Hampton Grease Band's only album, now reissued as a double CD, is a one-of-a-kind item, drawing upon jazz, progressive/psychedelic guitar rock, and a generally surrealist bent to back
Bruce Hampton's idiot-savant ravings. Comparisons with
Zappa and
Beefheart are really inevitable, though
Hampton Grease Band really weren't on the level of those two fellow weirdos. They were definitely on their own wavelength, though, carving out a more guitar-oriented sound that skirted even closer to the lunatic fringe. The reissue's enhanced with a lengthy history by guitarist
Glenn Phillips that's crammed with believe-it-or-not anecdotes from the group's fascinating career.