Splinter
The Place I Love

A cold Sunday afternoon in January.

I'm out with my dog "Oh, look, there's the antiques market. Let's take a look."

Stalls everywhere. I spot a pipe, an old Parker in excellent condition. For those who don't know, Parker pipes are nothing but a sub-brand of the famous English factory Dunhill.

Unfortunately, the seller knew this, and given the price he asked, I moved to the next stall where numerous LPs are lying around, somewhat haphazardly.

….I search ….I search and….Look at that!

Today is the day of the sub-brands: The first album of Splinter produced by none other than George Harrison and released on his record label; Dark Horse in 1974.

I vaguely knew this duo: "Bill Elliot and Bobby Purvis." I knew that Elliot had recorded "God Save Oz" by John Lennon and, therefore, was in "Apple orbit."

Given the low price asked, I buy it and head home.

The record is in good condition, and the first thing I do is "listen to the cover." It depicts the duo at Harrison's Friar Park estate, and, I must say, it somewhat has the style of Dark Horse, an almost contemporary album by the "quiet Beatle."

The musicians employed are practically the same: Klaus Voorman and Willie Weeks on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Gary Wright on keyboards, Alvin Lee on guitar, Billy Preston on keyboards, and…also…a pleasant surprise: Hari Georgeson on guitar, Jay Raj Harisein on percussion, and P. Roducer on harmonium and Moog; three pseudonyms for the producer George Harrison.

An examination of the record's label: it features the seven-headed horse representing the record company, and the list of tracks mostly composed by Purvis except two credited to Purvis\Elliot.

It's time to place the record on the turntable and listen.

"Groovy Train," a bit Harrison and a bit (a lot) Badfinger; pleasant and, on a first listen, not much more, you realize it grows on you over time by listening to it more, like a French tobacco that shows its best on a warm rainy day at home; at that point, the Beatles-like nuances come out not too mannered.

"Drink All Day" seems halfway between "Sue Me Sue Your Blues" (by Harrison in "Living in the Material World") and "I Don't Care Anymore" (a rare B-side of "Ding Dong" from 1974) even the singer's voice tends to resemble Harrison's terribly, but what comes next…. It's stunning.

"China Light"; "It's not possible!" Pure Harrison: same voice, same sound. A fantastic, dreamy piece, same atmospheres. You sink into that magical atmosphere that only George could craft. It makes you think (perhaps rightly) that if it weren't that, in 1974, Harrison's voice was in tatters, it might be him singing.

At that point, having finished the song, I listened to it several more times. Fantastic!!!

"Somebody's City" a slow ballad where the voices of Elliot and Purvis are mostly their own while the sound and the slide guitar solo make you think differently.

At this point, it's time to flip the record, an almost unthinkable act today.

"Costafine Town" was the first single from the album and was the duo's most successful track. Slow and dreamy, I vaguely remember hearing it in my youth. It was a minor hit on the charts at the time. The production work is meticulous, and it's the track where the imprint of "our man" is felt the least. Beautiful and original.

"The Place I Love" gives the album its title, vaguely country where the "Harrison-esque" voice returns, and the slide guitar and dobro do their worthy part.

"Situation Vacant" another piece that, despite the LP, I immediately listened to several times, wondering what the duo's role was and why it wasn't included on some other work by the producer (or maybe I asked myself why Harrison didn't further develop his own talent as a producer)

In "Elly May" the Moog is heavily present, amusing and not much more; it's the weakest track on the album.

The album concludes with "Haven't Got Time" blues American style with a wide use of horns, pleasant and catchy.

After listening, I thought to do some research on the internet and discovered that Harrison spent more time and care producing this work than his own contemporary "Dark Horse" and, I must say, the results are evident. Those who say this is a George Harrison album composed and sung (or perhaps not) by others are right.

In subsequent years, Bill Elliot stated in an interview that he was not satisfied with the album because the two had been, in some way, plagiarized by Harrison, to whom, however, he credited for being extremely engaging in the production work.

The Splinter recorded two more albums for Dark Horse produced by Tom Scott, and Harrison's contribution was limited to one track on each work, and unfortunately for them, the results were inferior.

Note of color: The record was listened to while smoking a Chacom Maigret (superb French pipe) accompanied by Saint Claude tobacco (equally French).