The treasure hunters at Cherry Red Records’ imprint Esoteric Records have released a 3CD set by British progressive rock band Hard Meat. “The Space Between: The Recordings (1969-1970)” is a new, remastered boxed set packaged in a stylish clamshell box.
The excellent collection features all the recordings by Hard Meat, including the albums ‘Hard Meat’ (Warner Bros. WS1852, 1970), ‘Through a Window’ (Warner Bros. WS3008, 1970) and an unreleased album from 1969 that was shelved by the previous record label.
Hard Meat was a British progressive rock group active between 1969 and 1971. If you begin with the first recording, the unreleased album, you will hear good old rock with some psychedelic and blues influences. What’s interesting is how you can see the progression towards progressive rock in the second and third album. In that regard, the third album is the most progressive and attractive.
‘Through a Window’ shows a band that had matured and evolved performing music that was more complex on some tracks, and in my opinion, much more interesting, engaging and creative. You can listen to the progressive side of psychedelic rock, echoes of folk-rock, blues, jazz and other influences, as well as a song that was more pop oriented, probably intended for commercial radio airplay. Although this was not a Canterbury band, a couple of songs have an early Caravan flavor.
The lineup included Birmingham-born brothers Michael Dolan on guitars and lead vocals; Steve Dolan on bass and vocals; and Mick Carless on drums. With time, the musicians added more musical instruments to their arsenal. Michael Dolan played a wide range of guitars and harmonica, Steve Dolan started using bass pedals, and Mick Carless added congas and other types of percussion.
Unfortunately, when the band was reaching its peak in terms of creativity, they disbanded in 1971. Unfortunately, all three band members passed away in recent years. The extensive liner notes provide many more fascinating details about the history of the band and its members.