STEAMHAMMER - mountains LP akarma heavy psych prog

$

91

STEAMHAMMER - mountains LP , akarma records, gatefold cover, BRAND NEW!

Starting out as an electric blues group in the '60s, Steamhammer transformed into a hard progressive rock group on this 1970 album. A highly collectable album in the British prog scene, the guitarist and vocalist of this group were both, in fact, hardworking session musicians who made their names working with Rod Stewart on his debut solo album. Guitarist and vocalist Martin Pugh and Martin Quittenton co-wrote "Maggie May" with Rod Stewart, and extraordinarily this, the group's third album, features ex-Tangerine Dream keyboardist Steve Jolliffe, who was responsible for the progressive, keyboard-dominated sound of the album. Although throughout they maintain their electric blues roots, this album is a fairly awkward and mediocre transition period for the group. However, hardcore collectors of progressive rock will find much to delight in..

1968 in Worthing. Martin Quittenton (g) and Kieran White (voc., g, harm.) came out of the British folk circuit. Quittenton had worked together with the Liverpool Scene and, like the other members Martin Pugh (g), Steve Davy (b) and Michael Rushton (dr), had played with numerous R&B groups.

Blues hero Freddie King ordered Steamhammer as his backing band on tour through Great Britain. Come Spring time, 1969, they signed a record contract with CBS. The first album, "Steamhammer", was a mixture of classic blues by B.B.King and Eddie Boyd and modern blues written by White and Quittenton with the help of Pugh. At the end of the British blues boom, only a few hardcore fans took interest on the finest lyrical blues-rock statement of the century.

Not selling as many records as they'd hoped to, Steamhammer nevertheless became a top European open-air attraction, mainly due to their brilliant live performance. For over two hours each night they would indulge in wide excursions in instrumental improvisations, embodied by the impressive guitar riffage of Martin Pugh and the sensitive harmonica of Kieran White. In the Summer of 1969, Quittenton left the band, followed by drummer Michael Rushton. They were replaced by Steve Jollife (sax, fl.) and Mick Bradley.

Jollife's feel for precise arrangements and jazz influences especially inspired the recording of Steamhammer's second, "Mk II", album. Overstepping the boundaries of traditional blues forms, they unleashed their own musical creativity and imagination without resorting to any technical trickery. These highly professional and creative musicians performed many live shows at various festivals in Scandinavia, West Germany and the Netherlands. On the continent, it turned out, they had become more popular than in England.

In the Summer of 1970, Steamhammer recorded their "definitive album" (rock session), called "Mountains", as a quartet. White, Pugh, Davy and Bradley were really working as a team and offering electrified white urban blues of highest quality. The live cut, "Riding On The L&N", is one of the highlights of the "Mountains" album, which contains straight-ahead blues numbers with a healthy dose of rock'n'roll. It was only with the release of this album that Steamhammer began to be noticed by the rock world. After the Altamont and Fehmarn fiascos, the era of open-air events of such calibre was ended at least for quite a while. (Christian Graf - Rock Music Lexikon)

selling some more records, check out my other listings for more like this. all have been well taken care of and are in excellent condition except minor shelf wear from storage. any other flaws will be noted.

payment is expected within 10 days after end of auction. please only bid if you actually intend on paying. paypal only.

records will be well packed with discs removed from covers to prevent seam splitting.

thanks for looking and have a great day!