Indian Summer
Band members Related acts
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line-up 1: (1969) - Steve Roy Butterfield -- guitar -
Al Hatton -- bass line-up 2: (1969) NEW - Steve Cotteral - guitar (replaced Steve Roy Butterfield) -
Al Hatton -- bass
line-up 3: (1969-71) NEW - Malcolm "Malc" Harker -- bass, vibraphone, backing vocals (replaced
Al Hatton) Steve Cotteral)
line-up 4: (1971-72) - Malcolm
"Malc" Harker
-- bass, vibraphone, backing vocals NEW - Wez Price -- bass, backing vocals (replaced Malcolm
Harker)
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- Badfinger (Bob Jackson) - The Bryon Band (Bob Jackson) - Danny and the Hearthrobs (Paul Hooper) - The Dodgers (Paul Hooper and Bob Jackson) - The Fortunes (Paul Hooper and Bob Jackson) - The Little Darlings (Roy Butterfield) - Monster Magnet (Paul Hooper and Bob Jackson) - Perfurmed Garden (Malcolm Harker) - Ross (Bob Jackson) - Smackee (Paul Hooper) - The Sorrows (Wez Price) - Zips (Paul Hooper)
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Genre: progressive Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Indian Summer Company: Neon/RCA Catalog: NE 3 Year: 1971 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): NM/NM Comments: US pressing; gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: Price: $175.00 |
Drummer Paul Hooper and rhythm guitarist Bob Jackson started their musical careers as members of the Coventry-based beat group Just Us, moving on to the cover band The Rochester Beaks. From there the pair joined the psych-blues outfit The ACME Patent Electric Band (great name). After going through a series of personnel changes, with Jackson switching over to vocals and keyboards, by 1969 the pair had solidified Indian Summer with former Perfumed Garden bassist Malcolm Harker and former From the Sun guitarist Colin Williams.
Over the
next year the band became mainstays on the Birmingham campus and club scenes
attracting the attention of Jim Simpson who signed on as their manager.
Simpson also happened to be managing Ozzie Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
According to
the liner notes on their sole album, Simpson\ arranged for both bands to
play a showcase for Vertigo Records. Black
Sabbath walked away with the recording deal. A year later Indian
Summer was given another opportunity to audition and was signed by RCA's
newly formed progressive oriented Neon subsidiary. Released in 1971,
"Indian Summer" was recorded a
In support of the album Neon pushed the band on the road including a series of open air festivals with everyone from Arthur Brown to Yes. Unfortunately the resulting exposure did little for album sales. Harker subsequently left the band, replaced by ex-Sorrows bassist Wez Price. The revamped band struggled on through 1972 and a tour of Switzerland before calling it quits. Together and apart Hooper and Jackson continued to play and record in a variety of groups including a late-inning version of Badfinger, The Dodgers, The Fortunes, Ross and Smakee. Harker eventually joined his family's engineering company (Harker & Sons Engineering) eventually relocating with his American wife to Seattle, Washington. No idea what happened to Price or Williams.
1.) God Is the Dog (Malcolm Harker - Paul Hooper - Bob Jackson - Colin Williams) - 6:37 rating: **** stars Powered
by Bob Jackson's Hammond B-3 and Paul
Hooper's first -rate drumming, "God Is the Dog" was an impressive
mid-tempo rocker. Technically
Jackson's voice wasn't the most appealing instrument I've heard, but
complete with "church choir" backing, he certainly sounded good on
this one. Add in some interesting lyrics seemingly questioning
organized religion and you had a great opening tune. Opening
with a traditional English folk melody, thirty second in "Emotions of
Men" abruptly exploded into one of the album's more commercial rockers.
This time around the focus shifted between Jackson's keyboards and Colin Williams
extended jazzy guitar solo. Opening
with a galloping instrumental section, "Glimpse" showcased
Williams slick guitar moves and Jackson on Hammond and mellotron. Starting off as a drowsy ballad "Half Changed Again", Hooper's exploding drums saw the song picked up speed and shift in a jazz-rock direction that recalled something out of Brian Auger's catalog. The album's one letdown.
(side 2) 1.) Black Sunshine (Malcolm Harker - Paul Hooper - Bob Jackson - Colin Williams) - 5:26 rating: **** stars Sporting
the album's best riff, the hard rock-ish "Black Sunshine" has
always reminded me of a Spooky Tooth performance; the comparison underscored
by the fact Jackson's vocals recalling the late Gary Wright. This was
a great tune to hear how good a drummer Hooper was. To
my ears the atmospheric ballad "Secrets Reflected" sported the
album's prettiest melody. Here the "catch" in Jackson's voice has
always reminded me of Stevie Winwood. Loved Williams' chiming guitar
and have always wondered how they got the muffled sound on Hooper's drums. Starting out as a progressive ballad, about a minute in "Another Tree Will Grow" abruptly hit the accelerator with Williams' extended guitar solo and Hooper's percussion touches shifting the tune into Santana-esque Latin rock territory.
© Scott R. Blackerby April 2026
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London's Trident Studios with Black Sabbath producer Roger Bain at the
helm. Recorded hastily over a week's time, the album was unique for
the time featuring eight group-penned original compositions.
Admittedly the first couple of spins I wasn't all that enamored with the
results. I couldn't figure out whether this was hard rock,
progressive, or a hybrid of the two. The performances were uniformly strong
and professional, but none of the melodies really jumped out at me.
Similarly, as lead singer Jackson's voice reminded me of a cross between
Stevie Winwood and the late Gary Wright at his most strident. The good
news came from the fact I was willing to give the album a chance and over
time I've come to discover its charm. Not that it matters, but having
listened to the set dozens of times, I've reached the conclusion this is
more of a hard rock effort than a progressive sound. Powered by
Jackson's strong voice (which still remind me of Stevie Winwood and Gary
Wright) and his Hammond and mellotron work, tracks like "God Is the
Dog" and "Glimpse" reminded me of a mixture or Spooky Tooth
and Uriah Heep. Since I like both of those bands that's a good thing.
With the exception of the closer "Another Tree Will Grow"
where he truly cut loose, Williams seldom hogged the spotlight, rather
showed himself to be a talented guitarist with a penchant for jazzy
moves. Check out his performances on "Secrets Reflected"
and the instrumental "From the Film of the Same Name".
Interestingly Hooper struck me as the band's secret ingredient. On
tunes like "Glimpse"
and "Black Sunshine" his performances were uniformly powerful;
tasteful and economic. No ten minute drum solos here. With the
exception of the jazz-rock-ish "Half Changed Again"
there wasn't a dud on the album, though there wasn't a
"breakthrough" commercial moment either (perhaps helping to
explain the lack of sales).
