Customer Reviews

Somewhere Down the Line

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How wonderful that this rarity has been reissued on CD. Originally released as A&M SP 4208 in 1969, this album features John McCoy (vocals and harmonica), Terry Sidgwick (bass, vocals), Terry Popple (percussion) and Mick Moody, later of Whitesnake (lead guitar). Lots of great blues playing; interesting instrumental "Mazurka," and cover version of Buffalo Springfield's "Rock and Roll Woman." The England based band recorded only one other album, MOVES OF VEGETABLE CENTURIES, for Island before disbanding. Maybe we'll get to hear this one soon.

40 minutes in length approximately. The sound is crisp and immediate. The folded info sheet tells the story of TRAMLINE,the era (late 60's),and the band members. The CD is housed in a replica of the LP release.

This is the first album (the second is "Moves of Vegetable Centuries") by this quartet,which featured John McCoy-harmonica and vocals,Terry Sidgwick-bass and vocals,Mick Moody (later in WHITESNAKE)-lead and slide guitar,and Terry Popple-drums. The album was produced by Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame.

As was typical of the era in England,there were a number of bands playing hard blues and r&b,or incorporating those styles into rock. TRAMLINE was just another blues-based band (often compared to FREE) when Blackwell heard them (under a different name) and then took the inexperienced group into the studio. The comparisons to FREE were apt-but don't think the group was a clone-they had their own sound even then. Like FREE they were a four-piece with a good lead singer. McCoy's phrasing was similar to Paul Rodgers,yet with a smokier,smoother vocal tone. Mick Moody's guitar had,at times,that emotional feel akin to Paul Kossoff,but without the sustained vibrato Kossoff was known for. The rhythm section was more than capable of holding everything together without calling undue attention to itself,which enabled Moody and McCoy to solo on top of the band.

A number of these tunes were written or arranged by members of the band,which helped give them an identity over groups who stayed with a strict blues sound. The tunes range from 4/4 shuffle time (Elmore James' "Look Over Yonder Wall"),to slower blues ("Sorry Sorry"),with a couple more well known blues tunes ("Killing Floor" by Chester "Howling Wolf" Burnett,and "Satesborough Blues" by Blind Willie McTell,which the band heard by Taj Mahal). The track entitled "National Blues" has Moody playing slide guitar-a National Resonator-hence the name,along with Bruce Thomas on double bass,which elevates the tune above the rest with a sound different than anything else on the album. A curious choice was Steve Stills' "Rock and Roll Woman",which the band give a different sound to-a combination of West Coast rock and English blues. Another example of the band's influences is an instrumental track titled "Mazurka",which Moody had heard on a Segovia album. The track is an instrumental featuring Moody and Popple. This assortment of styles gives this album some depth and is a refreshing change from other groups plying the same trade of strictly blues-based rock. With musicians so young and inexperienced,the music was nonetheless fairly advanced,and showed the band had big ears when it came to incorporating different styles of music into their own sound.

For listeners of late 60's English blues bands-this is something worth investigating. TRAMLINE recorded only two albums before the group went their separate ways. They certainly deserved more recognition at the time,but with other groups having more experience,better management,and luck,they simply couldn't keep it together. This band's music has that curiously enjoyable feel of the era-like you picked the album up at your favorite record store (remember those?),and slipped it onto the turntable. This album is a good example of British blues from the late 60's,played by good musicians,with a sound that was beginning to incorporate different styles of music into their hard blues sound. Nothing truly earth-shattering,but some good music which is still enjoyable. Its nice that both their albums have been re-released. Maybe now people will find out what they've missed.