WESTERN FLIER

HAPSHASH AND THE COLOURED COAT may not have delivered the most competent set of albums in the 1960s but arguably this art ensemble that specialized in psychedelic rock posters that decorated all of London during the late 60s was certainly the weirdest act to have unleashed a copy LPs before the 70s emerged. The freaky debut "Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids" created one of the memorable freak out experiences with its bizarre mishmash of psychedelic rock, Indian ragas, group chanting, free folk and acid rock band jamming. The memorable artwork was the perfect representation of what to expect and fit in perfectly with the free for all Summer of Love year 1967.

While probably nobody was expecting a followup, Nigel Waymouth returned two years later without Michael English to create a second chapter of this bizarre mishap of the 60s. WESTERN FLIER came out in 1969 with a completely new set of vocalists and musicians and therefore sounded absolutely nothing like its predecessor. While the debut focused on loose collective improvisational settings, WESTERN FLIER features genuine musical compositions this time in the form of a more folky psychedelic rock. Michael Ramsden provided the lead vocals and the musical accompaniments featured Michael Mayhew (guitars), Mike Batt (piano, accordion), Andy Renton (drums), Tony T.S. McPhee (lead guitarist of The Groundhogs), Eddie Tripp (double bass), Freddie Ballerina (violin) and the backing vocals of The Rock'n Roll Women. This time around even Waymouth got in on the action and provided some vocals. Mike Batt became an official member of the band at this stage.

While based in real melodic compositions, this album is still tripper's paradise with crazy performances however given the actual musical performers is more in line with late 60s and early 70s folk / country / psychedelic rock of the era. One major difference is that there is a real singer with actual lyrics! While the debut provided strange chants and cult leader type evocations with responses from a drugged out group of followers, WESTERN FLIER is filled with the bluesy shuffles, boogie rock, bluegrass and even some honky tonk piano rolls. It really couldn't be more different from the debut! Like the debut it featured multiple album covers but only two in this case and has had the same album title for its entire history.

Sounding something like Country Joe and the Fish meets Wildman Fischer who joined a Krautrock band, WESTERN FLIER existed in a strange new world where the psychedelic 60s suddenly merged with the folk and country rock style that would become more of a thing in the 1970s. The tracks may sound closer to "normal" but the album's flow is quite wild. The opening "Telephone Budreaux" is a one-minute spoken word segment that makes no sense whatsoever but hey, this was the 60s! "Colinda" follows and is a traditional Cajun tune and for some reason was released as a single in France, Germany and the UK where not surprisingly failed to chart. "Milk Shake Knock" also rocked the Cajun traditionals while "Car-Car" turned the catchy kid's song into a rockin' sensation! "Big Bo Peep" is probably the catchiest track with as a heavy blues rocker with an excellent guitar solo from McPhee.

"Blue Narcissus" is a bluesy ballad with lots of slide guitar while "The Wall" is the only truly sounding psychedelic pop rock song on the album with lots of fuzz guitar and lots of backing from the Rock 'n Roll Women vocal group. Sounds something in the vein of late 60s Moody Blues. "You For Ophelia" features an energetic barrelhouse piano blues style and also displays perfectly the limitations of Mike Ramsden's vocal style. The earnest lyrics tend to outstay their welcome a bit. The closing "Fare You Well" is the longest track at nearly 9 minutes and takes nearly a minute to fade in completely. Somewhat of a country rock song with lots of slide guitar and the backing singers actually engaging in a call and response rather than just the usual ooo's and aaah's.

While neither of HAPSHASH AND THE COLOURED COAT's two releases could be considered essential by lovers of psychedelic rock or competent music in general, this second release WESTERN FLIER will at least be recognized as "music." It's a strange followup to the bizarre psych-fueled freak out of the debut but hey, the Summer of Love burned out and ran its course so the hepcat COLOURED COATS moved on as well. While all of the tracks here are catchy and nicely played, the lead vocals are a bit lackluster and the album's a bit all over the place to have a cohesive feel but in a way that's what makes it unique. It's another anomaly of the 60s where the psychedelic 60s butted heads with the country rock 70s along with some old fashioned Cajun and piano blues thrown in for good measure! While still trippy and psychedelic, if you're looking for freak out jams then skip this and go to the debut. However if you have a hankering for some psych-fueled Cajun country rock then by all means jump in!