FEATURING THE HUMAN HOST AND THE HEAVY METAL KIDS

This is without doubt the most bizarre entry in our ever growing database. Hapshad and the Coloured Coat are not in fact a band, but a couple of talented artists/designers called Michael English (sadly no longer with us) and Nigel Waymouth. Their posters and album covers are now collectors items, with examples of the former being displayed in the Victoria and Albert museum in London and the latter including Cream's "Disraeli Gears".

When they turned their attention to recording an album, they brought in Guy Stevens (Procol Harum) and several members of Island records band Art (credited in the album title as the Heavy Metal Kids, but not the later glam band of that name) who would later mutate into Spooky Tooth (also listed on this site). The album was released in 1967, hence its proto prog categorisation, during the evolution of the psychedelic era but well before the arrival of prog. The original LP release is now a highly prized rarity, but Repertoire records have re-released the album on CD and LP for the 21st century masses.

Given the background to the album, it should be obvious that we should not come to it expecting a masterpiece of compositional excellent, and such an approach is fully justified. This is too all intents and purposes a collection of 5 improvisations which are not intended to be taken too seriously.

The opening "H-O-P-P-Why?" has an eastern style repeating rhythm with occasional harmonica bursts, lead guitar intrusions and an incessant chanting of the title. It conjures up a picture of a party which has lasted over long, with people sitting around in a semi-conscious state while one long haired freak suddenly finds a last burst of energy and dances around in a mad frenzy. And so it goes on on subsequent tracks for the full 36 minutes or so of the album.

Very much of the 60's then, this is one of those albums to listen to and wonder how it ever saw the light of day. It's not that it is bad, with the performers clearly having so much fun who could deny them their 40 minutes or so on vinyl. This is though one of those projects all us non-musicians have indulged in at some stage, when we found it was so easy to lay down a basic rhythm and lay random instruments on top of it. In fairness, some of the material here is well up to the standard of some of the avant-garde artists who took themselves far more seriously in the 1970's, but whose output was equally devoid of genuine music.

Call me old fashioned, but while this album may be fun and it may pre-date most of the music on this site, it is not by any means part of the foundations on which prog was built.

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