Norman Haines Band “Rabbits ” 1971 UK Prog Rock

Oh! this is killer lp…! of British band of Norman Haines Band.Their album “Den of Iniquity”has gone on to become one of the most sought after collector`s item of the progressive area from 1971.Original in Parlophone records U.k.top 100
progressive rock lp`s on the world…..!

1971 classic Birmingham UK heavy prog album from Norman Haines Band (post Locomotive and formerly Sacrifice). The sound is much like Locomotive with perhaps the odd slice of Arzachel style jamming. Featuring Neil Clark on guitar, Andy Hughes on bass & vocals, Jimmy Skidmore on drums and Mr Haines himself on keyboards & vocals. A single was taken from the album (Finding My Way Home/Rabbits) and released under the name Avalanche! Great cover art and a superb version of the Locomotive track “Mr. Armageddon”. .
Here again the genius of Haines stands out, but the entire record can be considered one of the finest and least-known prog albums ever to see the light of day.
At its time of release, many shops refused to stock Den Of Iniquity, sighting the album’s grotesque cover as just too disgusting for the sensitive record-buying public to cope with. What a mistake. Not only did lovers of prog miss out on a truly great album but also its absence from record shop shelves turned it into one of the most sought-after collector’s items of all time, with originals now fetching more than £1000!
Den Of Iniquity boasts many musical highlights, but its finest moments were two instrumentals, Rabbits and Haines’ Life Is So Unkind. Unfortunately, after the release of one final solo 45, Give It To You Girl, Haines called it a day and disappeared into obscurity, leaving behind not just the thought that a potentially-great and influential musician had retired far too early, but that the legacy of his brief career was one of the most collectable prog albums ever..

This album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and engineered by Peter Brown in the spring of 1971.
Norman Haines is a great keyboard player, whose playing style and sound is simular to Caravans ‘David Sinclair’, or Rarebirds ‘Graham Feild’, and even Egg’s ‘Dave Stewart’ at times. The latter, especially on the track ‘Life Is So Unkind’.
This is some fairly decent British rock, with melodies reminiscent of the ‘Beat’ era at times, the song ‘Finding My Way Home’ for instance.
The band was comprised of: Norman Haines(Keyboards/vocals), Neil Clarke(guitar), Andy Hughes(bass/vocals), & Jimmy Skidmore(drums).
Prior to making his one and only LP, he was a member of the Birmingham band ‘Locomotive’, playing keyboards & vocals with them from ’67-’70.
Basically this album is like a heavier version of ‘Locomotive’.
The album merges several styles, from heavy all out distorted ‘Mike Ratledge’ type keyboards, with bluesy guitar, to a beautiful acoustic folk number.
There are even a couple great tunes where a horn section is used, and brings to mind ‘Locomotive’, or even the band ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’.
If you combined the ‘Edgar Broughton Band’, ‘Rare Bird’, ‘Steamhammer MK II’, and ‘Fat Mattress’ maybe this is what you’d get.
If I had to say something negative about this album it would be quite difficult, though along with a few bands from this time period, the ‘Norman Haines Band’ also had some trouble finding a sound uniquely their own at times, which is why my rating doesn’t warrant a 4.
CD through a Russian label called PROG, and they have quite an extensive catelogue of old rarities. They’re all reissued in mini LP replica type sleeves, and the sound qaulity is superb.
The album cover artwork is one of the strangest I’ve seen also!

The Band

Norman Haines (keyboards),
Neil Clark (guitar),
Andy Hughes (bass),
Jimmy Skidmore (drums)