SEA SHANTIES

High Tide are one of those unjustly overlooked groups that rode the tidal wave (pun intended) of fuzzy psychedelia, along with bands like Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Cream, Human Instinct, Sleepy John et al, with the curious addition of a violin player with a distinctive (at times manic) sound, called Simon House, whose creative use of the instrument provides a wide palette of sounds, ranging from regular violin melodies to distorted power chords on par with (sometimes even upstaging) the guitarist/singer Tony Hill, making his fiddle sound more like a distorted guitar or a Hammond organ. Musically, this is Blue Cheer with a violin and some more interesting minor key changes, but not much more than that. "Greasy" would probably be the best word to describe the music on this album, but in its most praising context. The production, however, is horrible, but to attempt to make it superior would be like taking some of the "magic" away.

Overall, an album (and band) not so much for the usual "progressive rock purist" than for fans of late 60s psychedelic/progressive rock (or even Krautrock). A strong three-stars.

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