White, White Dove

"White, White Dove"
Single by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
from the album Timeless Flight
B-side	"Throw Your Soul Down Here"
Released	13 February 1976
Format	7"
Genre	Pop, Rock
Length	5:37
Label	EMI Records
Writer(s)	Steve Harley
Producer(s)	Steve Harley
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel singles chronology
"Black or White" (1975) "White, White Dove" (1976) "Here Comes the Sun" (1976)

"White, White Dove" is a song by British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released as the second and final single from the band's 1976 album Timeless Flight.^[1] "White, White Dove" was written and produced solely by Harley.

Background

Although the Timeless Flight album was a Top 20 success, "White, White Dove", like the lead single "Black or White", failed to make an appearance in the UK Top 50 Chart. This was despite the song gaining an enthusiastic response from EMI Records, and receiving sufficient airplay. However, "White, White Dove" did reach #6 on the BMRB's UK Breakers chart on 13 March 1976 (which would be equal to #56 on the UK Singles Chart, at a time when the national singles chart only ran to the Top 50).^[2]

The song, like the entire Timeless Flight album, was remixed and cut at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London.^[3] The song featured Lindsay Elliott, drummer Stuart Elliott's younger brother on congas.

Release

The single was released via 7" vinyl through EMI Records in the UK, Germany, Belgium and Portugal only.^[4][5] A UK promotional demo copy/DJ copy of the single was also released.^[6]

The single featured the B-Side "Throw Your Soul Down Here", which was written and produced by Harley.^[7] The track was exclusive to the single and remained that way for many years until 1991, when it was added as a bonus track onto the EMI CD release of the Timeless Flight album.^[8] It was recorded after the Timeless Flight sessions at AIR Studios. It featured Herbie Flowers on double bass, and B. A. Robertson on piano. One of Harley's popular B-Sides, it has since been performed live.^[9]

The UK release had no artwork and was issued in a generic company sleeve instead, while all other releases featured a full colour picture sleeve. The German release had a similar artwork design to the Timeless Flight album, with the major difference being the use of a yellow background instead of a pale colour. The Belgian release featuring a photograph of Harley on stage, whilst the Portuguese release featured a photograph of the original Cockney Rebel group, who parted from Harley in 1974 and therefore were not the same line-up to the band who performed "White, White Dove" or the Timeless Flight album.^[4]

Following the original release, "White, White Dove" has appeared on various Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations, including the 1996 Dutch EMI compilations Premium Gold Collection,^[10] and The Best Of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel,^[11] as well as the 1996 EMI Gold release The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel^[12] and 2008 EMI Gold release The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.^[13]

Promotion

In the UK, the song was performed live on the ITV music programme Supersonic, and this performance has since been unofficially uploaded onto YouTube.^[14]

Track listing

7" Single

1. "White, White Dove" - 5:37
2. "Throw Your Soul Down Here" - 4:04

Critical reception

Dave Thompson of Allmusic spoke of the song in a review of the EMI Gold 2008 compilation The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. In the review, he stated "The real meat, however, lies among the excerpted album cuts, as the compilers treat all seven original Harley/Cockney Rebel LPs with more or less equal respect - many fans would have drawn a line after the first three. But "White White Dove," "Roll the Dice," and the like all deserve a fresh hearing."^[15]

In the UK magazine Street Life of February 1976, a review of the album stated "Both guitarist Jim Cregan and keyboards man Duncan Mackay are musicians of considerable maturity and sophistication. Professionals with consummate flair and good taste, and the loose-limbed structure of the eight songs here gives them ample opportunity to display as much; there's no denying Harley isn’t generous in this respect. Cregan himself plays electric solos on "Red is a Mean, Mean Colour" and the funk-bubbling "White, White Dove"."^[16]

In the High Pop: The Irish Times Column 1970-1976, by Stewart Parker, the author mentioned the song when reviewing the Timeless Flight album, stating "...The second track, 'White White Dove', is by contrast aimless and tuneless."^[17]

In the American Evening Times newspaper (serving Little Falls, New York) of 3 March 1976, saw a review of the single under the "Sounds of the Times" section. The author Graham Scott stated "Steve Harley can always be relied upon to come up with something original, and he's done it again with his latest release, a track from Cockney Rebel's "Timeless Flight" album called "White White Dove." I understand it's based on the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," with Steve's lyrics added. What it's all about I'm not sure, but the music's certainly good."^[18]

In the American The Miami News newspaper of 28 May 1976, a review of the Timesless Flight album spoke of the song in contrast to the album's theme, with music critic author John Marlowe stating "...What it is, though, is a fine record that shows Harley obsessed with cabaret and color this time out as evidence the title - "Red is a Mean, Mean Color", "White White Dove", and "Black or White"."^[19]

In October 2003, Martin Aston reviewed the album in Q Magazine, and stated "Timeless Flight bears plenty of Harley's melodic hallmarks, but some complex tripwires keep popping up: White, White Dove's borderline-poppy chorus is scuppered by skittish, borderline-jazz rock flourishes."^[20]

George Starostin reviewed the Timeless Flight album for his website and spoke of the song, highlighting the song as the best track on the album and stating "Harley's newly-found love for funky rhythms is amply demonstrated on 'White White Dove', Harley's weird ode to Rosicrucians, of all people, with a very nice transition from the harsh funky verses to the pompous brass-filled poppy chorus and, again, an excellent processed guitar solo from Cregan at the end. So I guess it's the only number on the entire record that shows some ambition where melody and complexity are concerned, and, predictably, becomes my favourite song."^[21]

Chart performance

Personnel

White, White Dove

• Steve Harley - vocals, guitar, producer, writer
• Jim Cregan - guitar, backing vocals
• George Ford - bass, backing vocals
• Duncan Mackay - keyboards, strings arranger
• Stuart Elliott - drums

Additional personnel

• Peter Kelsey, Tony Clark - engineers
• Tony Clark - remix engineer
• Chris Blair - mastering (Master Cutter)
• Lindsay Elliott - congas

Throw Your Soul Down Here

• Steve Harley - vocals, acoustic guitar, producer, writer
• Herbie Flowers - double bass
• B. A. Robertson - piano
• Stuart Elliott - drums
• Yvonne Keeley - backing vocals (multi-tracked)

References