Ray Russell and Alex Harvey formed Rock Workshop in the early 70's, and it became an expansive band of thirteen musicians, most of which were of the U.K.'s leading young jazz musicians, who created an innovative and technically innovative form of experimental rhythm and blues. Ray Russell recalls that he was playing with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and then appeared in the 'Hair' musical together with Alex Harvey's brother Les. It was from this meeting, and Alex Harvey's involvement on backing vocals in the musical, the idea of Rock Workshop was born. The collective's first album was issued in 1970 to great critical acclaim…

Although history records the last years before Alex Harvey formed his Sensational Alex Harvey Band as a confused period marked by mere passing fancies, none of which came to fruition until he linked with the similarly flailing Tear Gas, he was in fact already blueprinting much of what SAHB would soon be accomplishing via the academically named, but blues-wailing nevertheless Rock Workshop. Harvey appears on just four of the eight songs on its debut album, but the presence of both a couple of subsequently familiar songs and a vocal workout to rival anything on Framed or Next establish them among his finest performances…