GRAVY TRAIN

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.