From what I heard these guys must be rootsy and pretty cool. What CDs do I need and how do they sound?
Seatrain's first Capitol LP (ST) is on a 2-for with Marblehead Messenger, their second Capitol LP on CD from BGO. This sounds pretty nice. Other than that the band's first actual LP was on A&M (also called "Seatrain"), and sounded interesting if I remember, and their last LP (Watch) was on Warner Bros. I had it, and I don't think it was that memorable. Get the BGO. That first Capitol album was their best.
love this band. i wore out that 1st capitol lp. i was so glad when it was issued on cd. i've known peter rowan since the 70's. every once in a while he'd pull out a song from that era, usually by our request. george martin produced it too.
Seatrain? Wow, I never would have expected any queries regarding that band! I would have never heard of them except that they were on the bill with The Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East when I saw them on Mother's Day in 1970. They were very good live, but I never bought any of their albums.
"13 Questions" is one of those songs that transports me back to the early 70s. Not even sure what the heck it's about.
Same here! (^_^)b But there are a lot of old baby-boomers about.... (O_O) In any case, I think that Richard Greene is gigging because the last time we were in San Luis Obispo (a few months ago), an upcoming performance of his was being announced (for the following week) at the Steynberg Gallery. I wonder what he is playing these days? Probably not what he played with Seatrain.
There is also this one which looks to be OOP. I have it as well as the BGO which I highly recommend. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=5853162
I was at that show too! I didn't know that Peter Rowan had joined the band, and I was a fan of his previous group, Earth Opera, which also included David Grisman on electric mandocello(!), so I was pleasantly surprised when Sea Train performed "Home To You", a track from the second Earth Opera album.
First album My personal opinion is that the first album is the one to have. The one called just "Seatrain" with the photo of them on a hillside has some enjoyable songs on it but feels really lightweight compared with the first. The others never lit my fire at all.
I think the Seatrain world is divided into those who thought the first album was fantastic, and those that think the first Capitol album was their "real" first album. I'm in the first camp, too.
Their second album - their first for Capitol and their first with George Martin producing - is truly one of my very favorite albums from the early 70s. I find all 4 of their albums to be good, but that's the one for my taste where they put it all together. And it shows the difference a world-class producer can make for an act that already has talent and material. I recall a period of time there, during my college days, where that lp and the Lighthouse "One Fine Morning" lp stayed in heavy rotation on my turntable for a LONG time. I was working in Top 40 radio at the time and they provided much-needed relief away from the station. Dave in Nashville
I came to the Seatrain from my interest in The Blues Project. I was lucky enough to hear their 2nd LP (1st on Capital) because it was stashed into a "Blues Project Live at the Cafe Au-go-go" LP belonging to my best friend's dad. I made a cassette dub of it that I held onto for years, until I bought another turntable and bought that same LP at Goodwill for 99 cents. I love that version of Lowell George's "Willin'" - it may still be my favorite. That being said, however, I think their first A&M LP is their masterwork - hard, jazzy, smart, complex and a little weird - it's great and there's not a lot of other music like it that is up to the same standard. I thought the A&M would be a Delta Monarch, but it doesn't seem to be . . . the etching is different on both sides - one has A&M before the catalog number and is etched in smaller, neater writing - both sides sound smokin', though, so no complaints. I have the first two Capital LPs (s/t & Marblehead Messenger) - the first on green bullseye and second on red bullseye. Both have a STERLING stamp on both sides and Marblehead Messenger has RL, too . . . the s/t has no sig - any leads on who may have handled that one?
Yes, Peter Rowan is a real talent... a lifelong journeyman of sorts. The most recent album I have by him is Legacy from a few years ago. I recommend it if you haven't heard it. There was a lot of talent in Seatrain although I don't think any of their albums are truly great. Maybe there were too many people/writers fighting for space on their albums. I'm not sure how I happened upon their first A&M LP... I probably bought it because I liked the cover art and trusted the label (remember those days?). I was also big fan of Earth Opera, although their two albums are uneven artifacts of the era... ambitious and enjoyable though.
I am one who thinks their first album on A&M is wonderful. I liked them better before they went more country with Rowan and Martin. Ha made a joke. Those Capitol records are good but for me it's the first one which is the next generation of the Blues Project but more psyched out
I am also firmly in the A&M album camp. Although it's a record I've always liked, I had no idea that over a span of 40 years or so, it would become one of my top 3 favourite albums of all time. An intriguing blend of styles with intricate and clever arrangements involving violin, sax and flute, yet grounded by the searing fuzz guitar work that leaps in from time to time. Every time I play this record, the songs and those arrangements stick with me for days. A stellar effort, and a highly under-appreciated one. But it creeps up on you if you give it a chance ......
I had the 2nd s/t Sir George LP back in the day, as well as Marblehead Messenger, liked them both a lot, but certainly the Capitol s/t had a special magic to it overall. It wasn't until getting the Edsel cd in recent years that i finally heard the A&M s/t (same for the One Way of "Watch"), but it was worth the wait. The A&M has a special quality to it overall much like the Capitol, but the listening experiences are distinctly different. With all of the personnel changes by that time, "Watch" was better than i thought it would be. I thought for sure funknik was going to get to this after mentioning an interest in the Blues Project having lead them to Seatrain (and then i got the story; via records misfiled in wrong LP jackets); but the final Verve LP by the Blues Project already reflected the lineup changes which would spawn Seatrain. On "Planned Obsolescence", in fact, the lineup is the exact lineup of that first A&M Seatrain LP, excepting the absence of lyricist James Roberts. I gave it a listen for the first time in quite a while last night, and musically it really fits perfectly as lead-up to the A&M effort (listened to that right afterwards). I greatly appreciated the tasty guitar playing on both by John Gregory, along with everything else. Here's a look (cd issue): For the record, the lengthy "Dakota Recollection" is, well, kinda sorta almost a "Flute Thing" phase two. Nowhere near as powerful a track overall, and of course, different instruments interplaying, but i found it to be a most pleasant excursion. I've definitely got to find out what, if anything, John Gregory did post-Seatrain. I figured for Seatrain fans in general, certainly those who love the A&M LP, should know about this genesis release of theirs.
This is what drew me into them. The first track on the first album. It was sort of different at the time...
Seatrain was an outgrowth of the disbanded Blues Project (some of the others went on to form Blood Sweat and Tears). They had a great album which featured an FM hit - 13 Questions and was the first post-Beatles album produced by George Martin. I have this on vinyl, I am in need of ordering the CD, looking for comments and suggestions on this band, especially: 1 Are remnants of the band still in action? 2 Is their Peter Rowan the same musician that played with Jerry Garcia's bluegrass groups? 3 How is Marblehead Messenger? 4 Do they have other records? 5 If you have the album Seatrain, please tell/share readers here how great it is!
#1 Richard Greene is still active on the bluegrass circuit and I have heard him on Prairie Home Companion a few times recently. #2 Yes #4 1st album was on A&M, then the two Capitol albums you mention and last album was on Warner Bros.
I saw them live at C.W. Post college on Long Island. I think that was in 1970. Richard Greene was a fabulous soloist. Orange Blossom Special was spectacular live. It was probably about twice as long as the album version. They also did an extended version of Song Of Job with several guitar and fiddle solos. I met Duane Allman in 1970. He loved the Capitol Seatrain album. He wanted to get Richard Greene to be the fiddler for the Allman Brothers. If he'd lived longer, who knows...? Marblehead Messenger isn't nearly as good as the Capitol S/T'ed album. The songwriting just isn't as good. Those two albums are the only ones with their best lineup of musicians, IMO. The other two album that bear their name just sound different.
I have the 2fer reissue. Sounds pretty good to me. I'll have to get it out and give it a listen again.
