Rock fans in the early 70s might be surprised that Leon Russell isn’t more of a household name these days. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Elton John described him as an inspiration and regarded him as a mentor in his early career (as well as subsequently recording a duet album, The Union, with him in 2010). In 1973 Billboard magazine named him the ‘top concert attraction in the world’. He was part of the house band for Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh (1971), as well as being a key creative force behind Joe Cocker’s live album Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1970) and, earlier in his career, being a sought after session player for the likes of The Beach Boys, the Byrds, Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass and even Frank Sinatra.

…Shelter People is Russell’s second solo album, released on his own Shelter record label (from which it took its title). He plays guitar, piano and organ on it, but he’s primarily known for his distinctive piano style. An injury at birth damaged some of his vertebrae, resulting in mild paralysis on his right-hand side which affected the mobility of three fingers on that hand. As a result, he developed a style of playing dominated by the left hand – a fine example of the way that restrictions and obstacles can help to shape, rather than inhibit, great art and great artists.

The album itself is a mixture of swampy southern blues, rock, country and soul, sometimes as separate offerings and sometimes all combined in a glorious musical gumbo. It opens with Stranger in a Strange Land, with soaring soul backing vocals accompanying Russell’s own rich and raggedly emotive bluesy lead. Of Thee I Sing sees Russell’s piano taking the lead and upping the tempo for one of the album’s standout tracks. There are three covers on the album, two of songs by Bob Dylan and one by George Harrison. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry is probably the better of the Dylan offerings, with more range and variety than Russell’s version of A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. Beware of Darkness, the Harrison track that finishes the album, sounds different to everything that has gone before, with tabla drums and a definite Eastern vibe that Russell doesn’t necessarily marry into his rich Americana sound. I'm not sure it's a great track as a whole, but but it certainly provides some absolutely lovely moments.

Why didn’t Russell sustain his trajectory into stellar status? His Biographer Bill Janovitz has said that ‘If Leon was presented with a good opinion and a bad one, he always went with the bad one’. That might not work well from a commercial point of view, but it makes for an interesting artist, always willing to push forward and explore rather than simply follow the safe path, which is surely a good thing.