Customer Reviews

Heaven & Hell

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Long-awaited first official re-issue of the sole existing album, recorded by short-lived Harsh Reality in 1969. Digitally remastered from original master-tapes - all 13 tracks from original album, plus 4 bonus tracks.Excellent well researched leaflet written by John Reed - in brief, another excellent work by Esoteric Records.
Harsh Reality was superb, very much underrated and underestimated psych/prog outfit signed to Philips; to my humble opinion very few could equal it and even less - to surpass. They played a heavy mix of prog and psychedelia (not unlike Procol Harum)and also build their distinctive sound around organ and fuzz guitar. Their first and only minor hit - "Tobacco Ash Sunday" - reminds very much "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". Lead vocalist Alan Greed (he also plays organ and piano) is often compared with Gary Brooker and Stevie Winwood - well, let's face the reality, he has powerful lungs and is much better - more in the mould of David Clayton-Thomas.
The album and the band were doomed from the beginning - total lack of proper promotion and mismanagement. Musical press lukewarm attitude towards new release also contributed to its failure - I am sure that very few of those parasites, self-styled musical critics, did ever listen to the album.
Listen to the samples, and buy it - it's for real. It's made by musicians who played music, and not instruments, it comes from the distant past when rock music was not only about money, when the bands were not formed through casting (well, few only), and when at least some executives had vision and passion of music (this knowledge is lost forever, replaced by degrees in accounting, marketing and business administration)

great british prog from 1969 just before the prog boom hit around 1971, this album cover alone was awsome for 1969 considering everything was so much more censored in them days compared to the last 30 years or so, this was a very interesting album for its time, you can hear the traffic similarities as well as a bit of kruatrock and a mix of canterbury in here, this remastered edition from esoteric has a few fantastic bonus tracks as well as a great booklet, ive had this on cd for years as a european boot but its nice to see this finally got its proper release, its well desrved, the remastering makes this opus sound so much better as well, i would not hold my breath for a viynl edition of this but with todays audiofile freaks you never know, i guess they will see how well this cd reissue sells first, this was without a doubt one of the better uk lps to come out in 1969.... great sleeve to considering its halloween...........