The Keef Hartley Band – The Time Is Near

The Keef Hartley Band were one of those relative rarities in music: a rock band led by a drummer. A couple of Hartley reissues (The Time Is Near and Overdog) from Esoteric Recordings surfaced earlier in 2008 – my pick being 1970’s The Time Is Near. This horn-driven R&B-influenced jazz/rock (or is that rock/jazz?) took a few spins to for me to latch onto (each song veers off in a new direction), but it’s the band members’ willingness to explore territory loud and soft, fast and slow, that kept my attention. And every song is now a fave. Plus, it’s another chance to hear one of my favorite bassists in action – the late Gary Thain.