With
the Misunderstood
,
Tony Hill
co-wrote epochal
psych-rock
anthems like
"Children of the Sun"
; however, while
High Tide
's sound has roots in the peace-and-love era, the band was also in tune with the post-
psychedelic
comedown at the decade's darker end. On
Sea Shanties
, there's nothing fey and flowery in
Hill
's bleak lyrics or his doomy
Jim Morrison
-like delivery, and psychedelia's melodic whimsy is supplanted by a physicality more in line with the visceral heft of
metal
progenitors such as
Cream
Blue Cheer
, and
the Jeff Beck Group
.
's grinding riffage and searing, effects-laden guitar pyrotechnics combine with the punishing rhythms of drummer
Roger Hadden
and bassist
Pete Pavli
to forge some of the heavier sounds to emerge from Britain in 1969: tracks like
"Futilist's Lament"
are matched only by
Led Zeppelin
for sheer weight.
weren't a power trio, though, and it was the interplay of
's guitar with
Simon House
's violin that created the band's unique signature. Showing that
rock
violin needn't be a marginal adornment,
House
whips up an aggressive edge that rivals the guitar: on the nine-minute
"Death Warmed Up,"
refuses to play second fiddle and matches
's scorching assault all the way, while on the album's other epic,
"Missing Out,"
the violin generates a trance-inducing Eastern groove.
had the muscularity of a no-nonsense proto-
band, but they also ventured into
prog
territory with changing time signatures and tempos, soft-hard dynamics, multi-part arrangements, and even some ornate faux-
Baroque
interludes. Indeed,
"Pushed, but Not Forgotten"
and
"Walking Down Their Outlook"
share common ground with
King Crimson
(especially
Crimson
's mid-'70s work with violinist
David Cross
). Far from the collection of nautical ditties its name suggests,
is an overlooked gem encapsulating the shifting musical currents in late-'60s British
. ~ Wilson Neate