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7"
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ORC 005EP
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"Hugely obscure, Horace grew out of some informal 'hash' jams that guitarist/bass player Jim Mercer and drummer Ric Parnell held in the autumn of 1970. The music has a strong bucolic yet at times experimental feel to it, conjuring up comparisons with Traffic, Caravan, Frank Zappa's seminal Hot Rats album, and the more pastoral moments of early Stackridge. Ric Parnell, perhaps best known for his role as the spontaneously combusting drummer Mick Shrimpton in This Is Spinal Tap is a revelation as the band's lead vocalist and the tracks are made even more special by Mike Piggott's magisterial violin playing, adding edge, textures and atmosphere to the songs. 'Waiting for the Moon' is a moody blues shuffle somewhat reminiscent of the Greaseband's debut LP for Harvest cut around the same time, whilst 'See the Sun' shines with an exquisite West Coast aura, Parnell's scatting in the closing moments reminiscent of the great David Crosby! The closing instrumental, 'Mongrel Polyop' based around some haunting violin riffs is just plain beautiful - a kind of Brit version of 'Peaches en Regalia' with Curtis's cascading grand piano runs to the fore. The 7" comes in a beautiful full-colour gatefold sleeve, and inner bag designed by psychedelic artist John Hurford with extensive sleeve notes by Colin Hill. Pressed on heavyweight 70g vinyl, it is a limited to 250 copies and is available only on this format."
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