GRAND HALLS 15

INDIAN SUMMER – “Indian Summer” 1971 (Neon, Eng) – Roger Bain is one of the greatest producers of heavy rock ever. Period. End of story. Well, you know it’s not the end of the story, you know I’m going to keep going, so bear with me. Just listen to all the old Sabbath & Budgie records in your collection. He had a way of combining a band’s heaviness and subtlety, bringing out the creativity in them and taking them to the next level. What people may not realize is that this studio god twiddled the knobs for some lesser-known groups like Wild Turkey and Coventry’s INDIAN SUMMER. This band was composed of Bob Jackson (keys/lead vox), Colin Williams (guitar/vox), Paul Hooper (drums/vox) and Malcolm Harper (bass/vox). It’s clear, however, that the stars of the bunch were Jackson & Williams. Through the 8 lengthy cuts here (all in the 5 ½ to 6 ½ minute range) Bob & Colin trade extended, exploratory solos while Mr. Jackson belts out some wailing that even gets into the Ian Gillan area. The entire feel of this record is not what I would call gut-wrenchingly heavy, so those who can only be satisfied by tuned-down distorted mayhem need not investigate. No, this is a deeper, more pastoral form of “heavy” that permeated every band Roger Bain touched and since I’ve first heard the album it’s been one I can grab nearly any time and enjoy. All 8 cuts are great, but when you listen to Colin William’s long-assed guitar solos in numbers like “Emotions Of Men” and “Glimpse,” you’ll fly your freak flag high. A word of warning is that the original vinyl of “Indian Summer” is horrible in terms of surface noise. So, I’m glad to say that this has been re-issued on CD and is fairly easy to find in listenable condition. 9.0