SEA SHANTIES

Sea Shanties is the debut album from High Tide. It was released in 1969 and it´s a very heavy album considering it was released back then. Many people have stated that High Tide is heavier than Black Sabbath but this is not true IMO.

The music is influenced by some of the heavier late sixties groups like Iron Butterfly, Cream and Hendrix. There is a general dark atmosphere to Sea Shanties which is really great and not something you heard very often back then. High Tide´s Sea Shanties reminds me of another album from that time which was also pretty raw and that´s T2´s It'll All Work Out In Boomland. There is also a clear The Doors influence here. Especially in the mood of the vocals.

The first song Futilist's Lament has clear Cream influences in the heavy guitar while the long instrumental second song Death Warmed Up starts with a clear Zappa influence ( Hot Rats, Chunga´s Revenge) but turns more into a Hendrix like guitar jam, with lots of wah wah and heavy abuse of distortion. It´s a great song. The third song Pushed, But Not Forgotten alternates between subtle vocal parts with violin, wah wah guitar parts without distortion and sudden outburst of noisy distorted guitar. The singing is great in this song.

Walkin Down Their Outlook is maybe the most progressive track here. Lots of dark violin and fast guitar runs. It´s generally a very heavy song. The vocals are good in this song. Missing Out is one long psychadelic jamming song with some distorted stoned vocals and simultanious guitar and violin soloing. This is great and never gets boring. Nowhere is the last song on the original LP and it´s a great song. The intro has again excellent guitar and violin runs while the vocal parts has a very The Doors like quality.

There are a couple of bonus tracks on the CD release but I haven´t heard them so they will not be reflected in my rating. I must get the CD release when I get the chance so I can hear those extra tracks someday.

The musicianship is great. It´s one of those albums where you can hear that everyone is enjoying his part. They are simply on fire.

The sound quality is really great. Very heavy and dark yet everything is clear in the mix. A really excellent achivement.

I have been pleasently surprised by Sea Shanties. I thought I was going to listen to yet another psychadelic late sixties band but got so much more. This album is dark and intriguing and much more progressive than any of the aforementioned bands. If you like dark and heavy late sixties psychadelic rock this is definiely your thing. I think this is a sure 4 star album. It falls just short of a masterpiece IMO, but it´s not far from a 5 star rating in my book.