Steamhammer - Mountains (1970)

 

The group's third release, 'Mountains' is possibly Steamhammer's most complete album, featuring amongst it's eight tracks a nice mixture of their trademark brand of earthy blues-rock with tinges of psychedelia and some nicely-judged progressive elements. Steamhammer's career was, unfortunately, a fairly brief one, with their discography made up of just four studio albums, but they were a talented group of musicians whose style developed noticeably on each album, with the straight-ahead blues-rock of their 1968 debut 'Reflections' gradually making way for a more experimental approach evident on each of their following albums and culminating with the epic prog-blues of 1972's 'Speech'. For 'Mountains' the group was four- strong, made up of Martin Pugh(vocals, guitar), Louis Cennamo(bass), Kieran White(vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Mick Bradley(drums) and augmented by sessions players Keith Nelson(banjo) and Steve Davy(organ, bass), a line-up that would soon fragment(due, in part, to the tragic death of drummer Mick Bradley thanks to undiagnosed leukemia) after 'Mountains' release. However, despite their limited time together 'Mountains' features as it's second track an excellent live rendition of the old blues track 'Riding On The L & N', thus showcasing the band's tight interplay in the live arena. And it's a great start to a great album, with 'Riding On The L & N' coming after a cracking opener in the form of 'I Wouldn't Have Thought', a song that starts with a funky, rolling groove before completely hi-jacking the listener by unexpectedly morphing into a mesmerising, deeply-psychedelic and seemingly never-ending guitar solo from White which slowly builds up momentum before the original groove crashes back in. It's a wonderfully eclectic track and it is this mixture of boogie-blues and prog-orientated ideas that gives the album a fascinating slant, cleverly combining toe-tapping rhythms with a highly- orchestrated, multi-layered sound that incorporates elements of early metal and rock 'n' roll alongside the more obvious blues and prog motifs. The group also show they could write more sensitive songs as well, with the beautifully-crafted 'Levinia' showing Steamhammer's softer- side and the final track, 'Mountains', showing off Martin Pugh's wonderfully gruff vocals to full effect. Fans of The Groundhogs, Ten Years After, John Mayall Blues Band, Led Zeppelin and Cream should find much to admire both on 'Mountains' and the group's previous two albums, with the only disappointment being that Steamhammer's career was, simply put, far too short. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010  Review from Progarchives.com

PLAYLIST LINK

Songs / Tracks Listing 

1. I Wouldn't Have Thought (5:39)

2. Levinia (3:34)

3. Henry Lane (3:52)

4. Walking Down The Raod (3:43)

5. Mountains (5:38)

6. Leader Of The Ring (2:48)

7. Riding On The L&N* (10:23)

8. Hold That Train* (5:50)

Total Time: 41:27

Line-up / Musicians - 

Martin Pugh / guitars, vocals

- Kieran White / guitars, harmonica, vocals

- Mickey Bradley / drums

- Steve Davy / organ, bass, vocals

Steamhammer - MKII (1969)

More blues-rock than prog-rock, Steamhammer's second album would see this powerful outfit begin to accomodate more progressive elements into their rough 'n' ready sound, yet also affirm their wonderfully earthy style thanks to that rare mixture of grit and polish that is rarely found in late 20th century rock music. By now featuring their 'classic' line-up of Kieran White(vocals, guitar), Steve Davy(bass), Martin Pugh(guitar) and Mick Bradley(drums) and augmented by wandering multi-instrumentalist and future Tangerine Dream member Steve Joliffe, 'MK II' rivals follow-up effort 'Mountains' for the title of best Steamhammer album thanks to it's nicely-judged brew of ever-so-slight psychedelic ingredients, heavy riffing, old-style blues workouts and the occasional complex musical workout(evident on the superb sixteen-minute epic 'Another Travelling Tune'. Though their progressive rock credentials are rather thin, Steamhammer's muscular blues-drenched musical course makes lightweight groups such as Greenslade, Curved Air and The Strawbs seem positively feeble, especially when the group let their musical imaginations run away with them. The group's real strength lies in guitarist Martin Pugh's dextrous playing and Kieran White's gruff vocals, yet this is very much band music made by men who have obviously been playing on the road for sometime. Later albums such as 'Speech' - their ill-judged foray into prog-rock proper - would find the line- up fragmenting and the original magic slipping away, yet, for a few brief years Steamhammer were genuinely the real deal, straddling the gaping chasm between blues and prog with genuine aplomb. Highly recommended. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2011 Review from Progarchives.com

PLAYLIST LINK

 Songs / Tracks Listing 

 1. Supposed To Be Free (5:59)
2. Johnny Carl Morton (4:38)
3. Sunset Chase (3:02)
4. Contemporary Chick Con Song (3:49)
5. Turn Around (3:36)
6. 6/8 For Amiran (3:04)
7. Passing Through (5:17)
8. Down Along The Grove (0:47)
9. Another Travelling Tune (16:23)
10. Fran And Dee Take a Ride (2:58)

Line-up / Musicians

 

- Steve Jolliffe / flute, harpsichord, keyboards, saxophone (Alto), vocals, wind
- Kieran White / guitar, harmonica, Jew's-Harp, vocals
- Mickey Bradley / percussion, conga, drums
- Steve Davy / bass, guitar (bass), vocals
- Martin Pugh / guitar, guitar (electric), vocals

Steamhammer - Reflection (1969)

Steamhammer's debut is clearly entrenched into the second wave of British Blues Boom along with TYA , Savoy Brown , PG's Fleetwood Mac and others. However , this album has enough progressive overtones to indicate that the next albums will be of more interest for the scope of the site.

There are many fine moments on this album full of good interplay and good songwriting making this album a sort of example of progressive blues and proto-prog. The two part water is actually book-ending the album and some tracks such as Junior's Wailing , Even The Clock and 24 hours are very enjoyable. Hardly essential listening in the Archives's scope , this albunm remains a very pleasant spin in your deck. much better is to come, though.

Please note that this album came out with different sleeves back then and that all Steamhammer records have been reissued on the Repertoire label in the early 90's, although never in the mini-lp format as here on the Italian label Akarma.

PLAYLIST  LINK

Songs / Tracks Listing

 

1. Water, Pt. 1 (0:52)
2. Junior's Wailing(3:18)
3. Lost You Too (3:28)
4. She Is the Fire (3:10)
5. You'll Never Know (3:27)
6. Even the Clock (3:49)
7. Down the Highway (4:28)
8. On Your Road (2:43)
9. Twenty-Four Hours (7:28)
10. When All Your Friends Are Gone (3:49)
11. Water, Pt. 2 (1:44)

Total Time: 38:07

Line-up / Musicians

 

- Kieran White / vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar
- Martin Pugh / lead guitar
- Martin Quittenton / guitar
- Steve Davey / bass
- Michael Rushton / drums