Stripped to the Bare Bones
| Stripped to the Bare Bones | ||||||||||
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| Live album by Steve Harley | ||||||||||
| Released | 27 September 1999 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||||||||
| Length | 73:56 | |||||||||
| Label | Burning Airlines (NMC Ltd.) | |||||||||
| Producer | Steve Harley | |||||||||
| Steve Harley chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (Stripped to Bare Bones) |   |
| AllMusic (Unplugged) |  |
Stripped to the Bare Bones is a 1999 live acoustic album by English songwriter and musician Steve Harley. The album was produced by Harley and features Nick Pynn.
Having returned to touring as Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel in 1989, Harley and his band would continue to tour throughout the 1990s. Although Harley had performed a small number of one-off acoustic-based shows during that time, his first acoustic tour would be the "Stripped to the Bare Bones" tour of 1998. In August 1997, Harley performed a string of casual, more acoustic-based, shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Accompanied by Cockney Rebel violinist/guitarist Nick Pynn, these shows consisted of music and chat about Harley's career. In November, he also performed an acoustic show at Castlemilk Festival in Glasgow. In the liner notes of Stripped to the Bare Bones, Harley revealed:
"I was invited to do an acoustic show; it wasn't my idea. It all started with the Castlemilk Festival which is basically a week-long folk festival in Glasgow, and they called my agent and asked if I would come and play an acoustic show. I thought about it and decided to take a chance. I really enjoyed it and got a taste for it."
The success of these shows led to Harley and Pynn playing over a hundred dates in 1998 as part of the "Stripped to the Bare Bones" tour. This tour included fifty-four concerts in the UK alone, while around ninety songs were rehearsed for use on the tour. Coinciding with the tour was the release of the new compilation album More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley. Harley commented:
"Your songs are what they are. When I write, 90% are with the piano or guitar with the prerequisite that they stand on their own two feet - maybe not those on Prima Donna which were production numbers - but most others which meant I could get up with an acoustic guitar and sing my songs. That's why the tour was called 'Stripped to the Bare Bones'. We play for 2 and a half hours most nights, about 24/25 titles out of 90 odd we have rehearsed. I've tried a lot of combinations. A lot of songs get one go and you know instantly if they work, and it's best to try them all in public but audiences vary across the country of course. So, sometimes I give them two airings."
In March 1998, as part of the tour, Harley and Pynn played at The Jazz Café in London. This show was recorded using Sensible Music Ltd. and an ADAT system for possible release as a live album. During the show, Harley played acoustic guitar and harmonica, while Pynn played acoustic lead guitar, dulcimer, mando-cello and violin. Speaking of playing with Pynn, Harley commented: "It's a privilege to play with a musician of his calibre."
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