Steamhammer - Blues For Passing People (1970)

Steamhammer were a blues rock band from Worthing, England, who were founded in 1968 by guitarist Martin Quittenton and vocalist/guitarist Kieran White. The first stable line-up consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh (guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums), and in their early days they acted as backing band for Freddie King on two of his tours of England between 1968 and1969. After playing the pub circuit in the late 60's, Steamhammer’s self-titled debut album (also known as 'Reflections') was issued by Columbia Records in 1968, and featured their single 'Junior's Wailing', alongside covers of songs by B. B. King and Eddie Boyd, as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. While the album was not commercially successful, the band’s sound became popular live, especially in West Germany. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and were replaced by Steve Jolliffe on saxophone and flute, and drummer Mick Bradley, with this second version of the band recording the album 'Mk II', released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more jazz and progressive rock influences than the previous one. After Jolliffe left the band in 1970, the remaining members released 'Mountains' in 1970, and after more line-up changes, the trio of Pugh, Bradley and Cennamo began recording a new album with guest vocalist Garth Watt-Roy of Fuzzy Duck, releasing 'Speech' in 1972. This consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs in a heavier progressive-rock vein than the basic blues and jazz/folk influences of their previous albums. Quittenton went on to achieve some fame after leaving the band, playing guitar and co-writing songs, including 'Maggie May' and 'You Wear It Well', on albums by Rod Stewart, and Jolliffe joined Tangerine Dream in 1978, playing on their 'Cyclone' album. There's not a huge amount of rare stuff by the band, but what there is is certainly worth hearing, so alongside the non-album single and b-sides, I've included a live recording of 'Junior's Wailing' (later to be covered to some effect by Status Quo) from a Dutch radio broadcast, and the two live tracks from the 'Mountain' album, which I've always considered to be some of their best work. It's a nice, compact 38 minute introduction to a little-known British band who should have been much bigger then they were. 

Track listing

01 WIndmill (b-side of 'Junior's Wailing' 1969)
02 Autumn Song (single 1969)
03 Blues For Passing People (b-side of 'Autumn Song')
04 Riding On The L & N (live recording from the 'Mountains' album 1970)
05 Hold That Train (live recording from the 'Mountains' album 1970)
06 Junior's Wailing (live Amsterdam 1969)