THERE’S ONLY so far you can go with three junkies and one alcoholic…”

This, legend has it, is a direct quote from the manager of the Sea Hags – a man at the end of his tether having watched one of the most hotly-tipped hard rock bands of their time throw themselves off the edge of the world.

Hailing from San Francisco, the Hags brought a certain (alcoholic) swagger to the late ’80s, with one foot in the vapour trail of Guns N’ Roses and the other in the classic pre-punk attack of the New York Dolls. With producer Mike Clink at the helm, the man who had chastened Axl, Slash & Co. into delivering one of the all-time great hard rock debuts, this one-off wasn’t without its fair share of drama; personnel were replaced, songs heavily scrutinised and instruments re-learnt, but the end results not only speak for themselves, but continue to shout from the rooftops almost 20 years down the line.

What we have here is the glorious culmination of nearly a decade of struggle – the kind of record that should have catapulted the four musicians to seriously giddy heights. They had a major deal (with Chrysalis), ‘name’ supporters in the industry (i.e. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, who produced an early demo), plus critical acclaim from the media that mattered, but a very public fight with a variety of interesting yet largely illegal substances would ultimately drag them under.

Chrysalis, it is said, postponed the release of this record so that certain members could complete a spell in de-tox, yet ultimately it would all count for nought; the band barely managed to stumble through one short tour before the aggregate pressures of frontline rockin’ proved too much for weakened frames to bear. Then tragically, in 1991, bassist Chris Schlosshardt was found dead from a heroin overdose, forever sealing the fate of the Hags and making this record not just a powerful, passionate statement, but a poignant one too.

24-bit remastering from original source tapes, 4,000 word story of the making of the album, previously unpublished photos, all spread out over a super 16 page full colour booklet.

Track listing: ‘Half The Way Valley’, ‘Doghouse’, ‘Too Much T-Bone’, ‘Someday’, ‘Back To the Grind’, ‘Bunkbed Creek’, ‘In The Mood For Love’, ‘Miss Fortune’, ‘All The Time’, ‘Three’s A Charm’, ‘Under The Night Stars’

Bonus tracks: ‘Dog House’ (demo), ‘Half Way The Valley’ (demo)