POP MUSIC REVIEW : Harman Band, Mick Taylor Put On Some Blues That Clash

You might think that the combination of a genuine British blues-rock guitar hero with one of America’s most authentic and exciting blues bands would result in a deeper shade of blues. But while the teaming of former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and Orange County’s James Harman Band on Wednesday at the Belly Up Tavern did have some moments of pure indigo, the combination just as often showed how incompatible varying schools of blues can be.

Taylor’s lyrical, singing guitar leads played a large part in making the Stones “the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band” in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. (Perhaps he doesn’t deserve to be forgiven for quitting in 1974, leaving us to suffer through Ron Wood in subsequent years). Like Eric Clapton and Peter Green, Taylor served his apprenticeship in the ‘60s with John Mayall, and he certainly is one of the most tasteful of the Brit blues-based guitarists.

But taste is a very relative thing, and Taylor came up in a musical framework founded on excess. It was with the British guitarists that solos came to be judged as sporting events, where quantifiable items such as speed, volume and sustain were revered. While some undeniably great music resulted, its players generally went for the obvious sucker punch, rarely becoming immersed in the depths to be found in American blues styles.

The Southern California blues scene, conversely, abounds in players thoroughly steeped in those styles, and who possess a rich, nuance-laden vocabulary and innate feel for the music--not to mention a greater spirit of invention born from that firmer base. After one has heard such local luminaries as the Harman Band’s Joel Foy, ex-Harman player David (Kid) Ramos, Junior Watson and the Mighty Flyers’ Alex Schultz, most so-called guitar gods who dabble in the blues can’t help but seem like boys sent out to do a man’s work.

It may have been inevitable that Taylor and the Harman band’s disparate styles would clash onstage Wednesday, what with only one rehearsal the previous day under their belts. If it was one of the better clashes one could hope to see--plenty of fine music came from both sides--there also was a sense of missed potential, of what could result were their approaches reconciled.

The Harman band opened both sets Wednesday with three numbers on their own, including tunes from their new album, due this spring on the Rounder-distributed Blacktop label. That album finally will give the current lineup a chance to strut their stuff on disc, since all Harman’s other releases, including last year’s “Strictly Live . . . in ‘85,” featured an earlier lineup of the band.

The present band behind singer/harpist Harman--guitarist Foy, bassist Jeff Turmes and drummer Steve Mugalian--has had the unenviable job of following in the footsteps of that earlier lineup, which, with Ramos and the late Hollywood Fats, may just have been the most fabulous, consistently exciting two-guitar band on Earth. With plenty of global touring behind them now, the current band has grown into a potent unit, and Harman is singing and playing better than ever.

They possibly gave Taylor the best band setting he’s enjoyed since, say, 1974, and there were moments when he seemed to revel in the company. The material fell into two camps: blues-standard guitar showcase numbers, with Taylor providing serviceable vocals, and Harman band tunes on which Taylor joined in. It was in that latter category--when Taylor actually concentrated on playing in a band context and on having his solos serve the song--that his formidable talents were best served. (Nevertheless, the delicate art of backing a harp solo seems beyond him.)

On Harman’s Slim Harpo-derived “Swamp Thang,” “You’ve Got to Lose” and the jumping “Nitro,” Taylor displayed a masterful touch. Whether working the fret-board with his fingers or a slide, he still has one of the most distinctive vibratos around, with an expressive, crying, human tone few guitarists can match. On a couple of numbers, Harman coaxed him into an engaging call-and-response, with Taylor answering Harman’s wailing harmonica phrases.

There was also some fine playing in Taylor’s showcase numbers, but often he seemed adrift, playing solo after solo with no dramatic construction or sense of purpose. There was some genuine intimacy and communication in his playing on Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” and Freddie King’s “The Stumble,” but it was largely diluted by his interminable, formless soloing.

Such extended workouts don’t have to be emotional dead-ends, as Foy displayed on the Magic Sam and Otis Rush-influenced “Crazy by Degrees.” Foy looks rather more like a professor or rock critic than a blues guitarist, and his technically tremendous playing can at times seem too studied. Wednesday, though, his fire was equal to his skill, and, in the brief windows afforded by Taylor’s busy playing, he really burned.

Taylor and Harman appear tonight at the Palomino in North Hollywood, and there is talk that they may do some tour dates together. Taylor still possesses a beautiful talent--though it has perhaps been numbed by years of unfocused guitar hero-dom--and one can only presume that he will benefit from this association.