Hell Preachers Inc. - Supreme Psychedelic Underground (Reissue) (1969/2004)

One of the ultra psychedelic rarities, extremely hard to find, a real gem. Legend has it that Hell Preachers Inc. had more than a little to do with an embryonic Deep Purple. Although the sleeve maintains that the participants and composers are unknown, the fact that this is licensed from the Muller-related Europa label tells its own story! On hearing this you'll be quite prepared to believe that the purps were more than a little involved, and if not, then some German kids are doing pretty decent Rod Evans and Ritchie Blackmore impressions. Plus...it's a darn fine and out-there psyche knees-up too, with the utterly conkers 'Shalom' and 'Spy In Space' contrasting well with beaty stuff like 'Preacher Man'. Rock On! The Deep Purple rumor is interesting, but DP band members (Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, and Jon Lord) deny it. This was, in fact, the only album ever released by Hell Preachers, Inc., and there's virtually no information about them out there. In psychedelic rock circles, this is actually still a hot rumor. First, it's mysterious that there's no more information about Hell Preachers, Inc., and there's always been a rumor that Deep Purple recorded an early album under a different name. On the other hand, German sources claim it was an old Humburg studio project by studio musicians. There is apparently a very similar (and similarly-titled) album called Psychedelic Underground that was recorded by Bokaj Retsiem and released in 1969. So many believe that this Hell Preachers, Inc. album was by Bokaj Retsiem too. Sounds more likely than the Deep Purple rumor, doesn't it? At the end of the day, what does it matter? It certainly is psychedelic.