Released at the end of 1969, the title of High Tide’s debut, Sea Shanties, might suggest a pleasant collection of yo-ho-hoing sailor’s songs – but instead, it’s an apocalyptic blast of heavy psych, proto-prog and classical folk that encapsulates the darkness and weirdness of the decade to come.
Formed by guitarist Tony Hill, formerly of garage rock mavericks The Misunderstood, one of the defining aspects of High Tide’s unique sound was the gibbering banshee wail of Simon House’s electric violin. House would go on to play with Hawkwind – one of the reasons Sea Shanties subsequently became highly collectable – but the sonic attack he creates here is equal to anything he did with the space rock overlords.
