Hackensack - Up the Hardway (UK 1974)

classicrockmagazine.com:

"Hackensack were an early 70s hard rock band that boasted one Nicky Moore on vocals and one Ray Majors on guitar. Moore would later front Samson, to say nothing of Mammoth, Tiger and Electric Sun, and Majors later joined Mott, the ill-advised shell of a band that straggled along after the Hoople (i.e. Ian Hunter) left for a solo career.

Which is all very exciting, but what of Hackensack?

Well, they released one smoking single (Movin' On) in 1972, toured with Mott The Hoople, spit out their monstrous Up The Hard Way album in 1974, and then promptly broke up. In the late 90s, a couple odds'n'sods and live collections were released on Audio Archives records, but it is the strident desperado blooze of Up The Hard Way that defines the Hackensack sound. As the album rolls on, it gets progressively more mellow, devolving into drawling country-rock by the suicidal Goodbye World, but its title track remains a tough, slinky proto-metal classic."

rateyourmusic.com:

"Formed by Nicky Moore in 1969 Hackensack were considered one of the heaviest live bands of their day. They only released one album (on Polydor) during their lifetime. Over more than 270 gigs they built up a small but loyal following but weren`t able to generate sufficient revenue to continue as a viable project. Their sound was a heavy blues/rock mix and Up the Hardway is highly regarded amongst collectors and very collectable.

Pye Records recorded a live album at the Cavern Club, Liverpool in 1973 but it remains unreleased to this day.

When the band split Majors joined British Lions and Moore formed a band called Tiger before finding some success with first Samson and then Mammoth. Simon Fox drummed with Be Bop Deluxe.

An album of unreleased material from 1969-1971 Give It Some was released in 1996 as was Live The Hardway which featured live material recorded for Swiss radio in 1973 and part of a live show in Nottingham, England in the same year." (buy it)

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Hackensack - Up the Hardway