Harsh Reality

Harsh Reality was a British proto-progressive rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, in 1968. Emerging from the remnants of the Freightliner Blues Band, the group featured Mark Griffiths and Dave Jenkins on guitars, Alan Greed on lead vocals and organ, Roger Swallow on drums, and Steve Miller on bass and backing vocals. They are known for their blend of psychedelic rock and early progressive rock, with a sound that married elements of Procol Harum, Traffic, and early Deep Purple. Harsh Reality released a single in 1968 and their only album, *Heaven and Hell*, in 1969 on Philips Records before disbanding the same year. Though their time was brief, their album has become a coveted rarity among collectors and was reissued on CD in 2011 with bonus tracks and extensive liner notes. Members went on to various other projects, with Roger Swallow notably working with several folk and progressive acts and later moving to California to continue his music career.

There is also a distinct entity named Harsh Reality, an underground cassette label started by Chris Phinney in 1982 in Memphis, Tennessee, known for releasing experimental and electronic underground music through the 1980s and beyond. This label, unrelated to the British band, was influential in the cassette culture movement and featured many obscure and avant-garde artists. However, the band associated with the listed releases like "Think Twice," "Harsh Reality," and "Trapped" corresponds with the British progressive rock group from the late 1960s.

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