Formed in 1969, High Tide were part of the wave of 'progressive underground' bands which sprang up in Britain in the late sixties. Tony Hill has a very strange heavily fuzzed staccato type guitar playing style. Sustain is not his bag. The songs may sound like something from a Black Sabbath record, but they are nowhere near as ominous. The songs have a lot of changes to them so this is a band that combines elements of Black Sabbath and Yes, without sounding like either one. Simon House puts his violin through fuzz and wah at times. If you listen to this on headphones too loud, you're gonna fry your hair follicles.

Once espoused by a person who cares as the culmination of true British Psychedelia, High Tide's eponymous 1970 album should be an essential purchase for anyone who really wants to understand just what happened to that lost generation of musicians. Short Answer: They fried. At least that's the impression you get once you have listened to this album enough to discern the lyrics, an achievement in itself considering the intensity of the performance from Hill, House, Pavli and Hadden.

They sound like a hybrid of Black Sabbath and Hawkwind with violin instead of sax. Indeed the front line of guitar and violin in this sort of heavy rock context is almost unique. Guitarist Tony Hill, with a talent for oblique melodies and lyrics, is the main songwriter, but without doubt the outstanding musician is violinist Simon House. His playing on these sessions shows none of the folk or jazz clich�s that rock violinists so readily use. For energy and inventiveness I would compare him to Ray Schulman of the late lamented Gentle Giant. Simon House's post High Tide career took him to the Third Ear Band, Hawkwind, David Bowie circa Lodger, and various solo projects. The powerhouse rhythm section of Peter Pavli (bass) and Roger Hadden (drums) ensured that the mighty High Tide took no prisoners!