Ontinuous Performance

Much of Ontinuous Performance (and no, there's no C in there) was already in the can when guitarist Les Harvey was tragically electrocuted onstage on May 3, 1972. The band brought in young guitar wiz Jimmy McCullough (ex-Thunderclap Newman) to take his place, but really, in a band like this, no one could have filled his shoes -- a listen to Harvey's guitar work on the instrumental "King Tut" shows how far he'd come, and how integral his particular style of playing was to the band's sound. Ironically, out of tragedy came a brief moment of success, as "Good Time Girl," released as a single (and, except for gender, it was a perfect Rod Stewart song) hit #12 on the U.K. singles chart. But there was also a return to their blues roots with the acoustic "Penicillin Blues," while "One More Chance" offered Maggie Bell an opportunity to show her soulful vocal chops. However, they blew it during the nine minutes of "Niagara," a piece that, it sounded, was never finished before release. It was would have impossible for the band to let go of Harvey without a song, and it comes at the end of the disc, the ballad "Sunset Cowboy," which is touching and heartfelt. After this disc the disheartened band broke up. ~ Chris Nickson