STEAMHAMMER

How it is that this indescribably PHENOMENAL quintessential prog-rock album has only been reviewed by 4 other people is absolutely astonishing, especially considering that this site is taylor made for prog-aficianatos. What's even more bewildering is that 3 of these individuals who DID actually take the time to review this album gave it SCATHING REVIEWS!!!....REALLY??...Did you three actually LISTEN to the album?? Perhaps you guys were flat-out hallucinating?? Anyways, this 1972 album is absolutely brilliant and downright massive. There is nothing else like this recording. The opener, "Penumbra" is 22 plus minutes of pure sonic intensity and is infallible from beginning to end. The dynamically fierce guitar playing, the superb and intermittently strident and cacophonous (in a very, very good way) bass playing (implementing a bow), percussion that is just plain other worldly, and spacey effects make for one bohemoth of a composition. It most certainly merits a spot in my top three favourite pieces of music that I've ever experienced. "Telegram" is also a spectacular and totally unique piece of heavy progressive rock that demands maximum blasting. "For Against" is unadulterated drumming divineness and yet another piece of indisputable evidence that Mick Bradley was one of the all time greatest percussionists ever. It is beyond unfortunate that this supreme talent passed away at 24 years old, for god only knows what this amazing man would have continued to accomplish had he lived. "Speech" was consequently the last album Steamhammer created and to say that they finished on a high note is the understatement of the millenium. This masterpiece has no equal.

I've always had a soft spot for Steamhammer. There's something inexplicably nice about their music. Their albums MK II, Mountains and Speech are all very, very enjoyable indeed, though I personally prefer Mountains above them all. I guess that's because it was the first album I bought of Steamhammer's. I wouldn't say it's prog but I would not say it's not either. I guess a fair judgement would be progressive blues-rock and that isn't bad, I'll tell you. At times I get the feeling of Jethro Tull bar the flute. The music on Mountains is folky, bluesy, progressive and quite brilliant. The musicianship is excellent and really, the album leaves little to miss. I heard or read somewhere that Steamhammer set out making the best album EVER with Mountains. Now, I can't say it's the best albums ever made but it's really worth the effort, money and time if you like proto-prog (which isn't too far off the mark, when I think about it) with rough edges and both feet stuck in bluesy hard rock. Good'un!

STEAMHAMMER came out of the Blues (the first steps were made as a backing band for Freddie King) and attracted my attention due to the forerunner 'MKII' from 1969. Now this album, simply called 'Mountains', saw them underway on progressive rock paths at the latest. Generally noted as the definitive band effort it was recorded by Kieran White (guitars, vocals), Martin Pugh (guitars), Mickey Bradley (drums) and Steve Davy (bass, organ). They have been a very inspired quartet at that time, with live performances standing for wide excursions of improvisations. Sadly though the commercial success failed to appear and when Kieran White decided to quit in 1970, this actually signified the end of the band unfortunately, even though the others tried to continue for a couple of years.

I've purchased 'Mountains' sometime in the 1970s (vinyl of course), where you have to consider that original and re-issue are offering different tracklists. Not a problem at all, I would say, because this only affects the track order. Anyway, two live recordings are given here which left me flabbergastet immediately. The masterpiece couple Riding On The L&N and Hold That Train was recorded at the Lyceum Theatre, London, is showcasing their excellent jamming qualities in the vein of Cream or The Byrds, provided with just that typical twin guitar approach also known from bands like Wishbone Ash and Man for example.

So besides the excellent guitar interaction, a driving groove is remarkable, groundbreaking harmonica and bass solos inclusively. Definitely danceable, thus highly recommended for your alternative party. This stuff is worthwhile alone ... but furthermore you will find high quality studio songs all the way through, outfitted with wonderful melodies to sing along, offering a balanced appearance of acoustic and electric guitar. Something outstanding .... especially when considering the year of recording in 1970. It was a real pleasure to put this into the player again after some time (years).

Nice but non revealing record, I would say that this is an example of typicall blues rock. "I wouldn't have,thought" typicall rhythm with great guitar solo, played with an open and clear sound which breaks the composition arrangement. Nice work by Kieran White and the best moment of the record for me. "Riding on the..."starts with hard march bass, gradually turns on percussion and some dripping guitar. Vocal is attached, after 4 minutes of bluesy melody we got small bass sollo which goes smoothly to White's solo. That and another number "Hold that train" were both live recorded. "Hold..." starts with some harmonica stuff - just like slow version of Black Sabbath "Wizzard" but finished like some of a Canned Head number. rest of material is not worth mention - nothing appeared no different. Blues rock impregnated of progressive connotations but clearly an irresistible.

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

Steamhammer's fourth-and-final album proves to be both their most progressive but also their weakest. Virtually instrumental, 'Speech' eschews the group's earthy blues-prog style in favour of three lengthy, drawn-out, metallic tracks that features none of the funky gusto evident on their previous three albums. The lack of vocals is a genuine surprise, as Kieran White's gruff, yearning tones were an important part of the group's make-up, but it's the total lack of inspiration or catchy melodies that is really noticeable. 'Speech' was recorded and released after original drummer Mick Bradley had died, and for the rest of the group the spark had simply gone, which would explain the going-through-the-motions feel that drenches the album. Maybe they should have stuck to their original bluesy sound and not gone for the bold new prog-rock sound, maybe they should have called it a day after the excellent 'Mountains'. Whatever your view there is no doubting that 'Speech' is a poor end for a once-great band who deserved a better swansong than this. 'Speech' is, simply put, strictly for Steamhammer completionists only. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

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

They were only passing through

British band Steamhammer were a fairly short lived outfit who existed in the very late 1960's and early 1970's. They released four albums during that time, although the final album, "Speech" was posthumous. That album was somewhat different from its predecessors, and contained just three tracks, none of which appear here.

Never a true prog band as such, Steamhammer explored the boundaries of blues rock and jazz rock, creating a powerful, diverse and appealing sound. Despite their short lifespan, the band managed to change their line up with impressive regularity. The core of the band though remained solid during there recording career.

This readily available compilation gathers together tracks from the band's first three albums, plus some B-sides and singles edits. Each album is well represented, the selected tracks tending to be those which featured in the band's live set.

The album opens in identical fashion to the first album ("Reflections") with the brief instrumental "Water, part 1" followed by Junior's wailing". How many people realise that this song made famous by Status Quo was written and first recorded by Steamhammer? The song is a driving blues number with an infectious hook and fine blend of standard blues with modern rock. The set thereafter jumps around between the three source albums, the following two being take from the third album "Mountains". "Ridin' on the L&N" may be over 10 minutes long, but this hefty live offering has little to do with prog. Indeed the song is of the type we would find on an Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd album. We have good lead guitar, a drifting bass workout and a standard blues rock beat throughout. Don't get me wrong though, it is highly enjoyable. The following "Hold that train", also live, is similar in style and theme.

"Passing through", the first of the songs from the second album, "Mk2", is highly familiar to these ears, being one of the best on the early 1970's CBS compilation "Fill your head with rock". It has lost none of its appeal in the intervening years, and still sounds a fresh and punchy today. "Autumn song", which was released as a single, is a folky number showing much in common with Traffic's output from around the same time. The song only appeared as a bonus track on the CD release of the the "Mk2" album.

"When all your friends are gone" from the first album continues the pacey blues rock of that album while "Lost to you", also from that album, slows things down to a more traditional blues pace. All but one of the following five tracks are from "Mk2", although some were originally singles A's or B's and only added to the album later as bonus tracks. Of these, the pulsating "Johnny Carl Morton" is the pick of the bunch, the track being rather bizarrely driven along by harpsichord. "Even the clock", which takes us back to the band's début, sounds like an out-take from a Doors album, complete with organ backing and drifting lead guitar.

The final two tracks formed an A and B side extracted from the "Mountains" album. As singles, they are pretty ambitious and understandably found little success as such. As album tracks though, they work well.

Personally, this collection fulfils all the need I have for Steamhammer's music perfectly. It gathers together a decent cross section of tracks from their three signature albums, and presents them as a coherent and enjoyable hour and a bit. In prog terms, there is little to be found here other than some of the sounds and styles which would influence the genre. As a blues rock collection though, it is worthy of a listen.

Steamhammer are an extreme good band. And "Mountains" is great lbum. In White Blues field... Extreme good (masterpiece?) in Prog field... Extreme good (but not masterpiece). Today is hard to consider "Mountains" a Prog album. But not in 1970.

The best song is "Riding On The L&N", recorded live. This song is simply perfect, boombastic and exciting. In one word: perfect.

Strange the fact that the worst song in this album... Well: In this album there isn't a really ugly song. Only except for succeeded. And in this field a correct example is, for me, "Walking Down The Road". That then it's really little succeed?

So this is another 4 star album in general field. Another obscure great album.

The best term that describes this record is...prog blues, or prog related blues. The basic influence is the blues of famous artists like Freddie King and early Jethro Tull. The lead vocals remind a bit Elvis Presley himself. Some guitar solos also remind Jimi Hendrix: the guitar sound is just excellent for the early year! Steve Joliffe, who contributed for the Tangerine Dream's Cyclone album, plays here some excellent flute parts a la Jethro Tull, a la early Solution or a la Focus. There are some visceral & typical harmonica parts. The tracks are a bit catchy, and some of them retain more particularly the attention. The melodic and galloping bass has a loud & bottom sound. Unlike MKII, Reflection unfortunately has no sax parts, and it is also slightly less progressive. This is a surprisingly good album for 1969.

Rating: 3.5 stars