Blues legend 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.
In the late Summer of that same year, Steamhammer toured for the last time in Germany and the Benelux. The following Autumn, the line-up changed again. Only Pugh and Bradley stayed together and engaged ex-Renaissance member Louis Cennamo (b) for the recording of one more album. "Speech" was recorded in the Winter of 1971 and released in the beginning of 1972. By that time, Steamhammer had ceased to exsist. "Speech" was a disappointing, partly chaotic album, and the negative reception of the record led to the end of the group's popularity. Mick Bradley died in February 1972 of leukemia. Kieran White released a solo LP, "Open Door", in 1975 and Martin Pugh and Louis Cennamo put together a cult band Armageddon (with Keith Relf on vocals), which released only one album.
Mountains
Steamhammer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Higher, we're getting higher.
We could almost touch the sun.
Higher, we're getting higher.
Would it be good, when the climb is done?
H-i-g-h!
(REPEAT Verse 1: 4X)
The song Mountains by Steamhammer is about the pursuit of reaching high goals and aspirations. The lyrics suggest that they are slowly getting closer and closer to their goal, almost touching the sun, but there is still a long way to go. The repetition of the word "higher" throughout the song emphasizes the effort required to achieve these goals. The line "Would it be good, when the climb is done?" hints at the potential rewards if they reach the top and achieve their goal. The song's overall message is about perseverance and not giving up on reaching your goals, no matter how challenging the climb may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Higher, we're getting higher.
As we progress on our journey, we're reaching greater heights and achieving more.
We could almost touch the sun.
Our progress has brought us so high that we feel like we could reach the sun itself.
Higher, we're getting higher.
Again, we continue to climb higher through our efforts and perseverance.
Would it be good, when the climb is done?
After we've achieved our goal, will we be satisfied with the result or will we want more?
H-i-g-h!
Spelling out the word 'high' emphasizes the theme of reaching greater heights and striving for more.
REPEAT Verse 1: 4X
The repetition of the first verse drives home the message of continuous progress and the desire to achieve more.
Contributed by Caroline I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Baribrotzer
Songs:
1. "I Wouldn't Have Thought (Gophers Song)" (Kieran White, Martin Pugh)
2. "Levinia" (White)
3. "Henry Lane" (White)
4. "Walking Down the Road" (White)
5. "Mountains" (White)
6. "Leader of the Ring" (White)
7. "Riding on the L&N" (Dan Burley, Lionel Hampton)
8. "Hold That Train" (White, Pugh, Mick Bradley, Steve Davy)
Band members:
• Kieran White - lead vocals, acoustic and rhythm guitar, harmonica
• Martin Pugh - lead, acoustic and slide guitars
• Steve Davy - bass, backing vocals, organ
• Mick Bradley - drums, percussion
@gelubatir9794
Steamhammer - “Mountains” - Progressive Blues Rock -UK (full album) ''Mountains'' is the third album by British rock band Steamhammer. Steamhammer recorded this album as a quartet, Kieran White (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Martin Pugh (guitar), Steve Davy (bass) and Mick Bradley (drums) in mid-1970.
"Riding on the L&N" and "Hold That Train" were recorded live at the Lyceum Theatre in London. - according to Wikipedia- Track listing (original release)-
All songs written by Kieran White, except where noted
"I Wouldn't Have Thought (Gophers Song)" (White, Martin Pugh)
"Levinia"
"Henry Lane"
"Walking Down the Road"
"Mountains"
"Leader of the Ring"
"Riding on the L&N"* (Dan Burley, Lionel Hampton)
"Hold That Train"* (White, Pugh, Mick Bradley, Steve Davy)
*Recorded live at the Lyceum Theatre, London.
Personnel -
Band members-
Kieran White - lead vocals, acoustic and rhythm guitar, harmonica
Martin Pugh - lead, acoustic and slide guitars
Steve Davy - bass, backing vocals, organ
Mick Bradley - drums, percussion
Additional musicians-
Keith Nelson - banjo (3)
@bugeanuflorin1531
Absolutely, fabulous album, excellent group. Thanks, wonderful day for you
@cucu4170
Steamhammer one the best blues rock bands in this period , the album is fantastic.
@patrickdoake6022
Great band need more airplay 👏✌️
@sergioifanger88
Incrível gosto musical! Belíssimas músicas, discos impagáveis! Obrigado Cris por compartilhar pérolas com nós amantes de Rock! São pessoas como você que não deixam a verdadeira música morrer, principalmente o nósso bom e velho Rock'n Roll!
@crisladyinblack
Obrigado por comentar
@Ray-bv8do
Martin Pugh is a underrated guitarrist
@miguelfortes973
I Wouldn't Have Thought (Gophers Song) 5:33
Levinia 3:32
Henry Lane 3:49
Walking Down The Road 3:39
Mountains 5:34
Leader Of The Ring 2:48
Riding On The L&N 10:14
Hold That Train 5:45
@ivo2448
Muito bom. Na minha opinião, o melhor álbum da banda.
@jacksnapp
A great German band, along with one of my favorite solos (Martin Pugh), on the first trac “I wouldn’t have thought”. Just fantastic !
My bad, I own this LP, and am not sure when/how I recognized this as a German outfit. Clearly I am wrong, and happy to be set straight. A wonderful UK band !
@paulwolf6925
UK, not German.