Steamhammer Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Musically, Steamhammer was the cream of the crop of all rock bands from their thriving primordial era. In the realm of power rock trios, they were comparable to Cream. Yet this band is far superior in every way, but they failed to get the rave reviews and critical attention that the flashier Cream garnered. Diverging from the typical power rock style on Speech, their fourth and final album, the band found themselves in a dilemma without their vocalist, who had left after the previous release, Mountains. This led to a radical development for the band. Instead of hiring a new singer, the rest of the group picked up the slack, and reduced the role of the vocals significantly, opting for a progressive jam style that was hugely innovative for its time. Guitarist Martin Pugh offers a crashing, furious style that mixes Jimmy Page with early Robert Fripp. When Pugh seeks passages of beauty and tranquility, he finds them with ease, but when he aims for intensity, watch out! He literally attacks the listener, pounding them with his mammoth, perfectly executed riffs. Meanwhile, bassist Louis Cennamo is so talented and innovative that he single-handedly brought the bow into rock music with his bowed bass intro to the album. Several years before Page would pick up the bow for "Kashmir," Cennamo uses the bowed bass as means to an end, not for simple effect. Just as a normal bassist alone, masters within the genre owe their lifeblood to him. For he is able to play along with just about the toughest, most technical drumming around, that of drummer Mick Bradley, who is easily the most accomplished musician of the trio. To state that he is rock's greatest drummer is simply not enough. His energetic approach to the drum kit helped him become one of the first and only drummers in rock history, along with King Crimson's Michael Giles, to use polyrhythmic drumming, a style commonly used by jazz drummers. His dynamic performance on the primarily instrumental "For Against," which blows away John Bonham's "Moby Dick" and Ginger Baker's "Toad" in a heartbeat. On this album, there was a rumor that the band received some secret vocal and lyrical help from Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf. Whether or not this is true remains a mystery, but what is fact, sadly, is that not long after this album Mick Bradley succumbed to Leukemia and passed away. This marked the end of Steamhammer, but the other two members forged on, forming a band called Armageddon. Speech is one of rock's finest and most creative hours, and one tends to wonder where Steamhammer could have gone from this point on had it not been for obscurity and sudden tragedy. ~ Jason Hundey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Two versions of This Is Steamhammer were issued on the U.K.-based Brain label in 1972 and 1974 respectively. This single LP configuration contains the same tune stack as Speech (1971) -- the fourth and final album released under the Steamhammer moniker. In addition to that title, the double-disc set also contains the band's previous disc Mountains (1970). The group had originally been a heavily blues-influenced unit following in the path of likeminded and similar sounding combos such as Ten Years After and Fleetwood Mac. However, by the time Steamhammer had worked their way to their fourth album, the personnel included Michael Bradley (percussion), Louis Cennamo (bass/vocals) and the only original member Martin Pugh (guitar/vocals). As such, the band had moved into a decidedly more progressive space. Also temporarily joining the project is former Greatest Show On Earth member Garth Watt-Roy, who can be heard throughout on lead vocals. Their blend of straight-ahead rock and psychedelic jamming is fused with involved arrangements, such as the five-movement "Penumbra". The trio contrasts a spacey and ethereal introduction -- which is marked by some extreme bowing action [think: Jimmy Page] from bassist Cennamo -- into some heavy and full-throttle instrumental interaction. "Telegram (Nature's Mischief)" is a thrashing waltz reminiscent of Euro-Prog masters Banco, Soft Machine and P.F.M.. It also recalls Captain Beefheart's driving mile-a-minute Magic Band's, all of whom were as notable for their top-shelf musicianship as for their complex and seemingly boundless material. Pugh's fluid fretwork steams as he soars throughout the passages with the dexterity and unique language similar to that of Frank Zappa. This is perhaps most evident on "For Against", which works an uptempo jazzy inflection into the mix. Bradley takes the lead for some frenetic percussion -- which is ably delivered in a style akin to Ginger Baker's "Do What You Like" or "Toad". On a more sombre note, the effort was dedicated to Bradley -- who passed away from leukemia after recording, but prior to the album's release. Although the personnel had been somewhat of a revolving door since the band formed in 1968, Bradley's death effectively retired the Steamhammer name. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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. ~ Skip Jansen, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Reflection is also-ran late-'60s British blues-rock, with more rock-oriented takes on the kind of approach used by heroes Freddie King and B.B. King. B.B. King's "You'll Never Know," in fact, is covered here, though most of the material was penned by the band. Steamhammer doesn't put much of an original spin on its sources, or on the British blues-rock form, though this is competent and does generally have a moodier, more downbeat feel than most of the band's competition in the genre. The expressive qualities of Kieran White's voice, though, are limited, as though he's being pinched by something that keeps him from letting go too much. The best moments come when they venture just a little outside of the ordinary U.K. blues-rock model, particularly when Harold McNair adds some jazzy flute; "Down the Highway" sounds a little close to some of early Jethro Tull. Future Jefferson Starship member Pete Sears plays session piano. The 2002 CD reissue on Akarma adds two bonus tracks from 1969 singles, "Windmill" and "Autumn Song," which are more explicit forays into the more melodic jazz-blues-rock direction mined by the likes of Jethro Tull, Colosseum, and Davy Graham in the late '60s, again with prominent flute. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
