Rock Workshop -

Rock Workshop was a British brass-rock and blues band that released the 1970–71 CBS albums Rock Workshop and The Very Last Time. The first features Scottish singer Alex Harvey, pre-Sensational Band. Guitarist Ray Russell arranged both albums, which also feature trumpeter Harry Beckett.

Members: Alan Greed, Alan Rushton, Alex Harvey, Bob Downes, Brian Miller, Bud Parks, Daryl Runswick, Derek Wadsworth, Harry Beckett, Ray Russell, Robin Jones

Background

Ray Russell assembled Rock Workshop with assorted UK jazz and rock veterans, including singer Alex Harvey, trumpeter Harry Beckett, and members of Bob Downes Open Music.

Russell (b. 1947) led the Ray Russell Quartet with double-bassist Dave Holland. They cut the 1968–69 CBS post-bop albums Turn Circle and Dragon Hill.

Harvey (b. 1935, Glasgow) cut multiple soul-rock singles on Decca and Fontana, which issued his 1969 album Roman Wall Blues.

Beckett (b. 1935, Barbados) plays on Dragon Hill and 1969 albums by CCS, Galliard, Graham Collier, Jack Bruce, John Surman, Keef Hartley Band, and Manfred Mann Chapter Three.

Saxophonist Bob Downes (b. 1937, Plymouth) plays on 1969–70 albums by Andwella’s Dream and Egg (The Polite Force). In 1970, he released albums on Philips (Open Music), Music for Pleasure (Deep Down Heavy), and formed Open Music, which made the 1970 Vertigo album Electric City.

Trumpeter Bud Parks plays on Dragon Hill and Electric City (both with drummer Alan Rushton) and Roman Wall Blues as well as 1969 albums by Martha Velez (Fiends & Angels) and Champion Jack Dupree.

Bassist Daryl Runswick plays on Electric City and 1970 albums by Blossom Dearie and Henry Lowther Band (Child Song).

Percussionist Robin Jones (b. 1935) plays on Electric City and one track (“Burn Down the Mission”) on Elton John‘s 1970 third album Tumbleweed Connection.

Trombonist Derek Wadsworth plays on Roman Wall Blues, Fiends & Angels, and 1970 albums by Chapter Three, Graham Collier, and one track (“Time Lament”) on Daughter of Time by Colosseum.

Singer Alan Greed hailed from Harsh Reality, which cut the 1969 heavy-psych Philips album Heaven and Hell.

Keyboardist Brian Miller was a touring sideman of percussionist Frank Ricotti.

Rock Workshop

Rock Workshop released their self-titled debut album in August 1970 on CBS.

The album pairs jazz-influenced brass voicings with extended blues-based frameworks and sectional suites. Guitarist Ray Russell engages in layered passages with keyboardist Brian Miller and flugelhorn player Harry Beckett, while Bob Downes and Tony Roberts alternate between tenor sax, alto flute, and concert flute voicings across the album’s broader instrumental sections.

Russell arranged the material and supplied fuzz-toned leads over shifting rhythmic and brass textures. Alex Harvey sings two tracks, including the band’s brassy rendition of “Wade in the Water,” while Alan Greed takes lead on three others. Laurie Baker adds electronics to select sections. Session support includes trombonist Derek Wadsworth, trumpeter Bud Parks, and percussionist Robin Jones, who plays alongside drummer Alan Rushton.

A1. “You to Lose” (6:42)
I. Overture
II. Breakout
III. Main Theme – Finale
A2. “Wade In the Water” (3:45)
A3. “Primrose Hill (Theme for Jake)” (5:20)
A4. “Theme for Freedom” (8:10)

B1. “Spine Cop” (4:27)
B2. “Ice Cold” (3:40)
B3. “Hole In Her Stocking” (4:12)
B4. “He Looks at Me” (9:19)
B5. “Mooncross Grove” (0:31)

Rock Workshop recorded their debut on April 4–5, 1970, at De Lane Lea Sound Studios with producer Fritz Fryer and engineer Martin Birch.

“You to Lose” appeared in June 1970 as an advance single (b/w “Born in the City”).

“Primrose Hill” appeared on Rock Buster, a 1970 two-record CBS comp with cuts by Al Kooper (“Country Road”), Argent (“Where Are We Going Wrong”), Black Widow (“Mary Clarke”), Blood Sweat & Tears (“Somethin’ Comin’ On”), The Byrds (“All Things”), The Flock (“Uranian Sircus”), Gary Farr (“In the Mud”), It’s a Beautiful Day (“Don and Dewey”), Mick Softley (“Time Machine”), Miles Davis (“Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”), New York Rock Ensemble (“Don’t Wait Too Long”), Robert Wyatt (“To Mark Everywhere”), Santana (“Black Magic Woman”), Shuggie Otis (“Bootie Cooler”), Skin Alley (“The Queen of Bad Intentions”), Skid Row (“An Awful Lot of Woman”), Soft Machine (“Excerpt from Out-Bloody-Rageous”), Spirit (“Mr. Skin”), and Trees (“Polly on the Shore”).

The Very Last Time

Rock Workshop released their second album, The Very Last Time, in 1971 on CBS.

The album layers electric jazz voicings over rock and blues-rooted forms, balancing sectional interplay with elongated arrangements. Ray Russell trades phrasing with keyboardist Brian Miller and flugelhorn player Harry Beckett, while Bob Downes and Tony Roberts blend flute and tenor sax across contrasting textures.

Ray Russell arranged the material and composed the bulk of the tracks, while Alan Greed and Ginger Harper alternate vocals. Greed wrote or co-wrote most of side two and contributes organ on “I Think It’s …,” a track co-written with drummer Alan Rushton. Percussionist Phil Wainman and conguero Tony Uter augment the rhythmic layers on select tracks.

A1. “Living Reason” (4:12)
A2. “Street War (Parts 1 & 2)” (9:13)
A3. “Going Home” (5:44)
A4. “What’s Mine Is Mine” (2:52)
A5. “Weeping Wood Mandalas” (1:51)

B1. “Forgotten How to Live” (3:58)
B2. “Light Is Light” (3:48)
B3. “I Think It’s …” (4:03) – organ: Alan Greed
B4. “Ella Banta Dum Bundy” (6:02)
B5. “Very Last Time” (4:21)

Sessions took place at De Lane Lea Studios during February and March 1971 with producer Fritz Fryer and engineer Martin Birch.

CBS paired “The Very Last Time” with “Light Is Light” for a single released on May 28, 1971.

After Rock Workshop

Alex Harvey released his third solo album, The Joke Is Wild, in 1972 on Metronome. It features his younger brother, Stone the Crows guitarist Leslie Harvey, who died that year from an on-stage electrocution. Alex then teamed with Tear Gas in the shock rock Sensational Alex Harvey Band, which released seven albums between 1972 and 1978 on Vertigo.

Bud Parks played on 1971 albums by Bill Fay, Fair Weather, Julie Driscoll (with Derek Wadsworth), and Mick Greenwood.

Robin Jones led the 1971–72 albums Denga and El Maja on Apollo Sound.

Derek Wadsworth joined the Keef Hartley Band for their 1971 live album Little Big Band and played on 1972–73 albums by Byzantium, Heads Hands & Feet, and Neil Ardley.

Harry Beckett continued his Russell association and played on 1971–72 albums by Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, Michael Gibbs, Mike Westbrook, Miller Anderson, and Nucleus.

Ray Russell continued his solo career amid the 1972–75 group projects Running Man, Mouse, and Chopyn.

Brian Miller later played in Isotope, Turning Point, and Harry Beckett’s Joy Unlimited.

Discography: