Love's A Prima Donna by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, 1976, in my view, is a concept album. I've realised this whilst also posting on the Forum Questions section, earlier (today):

www.steveharley.com/forum/5-forum-questi...s-a-prima-donna.html


With one eye on the Wikipedia definition of a concept album, the single central narrative or theme is love (including crushes, lust, sex). I suppose I should have picked up on this years ago, given the track listing and some of the lyrics within (and the album cover photography and artwork). I never really thought about it, that way...

The other, in my view, concept album (The Human Menagerie, 1973);

www.steveharley.com/forum/7-welcome-mat/...kney-rebel-1973.html

Personally, (Love's...) is my third favourite Harley/Cockney Rebel album, after The Human Menagerie and The Best Years of Our Lives (1974/1975), respectively. The Psychomodo (1974), comes in at fourth, and Timeless Flight (1975/1976), comes in at fifth, (all) for me. I'm amazed that the first album didn't chart as such but not that Best Years...was the commercial pinnacle.

Being a top 30 (UK) album, 'Love's...' was the last commercial album (though there were more classic songs to follow; 1992, 1996 and 2005) by Harley and one single composed by others (!) ten years later., in 1986. It's difficult (and pointless) to speculate what might have happened, had Harley 'got the part', instead of the severance payment(?)

Here Comes The Sun (Harrison, G) was the most successful single from 'Love's...', making the UK Top Ten.

I was 17 when I purchased the album - only one thing slightly irritated me about IT - (you) have to allow for the fact that a 17 year old brain has not yet had time to make all dendritic, neuronal, connections and dendritic pruning, that it will have done probably by the age of 25 (the downside is some loss of imagination?) - IS that, as a Lancashire lad (born and bred) the depiction of the nubile Lancashire lasses on the closing track...

In the first few minutes of the album however, I loved 'Seeking A Love' (relevant for all 'youngsters') and the way it cuts straight into 'GI Valentine', another fast, exciting, melodious track, a la 'Sweet Dreams' from The Psychomodo, but this time substituting electric guitar for the Cockney Rebel violin. Track 5 on side I is an amazing departure for the writer and a beautiful song, (Love) Compared With You. I found 'Carry Me Again', very catchy on Side Two and the track before that '(If this is love) Give Me More' the most ideal combination of the reality and pleasure principles (to these I have referred before, by Prof Freud). This also features Harley, for the first time, on lead guitar. Despite the moderate success of the album, Harley and Cockney Rebel had a magnificent tour to follow in late 1976 and early 1977 and then, as suggested by (the earlier) Sweet Dreams track (from the Psychomodo), Harley settled in the country to fade (only for a while). X


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