GRAVY TRAIN

GRAVY TRAIN were an English melodic prog band, established in St. Helens, Lancashire in 1969. The band never quite managed to make it onto the gravy train of success with their four studio albums. Their eponymous debut album "Gravy Train" (1970) had a heavier sound than the album reviewed here. This second album "(A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man" (1971) features lush string arrangements and is widely regarded to be their best album. Gravy Train followed it up with two further albums:- "Second Birth" (1973); and "Staircase to the Day" (1974). This fourth and final album with a new producer was highly- rated, but sadly, the band decided to call it a day after becoming demoralised when their precious music equipment was stolen from the back of their van. Such are the harsh realities of the music business - an unforgiving world of dashed hopes and broken dreams.

This is an album of two halves - just like a game of soccer - with the three big romantic ballads grouped together on Side One and all of the powerful heavy rockers on Side Two. "Alone in Georgia" is a tremendous album opener. It's a really big production number that Phil Spector would have been proud of, featuring lush strings and rich orchestration with the bereft singer passionately pouring his heart out over his lost love, in true romantic balladeer style. This emotionally-rich and powerful ballad is a resonant Wall of Sound that really tugs at the heartstrings with its impassioned and melodramatic lyrics:- "Left me alone in Georgia, Left me alone inside a city, Why did she go without saying, Why did she leave without a goodbye?" ..... You'd need a heart of stone not to moved by this rousing romantic rhapsody. And now we come to the title track "Ballad of a Peaceful Man", opening to the sound of a flirtatious flute and sweeping strings. This is no gentle ballad though. This is a surging and passionate power ballad that emerges into a sonorous symphony of sound with a powerful anti- war message contained within the lyrics:- "Every time I look upon the market square, There's a monument erected to the dead who fell in war, Pardon me for crying, But I've seen the sight before, I hope it never comes again, Make your mind up, It's our only chance, To live in peace or set the world alight, Alight, yeah!" ..... Amen to that! Make Love, Not War. It's a stark reminder that this song was written at the height of the Cold War, when the fate of the world was very much in the balance. The third song "Jule's Delight" really is a delight to listen to. It's a gorgeous flute-driven melody floating on a symphony of sensational strings. This dramatic music might not quite reach the sublime heights of "Nights in White Satin" or a "Whiter Shade of Pale", but it's a marvellously-rich, mellifluous melody that's best listened to at night between silken sheets of pale satin - preferably with a romantic partner for company.

The opening song on Side Two, "Messenger", is very reminiscent of Jethro Tull. It's a proggy and playful flute-driven song but with a powerful anti-war message contained within the lyrics:- "Messenger swift, Won't you tell me the words that you carry, Stop for a moment and lie with me, I pray you'll tarry, Five more young men who'll never be able to marry, How long will this war last before you die too? Before you die too?" ..... The sound of the flighty flute in the opening brings to mind the merry minstrel Ian Anderson standing on one leg with flute in hand, but it's really another dark tale about the horrors of war. Don't get too downhearted though, because there's a splash of vivid psychedelic colours in a wild and unrestrained fuzz-toned guitar jamboree for the golden grand finale. The next song, "Can Anybody Hear Me?", is a raucous out-and-out rocker with the raspy-voiced singer giving it his all. Everyone can hear him sing this song, including the neighbours, if you play this music LOUD like it's meant to be played. Again, the music sounds like Jethro Tull, but this is Jethro Tull given a burst of high-energy, foot-stomping adrenalin. This is heavy-duty rock wearing Doc Marten boots, a hard hat and a yellow fluorescent jacket. Next up is "Old Tin Box" which rattles nicely along like..... an old tin box. It's an upbeat and up-tempo Jazz-Rock number featuring the soaring sound of a saxophone. The steady rhythmical beat is redolent of a train rattling down the tracks, so make way because this is no gravy train - this is more like an unstoppable diesel locomotive going full speed ahead. There's no let-up either for "Won't Talk About It", because this is another hard-rocking song with a take-no-prisoners attitude. It's raw and aggressive Blues-Rock where the singer sounds like he's had a bad day, but he doesn't want to talk about it, so stay out of his way. There's no doubt about it, "Won't Talk About It" is the heaviest song on the album by far. Think of Deep Purple with a flute, and that's the powerful song we have here. We're "Home Again" now for the final song on the album, which has something of a tribal native American rhythm to it, so it might just be time to get out the peace pipe and do a rain dance before returning "Home Again" to the comfort of the wigwam for the evening.

Gravy Train have really surpassed themselves with this marvellous melange of music, featuring big romantic orchestral numbers on Side One and hard and heavy rockers on Side Two. Their first album was pretty good, but they've gone one better with this album by incorporating some lovely sweeping string arrangements, giving the music a rich orchestrated fullness. This superb second album should have put them on the gravy train to success, but sadly, it wasn't to be. They were just one of many promising British prog bands who fell by the wayside in the early 1970's, but on a brighter note, they stuck around just long enough to record four great albums, which have now been given a new lease of life thanks to the modern wonder of the Internet.

Make that 2.67. The buzz on the street on Gravy Train's fourth album Staircase to the Day is that it represents the band's finest hour. I certainly do not think so and am prepared to explain why. In a nutshell, it is too funky, frolicking and diverse for my tastes. I prefer a rockier, more somber sound. This I found on Gravy Train's first album. That work has the additional advantage of weaving together unusual instrument combinations, strange moods and trippy jams, little of which surfaces on Staircase to the Day.

'Starlight Starbright' does have a rarified melody and a pageant of instrumental activity grooving in the background. I can't help finding the choruses of 'yeah' and the uttering of the words 'Starlight, starbright' corny. Yet on this track the band has made a considerable achievement; they have captured the spirit of Yes in a slightly harder, more driving fashion with a lower-register vocal. I actually have met Jon Anderson haters, who unlike devotees like myself, find his sweet countertenor sickening rather than angelic. (Even the best vocalists have their detractors; a few people find Bruce Dickinson annoying, as well.) Gravy Train's biggest claim to notoriety could very well be their uncanny ability to emulate Yes without parroting, not an easy feat.

On a couple tracks Norman Barrett's voice seems a bit gravelly and hoarse. This is just simply irritating. Furthermore some tracks seem lightweight and contrived. This is the case, for instance, on 'Bring my life on Back to Me.' Here liberal use of a piano contributes to a mood of frivolity. I have always thought piano is difficult instrument to integrate into prog. rock and rock and general. Beckett and Journey succeed marvelously in my estimate. 'Bring my Life back to Me' borders on the ridiculous. Too bad because its message is pretty grave, it appears from a peak I was finally able to take at the lyrics. 'Evening of my Life' here on Staircase to the Day is as piano saturated and no less odd.

Some tracks capture the blues-based escapades of the debut but don't fully reach that level of mood and nuance. 'Never wanted You' fits this description. 'Going for a Quick One' occasionally delivers a very juicy chord change or pattern but altogether is so funky to be dated sounding and with a completely overcooked vocal. 'The Last Day' reminds me of a lighter Grateful Dead 'Fire on the Mountain,' replete with an obnoxious vocal.

Some tracks like the title piece have the complexity, introspection and build of tension I look for in a prog. record. By all measure 'Staircase to the Day' is a remarkable, intricate epic, the likes of which most bands would be pressed to achieve. Gravy Train brews up a cauldron of spellbinding instrumental magic in the jam following the main theme of 'Busted in Schenectady.' The first part of this song is the whimsical musical throwaway I have come to expect from this album after the several largely uninspired cuts. Then suddenly at the eleventh hour, this record goes places and how! And just when it's getting good and really grooving, it ends! The band could have run with that rollicking vibe another couple minutes.

MAKE THAT 4.5 STARS, I only recently found out about Gravy Train but have been quite impressed. This debut is a masterpiece. From the opening strains, it is a cavalcade of catchy riffs, blues and rich instrumentation. 'The New One' features ample flute and several sections: never a dull moment. The moodier 'Dedication to Sid' dishes up of course the trademark flute but also fuzz guitar, tribal drums and a pensive vocal. The only detracting factor is vocal overdubs in an annoying extreme falsetto. The flute and guitar interplay and get both psychedelic and soulful on this track. Then the song takes off on a spacy journey where the drum assumes a heartbeat style and guitar feedbacks, later building to crescendo with the expressive flute.

'Coast Road' is a bonafide blues track, but far more engaging than most blues numbers because it's anchored by flute and fuzz guitar -- not your typical blues instruments for sure, and ones to add much texture and depth to this tried and true musical form. Later on the song becomes more cookie cutter and rambly with the addition of harmonica and lack of any new motifs to move it beyond the blues formula. And the band insists on droning on over six minutes for no clear reason. A soaring and fluid sax does furnish some additional focus. The amateurish sounding vocal enters briefly late in the song and very well could have been omitted altogether for better effect.

'Enterprise' along with 'Think of Life' are the album's most memorable songs. Laughter and snippets of conversation near the beginning of "Enterprise" lay down a playful mood. This counterbalances the forceful and intense main theme on flute and drums. This very tight jam well contrasts to the introspective, thumping vocal theme. Though some will undoubtedly find the lyric forced, to me it's so hyperbolic as to be sublime, a case of the cheesier the better. Not easily dismissed is the perfect proggy flute accents. And I want to praise the vocals a little more: the delivery is superior to anything on the album. A later much darker vocal bridge illustrates singer Norman Barrett's versatility. A lengthy very intense flute solo interwoven with the darker vocal takes things to new heights.

'Think of Life' begins with similar vocal silliness to 'Enterprise.' This one is a pounder, very enjoyable if the lyric only wouldn't get insipid in spots. But 'Think of Life' levitates towards the stratosphere in the middle and never lets up until it's completely out of sight.

The final track, 'Earl of Pocket Nook' very skillfully walks a line between lightheartness and wistful melancholy. The vocal aids this unusual mood. Again the flute and fuzz guitar are the perfect implements to relay this adventure in sound. This track oozes '60s hippiedom. The vibe is just a touch retro. Soloing makes the most use of Hughes' bluesy saxes than any of the prior tracks. 'Earl of Pocket Nook' is the longest number on the album, and time is used wisely. Things start getting weird past the six minute mark with the sax on a never-ending but much variegated solo. Ethnic drums and flute punctuate an instrumental escapade, bringing to mind Nik Turner's sage words that music is the real drug. Who would need to be chemically enhanced under the influence of something as mind-expanding as this album!? The Gravy Train debut is truly a far out trip.

Not a goldmine.

In the seventies Gravy Train are one of the bands of the British underground scene. This album, their debut and one of the pieces of Vertigo catalog, is in my opinion an average record and nothing more.

There is nothing particularly innovative in this album and sounds are typical of other blues/rock bands of the same period with heavy guitars, flute and sax and a few keyboards. The style reminds a bit other bands like Catapilla , East Of Eden, and early Tull, but the results are not the same.

In particular the long jam Earl Of Pocket Nook, in my opinion, is particularly tedious. In this track the attempt to create new sounds leads the band in the wrong direction, and soon the confusion prevails over everything else: the result is a song full of experimentation for its own sake, totally incoherent and inorganic, a bit noisy, without musicality and harmonies. The raw blues Coast Road and the mediocre Think Of Life do not increase the overall quality of this work.

Things go better with the other tracks: Enterprise, a song with exotic mood, with flute, sax, guitars and filtered voices, very reminiscent of the style of early East Of Eden. The New One is the most enjoyable song of the album, featuring beautiful harmonies and a delicate flute interlude. Dedication To Syd has good rhythmic variations and strange choruses in tone, however, with the atmosphere of the song.

Another thing that I find very hard to digest is the voice of the singer and leader Norman Barrett. Surely his voice does not leave indifferent: you love it or you hate it, without compromise. Personally I find that Barrett exceed in emphasis when interprets the lyrics, and this happens especially in the slower tracks where it would require a more measured approach (and this is even more evident in "A Ballad Of A Peaceful Man", the band's second album ).

If you are interested in the underground scene of 70s British music, I suggest you first listen to other bands, such as T2, High Tide, Catapilla, Tonton Macoute and East Of Eden.

Final rating 4/10.

Best song: The New One

3.5 stars. GRAVY TRAIN's second album is less experimental and the jamming has been stopped, so yes this sounds quite different in style when compared to the debut. I like this better surprisingly enough.This album offers up a collection of good songs with Norman's expressive vocals and the ever present flute standing out. I must admit i'm surprised at how quickly I warmed up to this record but there's an emotional element at work that just draws me in. Unfortunately there are a couple of tracks I just don't like at all.

"Alone In Georgia" opens with flute,strummed guitar and strings as the vocals come in.Too commercial sounding to my ears, I just can't get into it. "(A Ballad) Of A Peaceful Man" is better especially when it picks up before 2 minutes with guitar and some attitude. It settles back as contrasts continue. "Jule's Delight" opens with flute as reserved vocals and other sounds help out in this mellow soundscape.The vocals do get passionate at times though. Good song. "Messenger" is the only track with mellotron on it. I like when it settles into a very CAMEL- like mode.That changes when the vocals arrive 1 1/2 minutes in. Flute then leads before 4 minutes followed by guitar. Nice. Excellent track.

"Can Anybody Heal Me" like the first track is one I can't get into.This one is heavy with flute and aggressive vocals. A soaring chorus too. It just doesn't work for me. "Old Tin Box" is good with that steady beat and sax. Catchy. Vocals before 2 minutes. A calm with percussion before 3 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in with vocals. "Won't Talk About It" features relentless guitar as the flute plays over top.Vocals join in. A brief guitar solo comes in at 1 1/2 minutes. Good song. "Home Again" is one of the best tracks on here. A native-like beat as the flute and guitar join in. Soft vocals also join in along with backing vocals. I like the atmosphere here.

Like the album cover for the debut the cover art here leaves me scratching my head. Oh well the music is good and that's the important thing.

GRAVY TRAIN came out of Manchester, England and this is their debut from 1970.They are very much a guitar / flute driven jam band with pretty good vocals. One song is straight-up Blues but the rest are of the psych / jam style. Not a fan of the album cover at all.

"The New One" is my favourite. It kicks in with a beat along with guitar and flute rather quickly. A calm with flute before 1 1/2 minutes then the drums arrive as it kicks back in. Some choral effects then vocals 2 1/2 minutes in. Catchy stuff.The flute replaces the vocals around 4 minutes. "Dedicated To Sid" and i'm thinking it's not Barrett either. A flute / drum intro before it changes and picks up around a minute with vocals.There are some vocal effects here that make him sound like one of the chipmunks. Not a fan at all. Flute and guitar 3 minutes in when the vocals stop. A silent calm 4 1/2 minutes in then it slowly comes back to life. A beat builds late as the flute joins in to end it.

"Coast Road" is the Blues track and it's a lot of fun.Vocals after 4 minutes as it settles. It picks back up to the end when the vocals stop. "Enterprise" is led by the flute and drums early on.Vocals around a minute as the sound changes.The tempo picks up when the vocals stop. It turns heavier with vocals later. "Think Of Life" turns heavy quickly with flute.Vocals before a minute as the heavy guitar continues.The tempo picks up as it lightens some. "Earl Of Pocket Nook" is simply a 16 minute jam and I like it.The tempo shifts occassionaly and the vocals come and go. Some nice bass after 14 minutes as well.

I have to agree with Hugues on the 3.5 stars. I do like this but it's not without it's faults and limitations. Good album though.

Funkier, rockier and more confident than this group's first two releases, 'Staircase To The Day' finally sees this Lancashire group blooming into something approaching the real deal. Gone are the Jethro Tull-lite musical passages and shredded guitars; in come synthesizers, funky bass riffs and more expansive song-writing. This change of direction is evident on the album's fist-pumping opening track 'Starlight, Starbright', which positively blows the listener away in an orgy of swirling, feel-good keyboards, powerful guitar riffs and blazing synth runs, fulfilling the group's obvious potental at long last. Elsewhere, the synth-bass funk is pushed to the fore on the epic 'Busted In Schenectady', whilst the uplifting prog of 'Going For A Quick One' fills out the album's mid-section. This is, by a country mile, easily Gravy Train's most accomplished album, though, considering both 'Gravy Train' and '(A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man', it's actually no great feat. Still, 'Staircase To The Day', despite it's slightly dodgy title, does show a group learning from their mistakes and producing genuinely enjoyable prog-rock. Good, but non-essential. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Made in the same vein as it's self-titled predecessor, Gravy Train's second album ('A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man' features the same guitar-and-flute heavy mix and screeching vocals as before, just this time the group's leader Norman Barrett has split the album into two sections, the first of which features ballad's and songs of a slower tempo, whilst the second is made up of the group's heavier and rockier numbers. Again, there is nothing wrong with the group's actual playing, it's just the material is pretty un-inspiring. The syrupy album opener 'Alone In Georgia' is possibly the worst thing this band has recorded, but luckily it's a one-off abberation. The rest of ('A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man' is made up of competent, guitar-heavy prog that could well appeal to fans of Jethro Tull, Black Widow and Uriah Heep, but probably won't win any prizes for originality. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Pretty straight-forward guitar-and-flute orientated prog-rock that doesn't sound unlike Jethro Tull and features some seriously shredded vocals from the groups founder, leader, guitarist and main singer Norman Barrett. To cut a long story short, Gravy Train were a Lancashire rock group who released their eponymous debut in 1970. It failed to make a significant impact on the charts, but did give the group enough space to record three more studio albums that covered the same musical ground as this energetic-yet-hardly original slice of rocky prog. A lot of Gravy Train's appeal depends on whether you can dig Barrett's screeching vocals, and for those that can there are some small rewards to be had, especially in the album's lengthy closing number 'Earl Of Pocket Nook' and in the impressive flute-playing of J.D. hughes on the mid-tempo rocker 'Coast Road'. However, when compared to the prog era's big beasts like Genesis, Yes or Pink Floyd, Gravy Train seem very tame. Enjoyable, but hardly essential. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Forth release of this discrete heavy prog band named Staircase to the day from 1974. A little better then the predecesor Second birth and maybe at same level with their most mature work from all 4 albums A peacefull men,but less captivating, this album brings nothing new in their sound, same hard rock combined with heavy prog moments and some folk traces here and there. Only new thing is that the trusty Barry Davenport is out and officially replaced by Russell Cordwell at the drums. While the album as a whole is not bad, too many times is mid tempo, with out many bursting moments, too monotonous in places, saving the great flute play and the guitar who realy shine son couple of pieces, in the rest same old formula, who in the end didn't work for them, they disbanded next year, all members understand that tehy will never make it big in prog scene. The cover art painted by the famous Roger Dean didn't save the album to become a lost one in the shelf of progressive rock music. The inprovements over previous albums are not obvious, same rockier numbers interplayed with more progressive ones, some couple memorable pieces like Starbright starlight or the longest track from here Busted In Schenectady, great musicianship here and Climb around the gravy train with a touch of Cockney Rebel atmosphere, the rest are from good to mediocre. As I said as a whole the album is a good one, no really bad moments, but very vague puted in contrast with other albums of that period, even less exciting then their classic A peacefull man. I will give again 3 stars, nothing groundbreaking or over the top, but plesent and most of the time sincere and well played. One of the forgotten bands from early movement of prog, while thier sound is not so progressive in musical terms, they has some truly amazing moments on all 4 albums. I don't think this is their best album, I remain to A peacefull man to be their most mature work and thier most intristing one aswell. Although long gone they should never be forgotten.