Mountains - STEAMHAMMER***

I Wouldn't Have Thought/Levinia/Henry Lane/Walking Down The Road/Mountains/Leader Of The Ring/Riding On The L & N/Hold That Train

Mountains was the third album from the commercially unsuccessful bluesrock band Steamhammer. They experimented with instrumental passages, introspective lyrics, and ultrasonic guitar effects, along with folk, jazz and classical influences.

“The third album by the British blues rock group Steamhammer follows the same kind of style they performed on their first two studio albums. Their debut album and their second one MK II are both really strong releases and the same thing continues with Mountains. Two out of these eight tracks are live performances. The longest jam Riding On The L & N and the following Hold That Train were recorded live at the Lyceum and both are fantastic.”

“On this album Steamhammer had a brilliant sense of light and shade, managing with great skill to balance the jagged riffs of hard rock, with the slow lumbering soundscapes of something altogether more melodic. Another sadly forgotten band that deserves more investigation.”

“A very strong and consistent album. Solid songwriting throughout and very well produced. The music is I think close to the guitar playing style of Peter Green's last recordings with Fleetwood Mac. Reminds me also of John Mayall but much darker, and somewhat close to what The Groundhogs were doing around the same time but more fluid. It has a heavy, druggy vibe and dwells in the lower frequencies. A beautiful album, highly recommended.”

“While I like Steamhammer, and thoroughly enjoy portions of this album, taken as a whole I find it to be somewhat disjointed and feeling as though it was pieced together by a band that no longer knew which direction they were headed.”

“I guess to most people, Steamhammer's Mountains album is probably fairly ordinary. Well, ordinary by 70s rock standards, which means, it's still pretty amazing and totally enjoyable progressive blues-rock. The guitars are well-played and immediately enjoyable, and the overall sound is really good.”

“Steamhammer were an English group that started out as a blues based backing group. Their sound progressed from the British blues sound common to the era, into a harder rocking yet quietly atmospheric sound found on this album.”