Mel Collins

On their splendid debut album "The Place I Love", the duo got a big boost from Harrison, who produced and pseudonymously played guitar on all the songs. (The harmonium and Moog synthesizer on certain tracks are credited to P. Roducer; guess who that is? Also, try pronouncing the name of percussionist Jai Raj Harisein). Other musicians included Alvin Lee, Billy Preston, Gary Wright, Jim Keltner, and Klaus Voorman. Most of the songs were written by Purvis, with Elliott co-writing lyrics on "China Light" and "Costafine Town".

While some of the songs recall Badfinger (especially "Gravy Train" and "Haven't Got Time"), most of "The Place I Love" very much resembles a Harrison solo album, but it is more consistent than most of them. Even the vocals sometimes resemble Harrison's; Purvis and Elliott harmonize in a beautifully Beatlesque way. Any Beatles aficionado who hasn't discovered "The Place I Love" ought to search it out. Lost classics such as "China Light", "Costafine Town", and "Situation Vacant" are among the best Beatles songs that the Beatles never made.

Out of all the albums cut by artists in the Beatles' orbit, Splinter's The Place I Love is the one that, along with Badfinger's albums, most deserves reissue. The first album released on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records label, The Place I Love — which did chart — was produced by the ex-Beatle and features the best music associated with him that was heard in the 14 years between Living in the Material World and Cloud Nine. Splinter, consisting of Bill Elliott and Bob Purvis, harmonizes beautifully, and their vocals recall John Lennon and George Harrison at their respective peaks. Coupled with upwards of a half dozen or more guitars (and keyboards, percussion, and Jew's harp) overdubbed by Harrison (working under various aliases, since he was still signed to EMI at the time) with some additional contributions by Alvin Lee), and a rhythm section that included Jim Keltner on drums and Klaus Voormann playing bass, it's not surprising that Splinter's debut album comes off like a cross between the Plastic Ono Band on a very good day and very melodic offshoots of All Things Must Pass in its leaner moments. It really rocks, too — Harrison's guitar playing (six-string, 12-string, and electric) on "Somebody's City" is some of his best and flashiest, and coupled with the duo's singing and Mike Kelly's pile-driver drums and a tasteful Mel Collins horn arrangement, is an absolute jewel, and "Gravy Train," which opens the album, is practically a sequel to "Get Back." "Costafine Town," which made the charts, is a warmly nostalgia-laden tune with a memorable melody and gorgeous singing. Much of this album actually sounds like very good Badfinger outtakes, which makes its absence from CD even more frustrating; Splinter deserved to be remembered, but so far their recognition has only come from the hardcore underground network of Beatles enthusiasts. In 1999, The Place I Love was reissued as a bootleg CD-R with a bonus track, the ethereal "Lonely Man," off of the group's second album, Harder to Live, which features even better singing than anything on The Place I Love and also includes Harrison on guitar.