HAPSHASH AND THE COLOURED COAT (1967 1st Press RED VINYL) spooky tooth amon duul

	£		37
	$		49

CONDITION 

VINYL: VG+ (surface marks/hairlines - plays very cleanly with strong audio. No skips, jumps or sticks)

LABELS: VG (There are some markings in black on the side 1 label, but hard to make out (possibly initials) as they blend fairly inconspicuously with the black colour of the label itself)

SLEEVE: VG (general handling creases & laminate lifting to left front edge / right rear edge. Spine fully legible)

RUNOUT MATRIX: MLL 40001 A1 420

                                MLL 40001 B1 420

REVIEW: Possibly the earliest use of the term Heavy Metal in reference to rock music, predating Steppenwolf by a good year, this album contains little that resembles Metal music - although it does contain musicians who went on to form Spooky Tooth, one of the earliest Heavy bands, and a notable influence on bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc - so there is a link.

Musically, the most interesting thing about this album, apart from the name, the so-called band (who were (in)famous poster designers by trade that corrobrated with one of the best heavy underground bands of the time, namely Art) and the Heavy Metal reference is the somewhat naive and enticing vibe they manage to create.

The opening track, H.O.P.P.Why? seems to predict the more minimal Kosmiche acts - Can spring to mind immediately, and it's not just because this is a simple jam around one chord, as there are lost of little bits floating around in here above the solid, growly bass.

A Mind Blown is a Mind Shown seems to predict Amon Duul in its many incarnations - it may be a jam, but it's organised chaos with a distincly lysergic overtone or three.

This really builds the picture for the rest of the album - a cosmic freakout session that's actually more cohesive than some of the more meandering Kosmiche releases available, and also has a friendly Englishness all of its own - most of this, presumably, due to the distinctive musicianship of the band Art, who more than keep control of the proceedings.

The New Messiah Coming 1985 features enthusiastic shouts of Higher!!!, as bongos are beaten and various other deep percussion instruments make for a quite heavy freakout session with plenty of banged gongs, chiming xylophones and general chaos threatening to overtake and crumble the whole edifice - but never quite managing it. An enjoyable sonic soundscape, even if it doesn't quite warrant the full 7 minutes.

Aoum was the buzzword of many of the hippy communities getting into transcendental meditation - and it's probably Alan Watts fault, among others. This, again, is not the complete chaos it could have been, and puts me in mind of some Gong moments - while, of course, predating that illustrious band. This is a really fun and sensual track.

To round things off, we have the 16-minute superjam, Empires of the Sun, which begins a bit of a rocker (with gongs and soft chanting, naturally!). A wonderful groove emerges before a minute is even up - but due to the freeform nature of the album, this soon gives way to general acidic silliness - as you would hope, really. Maybe 16 minutes is pushing it a bit - depends on your state of mind, I guess...

As a stepping stone from the underground scene to truly progressive music, this is an intriguing document that proves that not all hippy music is boring meandering nonsense - this is actually very enjoyable (and silly) meandering nonsense, and all good because of it.

Unlike many of the obscure albums from this time (and some of the less obscure albums in following years), this one really is a true gem - when taken for what it is.

Biography
HAPSHASH AND THE COLOURED COAT was the third and final name of the British creative partners Michael English and Nigel Waymouth. The two made a name for themselves producing colorful surreal posters in the mid-sixties, primarily for psychedelic and underground bands like PINK FLOYD, SPOOKY TOOTH, SOFT MACHINE, JIMI HENDRIX and many others. In 1967 the pair released an album under the name Hapshash and the Coloured Coat and subtitled 'Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids'. The 'Heavy Metal Kids' were in fact the fledgling group ART, members of which would become the short-lived group SPOOKY TOOTH (Mike Harrison, Greg Ridley, Mike Kellie and Luther Grosvenor). The album is marked by wild psychedelic jams punctuated with unpredictable vocal outbursts, manic piano and rhythms sometimes bordering on both a very early funk sound, and some aspects of world music.

BIDDERS outside UK - please contact seller for p&p shipping rate if not shown. Some locations are excluded, others may require 'Signed For' only postage. Contact seller for a quote before bidding.

GRADINGS:

MINT (M): The record itself is in new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be MINT.

NEAR MINT (NM): Close to mint, like new.

EXCELLENT (EX): The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality despite the occasional superficial mark, etc. No audible scratches or marks. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and /or minor creasing.

VERY GOOD (VG): The record has clearly been played several times, but displays no obvious deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks/superficial scratches. Occasionally a mark or light scratch may be audible, but never seriously. Normal wear and tear on the sleeve, etc, but without any major defects is acceptable.

GOOD (G): The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion, surface noise and audible scratches. The cover and contents may suffer from folding, creases, scuffing of edges, spine wear/splits, discolouration, writing, etc.

FAIR (F): The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump or stick. The cover and contents could be torn, stained and /or defaced.

POOR (P): The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. Useful only as a collection filler.

+ or - signs following a grading are used to strengthen or weaken stated grades.

Any queries, please make contact via ‘Ask A Question’ (below)