BAKERLOO
Proto-Prog • United Kingdom
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Bakerloo originally formed around 1968 under the moniker 'Bakerloo Blues Line' in the Birmingham area. The line-up then was Dave 'Clem' Clempson on guitar and vocals, Terry Poole on bass and John Hinch on drums. Initially they stuck to a largely blues based set, yet like so many of the innovative acts of the era grew tired of the formula and began to experiment.
They attracted Black Sabbath's future manager Jim Simpson, and attracted a considerable following- enough to win them a slot on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show 'Top Gear'. However, there was a touch of Spinal Tap syndrome with drummers as Hinch was replaced with a multitude of players until they finally settled on Keith Baker. They also decided to drop the 'Blues Line' and became the shortened Bakerloo, and were put on a package tour called 'Big Bear Ffolly' (which inspired Bakerloo's song of the same name) with other local bands Tea and Symphony, Locomotive (another highly innovative proto prog combo) and Earth, who would of course later evolve into the massively successful Black Sabbath.
They recorded their album prior to getting a record deal under the aegis of legendary, recently deceased producer Gus Dudgeon yet eventually, Simpson secured a deal with the new 'progressive/underground' imprint Harvest Records, which housed the likes of Pink Floyd, Edgar Broughton Band and aforementioned fellow Brummies, Tea and Symphony.
Though the album received very enthusiastic reviews and the band had a sizeable cult following, it sold little. This was a shame, because it remains a genuinely 'progressive' album with blues, jazz, classical and heavy rock meeting head-on, yet seamlessly.
However, internal ructions ripped the band apart anyway and despite some line-up reshuffles, with noted rock drummer Cozy Powell joining the band. That line-up lasted a small amount of time before Jon Hiseman, who had been impressed with Clempson's guitar prowess, invited him to join the legendary jazz rock combo Colosseum. Keith Baker joined Uriah Heep for their classic 'Salisbury' album and Terry Poole turned up on blues/jazz rock innovator Graham Bond's albums of the era.
Clempson, after Colosseum split, went on to work with heavy rockers Humble Pie who were a massive success, and Rough Diamond with ex-Uriah Heep singer David Byron, who were not. Clempson continued to work with a variety of artists. However, the other members seemingly fell off the radar after the 1970s.
Still, Bakerloo's one and only alb...read more
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BAKERLOO Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
ALotOfBottle
Prog Reviewer

I think, this album is a true beauty. First time I listened to it, I was absolutely stunned by emotion and beauty of "This Worried Feeling". Clem Clempson's playing is top notch here and is probably his first shine and the reason why he would become such a sought after musician in later years. The rhythm section does a great job here as well. With a jazzy influence, they very proficiently support the overall vibe given by Clem Clempson. "Son of Moonshine" is the proggiest track on the album, a very enjoyable listening expirience with some serious guitar playing.
Definitely not a prog album, less prog than most proto-prog, in fact. However, this still gets four stars for its strong entertainment value and pure emotion that comes through.
Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
stefro
Prog Reviewer

Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
Nightfly
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

Bring It On Home is the Willie Dixon number brought to wider attention by Led Zeppelin's bombastic version on their second album. Bakerloo play a more restrained and no doubt more faithful to the original rendition, though I must admit to preferring the explosive qualities brought to the piece by Zeppelin.
Drivin' Bachwards treads the same territory as Bouree by Jethro Tull being based on a piece as the title suggests by composer Johann Sebastian Bach, though with a faster tempo than Tull used.
Last Blues' restrained beginnings soon give way to more dextrous instrumental interplay before returning to where we started to close. Despite the main appeal of the band lying in Clempson's guitar work, bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker make up a fine rhythm section, clearly evident in Gang Bang which some may be put off by it being a vehicle for a Baker drum solo.
This Worried Feeling is a typical laid back formulaic blues number which is good enough, though not spectacular but as expected Clempson rises to the occasion.
The album closes with the 15 minute Son Of Moonshine, a driving bluesy rocker, the type of track that lends itself to endless jamming that goes on forever..and it almost does!
Overall a decent enough though not spectacular album largely forgotten about today, though no doubt still retaining affection by the largish cult following the band had in the late sixties, in the main down to Clempson's fine guitar playing.
Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator Prog Folk Researcher

These guys were basically a blues band, although there's a fair amount of experimentation going on with this album. This is especially true of the middle part of the record, with the Doors-like dirge vibe of "Last Blues" and the percussion-heavy (hence the title) "Gang Bang". The album doesn't start off as promising though with the decent but unadventurous bluesy "Big Bear Ffolly". The band further bolsters the argument for their being a blues band by serving up their own version of the Willie Dixon Delta-blues standard "Bring it on Home".
But once those two are past things start to improve, beginning with the classically-inspired "Drivin' Bachwards" which is brief and clearly only intended to create a transitional bridge to "Last Blues".
"Gang Bang" features an extended drum/bass solo the likes of which you won't hear on too many progressive music albums. Its great virtuosity, but I can't say as there's anything particularly experimental or progressive about it.
The band returns to their blues form with "This Worried Feeling", a rather lengthy tune full of bent notes and 'done me wrong' lyrics. Considering the times and musicians the likes of which these three hung around with I suppose the sound shouldn't be a surprise, but from a purely progressive perspective this and the first two tracks sound quite dated nearly forty years later.
All is pretty much forgiven with the closing "Son of Moonshine" though, a nasty-lick affair that goes on for fifteen minutes and ranges wildly from stomping raunchy blues to early metal to what almost sounds like heavy funk. This is clearly a highly improvised track with some self-indulgent harpsichord, harmonica and guitar experimentation that doesn't always quite work. But for the most part the sound had to have been influential on later groups like Uriah Heep, Grand Funk and others of that ilk.
I put together a genealogy once that started with Bakerloo and managed to show connections to virtually every other band that is generally classified as "Proto-prog". Truth be told that's only because guitarist/pianist and stylishly "Clem" Clempson went on to a career that included Colosseum, Humble Pie, Champion, Rough Diamond and the Assembly; and because half those bands had members who can be traced to hundreds of other late sixties and seventies prog acts. Drummer Keith Baker played on Uriah Heep's 'Salisbury', and bassist Terry Poole ended up playing jazz as far as I know. Only Clemson really had much of a noteworthy musical career after Bakerloo fractured.
As someone who listened to a lot of sixties and seventies blues rock growing up I like this album, but I wouldn't call it essential, either for rock or progressive music fans. Three stars is fair enough, but I would say it is recommended to anyone who wants to hear a little bit of the transition from Delta blues to sixties rock while it was in the process of happening.
peace
Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
mystic fred
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

A fine, underrated album from a fine British blues band, one I kept seeing on the shelves during the 70's but unfortunately passed up, originally issued on EMI's fledgling "Harvest" label and recently reissued on CD by Repertoire RF4870 digipak. The recording has transferred well overall and is brilliant, very clear though sometimes rather gritty, not a bad thing for a blues band!
Bakerloo, which laid the foundations for "May Blitz" and later connections with "Colosseum" and "Humble Pie" were originally named "Bakerloo Blues Line", and were strongly compared to Cream (as were many blues bands at the time including "Free") and Fleetwood Mac, take their name from the London Underground line of that name, originally called "The Baker Street & Waterloo Railway" (the brown one which goes from Harrow & Wealdstone to the Elephant & Castle), which I guess the band members may have travelled on now and then, though they made their first break at Birmingham's "Henry's Blues House", frequented by the likes of Cozy Powell, Jeremy Spencer, Spencer Davis, Robert Plant, John Bonham, though most importantly for the band Jim Simpson, who had earlier discovered an early incarnation of "Black Sabbath". After famously supporting Led Zeppelin at London's "Marquee", John Peel showcased the band on "John Peel's Top Gear", they then returned to the Marquee to support Jethro Tull, eventually leading to a record deal with EMI/Harvest, which brings us to this great album.
The artwork on the sleeve depicts a group of men surrounding a huge drilling machine(?), I guess the building of the Underground cost many lives, this could be a depiction of the dangerous work involved, the Bakerloo Line first being built just so a group of rich cricket fans could visit Lord's more easily it is rumoured! But to the music - an interesting mix of blues, boogie, jazz and classical leanings here and there.
The first track, a jazzy instrumental called "Big Bear Ffolly", was named after Jim Simpson's British tour Bakerloo were on, which included the fledgling Black Sabbath named "Earth" . This piece includes some fantastic gritty guitar playing from Clempson, and some fast and furious bass/drums from Terry Poole and Keith Baker (coincidentally another famous drummer of that name is relevant!). The band do a brilliant version of "Bring It On Home" made famous to us by Led Zeppelin, and have kept the song to the same style here, though Plant sings it better! "Drivin' BACHwards" ( pun intended!) shows Prog leanings into classical music, using Bach's "Bouree" - the track is a clever jazzy improvisation with some fine playing. "Last Blues" is a slow, gloomy, atmospheric song, "...take me to the train...", followed by shimmering cymbals, howling winds then leads into an amazing blues jam featuring some great Cream-style playing from all musicians. As a big fan of the long forgotten art of the drum solo, the next track "Gang Bang" is one of the best I've heard on record, basic drumming techniques very similar to a Ginger Baker style solo, the track also features some brilliant guitar playing, and the sound quality is really good, you can almost see them drums, and that Bakerloo train clattering, rumbling and rolling through the tunnels - play loud! "This Worried Feeling" is a Fleetwood Mac style slow blues style number, complete with atmospheric vocal and "lonely" Peter Green style guitar, the song drifts into a slow blues including some bar room piano and dirty blues guitar playing from Clempson- amazing stuff. The last track on the original album (the poppy/Clapton/Pagey "Once Upon a Time" and an alternate take of "This Worried Feeling" are on the CD) is "Son of Moonshine", a dirty Tony McPhee (Groundhogs) style guitar intro leading to a blues/boogie rocker, heavy blues at its best!
Overall an amazing though until recently overlooked blues gem, but not by musicians. Any Prog fan even remotely into blues should hear this album, which could create a Prog genre all of its own and could tie in some of the bands included in this review.
BRITISH BLUES / MUSIC RATING 5/5 HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE 4/5
PROG RATING 3.5/5
Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by bsurmano

Bakerloo Proto-Prog
Review by
Kotro
Prog Reviewer

Progressive Blues is something whose existance I've been defending for a while now. And while this isn't the place to rant on about, I just have to praise the fact that some of the who fit that "genre" are slowly being added, even if it's just as "Proto-Prog".
Such is the case with Bakerloo and their homonymous album. A one-shot wonder, this combo of three very talented sessions musicians managed to put out in 1969 this fantastic blues-rock masterpiece, which was a natural progression from acts like John Mayall, Cream and Fleetwood Mac, and a percursor of Zeppelin's and some of Jethro Tull's hard-blues approach.
First track, Big Bear Ffolly, along with the third track Drivin' Bachwards are a couple of almost free jazz improvisations, with hints of Django in the first track and an obvious nod to Bach's Bouree (as it's title indicates), harpsicord included, in the third.Gang Bang also begins in that vein, providing some great guitar riffing from Clempson before giving way to some fine drum soloing, ending with the initial riff. All these tracks are instrumental.
Bring It On Home and This Worried Feeling sound a bit more like typical Mississipi Delta Blues with an harder edge, with very basic riffing, with the greatest show of virtuosism in the first coming from the harmonica, while the blues vocals and guiter dominate the second.
Last Blues and Son of Moonshine are the two most progressive tracks in the album. The first starts of with a nice vocal performance from Terry Poole, very gently accompanied by guitar and bass, but then fades into a fast-paced hard- rock section with great soloing from Clempson. This song has some fantastic production for the time, like the use of echo. The hard-rock section fades out into the beggining of the song as quickly as it first appeared. Son of Moonshine, clocking at almost 15 minutes, is generaly considered the highlight of the album. Starts off with guitar soloing before the entrance of some realy heavy druming.The song is basicaly a long jam-session, with vocals at the beggining that 3 minutes into the song give way to some fantastic guitar work by Dave Clempson leading a strict blues rhythm provided by the drum n' bass, even if at points enriched with overlays. At it's eight minutes, the songs begins to fade out before re-emerging as it begun, introducing some more heavy jamming and great guitar work, with all instruments gathering pace until its almost cacophonic near-end. After another fade-out, the song restarts with some gentle guitar, before bursting out again to complete a series of odd variations.
Bonus tracks on the 2000 re-release are the b-side Once Upon A Time and an alternate take of This Worried Feeling. The first is a nice addition, a gentle rock piece with less emphasis on blues but still featuring great guitar soloing with multi vocals chorus. The alternate take of This Worried Feeling is basicaly a shorter version of the original with slightly diferent guitar parts.
One of the rare but highly apretiated attempts at aproaching Blues-Rock with a Progressive twist, this album is satisfaction guarenteed from the first listen on. If you like Led Zeppelin, but especialy Ten Years After, Cream, early Fleetwood Mac and the lesser-known Pink Floyd takes on blues, then you will definitly love this.