Splinter Half Way There/ What Is It (If You Never Ever Tried It Yourself) (Dark Horse, K 6413, 1974)
Splinter was a duo - Bill Elliott and Bobby Purvis (both on vocals) who were together from 1973 to 1984.
You'll possibly remember Bill Elliott from The Elastic Oz Band record that John Lennon used to record his God Save Us single http://googoogarjoob.blogspot.co.nz/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50
George Harrison's intentions of signing Splinter to Apple Records fell through but they became the first release on his Dark Horse Records label.
The A sides are Beatle-ish pop songs without the innovative edge that characterised the Fabs. Costafine Town in particular is a fine song though - warm, catchy, atmospheric and expertly played.
Which is not a surprise given the array of talent who fronted up at Friar Park to take part in the sessions: George as himself, Billy Preston, Gary Wright, Alvin Lee, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann are only the most well known.
Half Way There is a folk style ditty - nice and light with nice harmonies, but without the x factor that would make it a hit. Good album track though.
Hidden gems: The pleasant, tasteful soft pop stuff continues on the B sides without really distinguishing themselves or demanding attention - think Klaatu! All songs are from the parent Dark Horse albums.
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