I’m pretty sure I added this album to my queue after it was suggested while I listened to Earth Opera recently. Seatrain was a roots fusion band born out of blues band of sorts. At one point, Peter Rowan (from Earth Opera, and many other things) also played in the band, though he isn’t on this particular album. This album was the final album from Seatrain, and featured a lot of nontraditional instruments like vibraphone, accordion, tuba, and others. This seems to be a pretty interesting album, so with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Pack of Fools” jumps right into things with a super tasty roots rock groove, which also definitely has some jazz rock flavors, especially in the upbeat feeling in the bass line. This tune has a super sweet feeling to it – it sort of reminds me of Steely Dan to some degree. Oh wow, this tune really progresses nicely, I really dig the smooth bass nearly contrasting with the chops from the guitars. Oh wow, this little guitar solo is super sweet and really melts into the soundscape nicely. Oh wow, this tune keeps on going, and feels like it nearly has a bit of Led Zeppelin sort of classic rock flavor to it too. Holy smokes, this guitar solo and whole groovy jam is sweet.
Oh wow, “Freedom Is the Reason” this super tasty, blues inflected piano riff with the underpinning organs really give this tune a great feeling. The bass line and drums really accentuate the rhythmic stylings of the piano super well – this is awesome. Oh wow, this tune really builds on itself super nicely too. The piano has a tone that reminds me of “Out The Blue” by John Lennon. Holy smokes, this groovy, nearly funky, rootsy rock jam has some awesome flavors, which get accentuated even more when the guitar comes in for a short moment. The vocal jam is absolutely awesome too. Absolutely great tune.
“Bloodshot Eyes” starts out with some strange rollicking piano that almost with some tinny banjos and interesting tuba in the tune, making in nearly sound like some sort of tin pan alley sort of ragtime tune fused with some interesting rootsy rock sounds. I really dig this one – I can’t help but turn it up. This strange sort of ragtime jam just keeps on going – super sweet track.
“We Are Your Children Too” starts out with some really mellow, very pleasant piano for a bit of a ballad type tune. Oh wow, the flute comes on and seemingly lifts and carries you as the rest of the instrumentation begins to envelop your ears in this soundscape. The strings add a really nice layer of sweetness in this one. This tune is super pleasant, with passionate and patient vocals that bring a lot of feeling to the tune. Really nice song.
“Abbeville Fair” starts out hot with something of an Irish folk inflected rock tune with the nearly medieval melody from the accordions. Oh wow, this tune has such a medley of flavors – a driving rock force, a super fat bass, some chanting vocals, bluesy piano, and some polka-like accordion. Oh wow, this little jam with the piano is sweet, and evolves into a massive sounding rock tune before going back to something of a medieval sounding Irish folk rock tune. I really dig this one – it sort of reminds me a bit of Richard Thompson and The Fairport Convention. Holy smokes, the tone from the bass and the blues-inflected piano is absolutely awesome. The syncopated vocals really produce a nearly chaotic effect that gets resolved in the smooth, reliable guitars and the medieval sounding accordion lines. Really sweet tune.
“North Coast” starts out with some chatter from what sounds like a bar of some sort, until a really sweet rollicking rootsy saloon sounding tune comes on, with some really interesting southwest flavors. Oh wow, these chorus vocals have a super strange flavor to them, but I really dig them. This tune is awesome. Oh wow, these bluesy saloon flavors mixed with those southwest flavors are super awesome. Holy smokes, the guitar comes on with some absolutely awesome distortion. Great song.
“Scratch” starts out with some really gentle, riverlike acoustic guitar that begins to meander in a relatively epic storytelling, folksy manner. I really dig those super high pitched strings in this one, really adding a lot dimension to the soundscape. Oh wow, this tune really picks up with a great country folk sort of bass line. There might even be an accordion in this one – whatever this instrumentation is, it’s sweet. Oh wow, those staccato’d notes from the organ really have a great driving force behind them. I really dig the twang in the acoustic guitar. Holy smokes, this song is sweet. The high pitched strings nearly have a certain dissonance to them, as if they’re some sort of tritone or something. I really dig the guitar work in this tune too. Great tune.
“Watching the River Flow” starts out with some really rollicking bluesy piano to this Bob Dylan cover. Holy smokes, the lead guitar really squeals some great bluesy notes, while the rhythm guitar has a great churning distortion and the bass guitar has a really smooth tone that keeps the tune a rollin’ along with the steady drum beat and the rollicking piano. Oh wow, this guitar solo is pretty tasty. This tune has a really tasty movement about it – really nice tune.
“Flute Thing” starts out with some really strange, almost mystifying flute that is backed by some jazz sounding bass and some quick chops from a guitar. An organ seems to accentuate a the little melodic lines from the flute. I really dig the beat and flow from the drums in this one, putting in quick little fills while still keeping the groove steady. The other instruments seem to get further out there, and nearly trade sub-leads behind the flute as the tune continues along. Oh wow, now the organs have the lead and this tune just keeps rolling along at full steam ahead. Oh wow, there are some super tasty, great jazz rock fusion flavors in this one, somewhat reminiscent of a more rock inclined Jimmy Smith. Holy smokes, the guitar has the lead now and this wah-wah’d distortion is absolutely awesome. Oh wow, now there’s a drum break and this solo is super sweet, I keep getting pulled further along and further out there. The drums feel like they’re nearly setting the song up for a moment for a landing before this sort of mystifying oboe comes into play, and creates an almost ominous seaside sound in the soundscape. Oh wow, the woodwind instruments have a nearly galloping medieval seaside sound to them at this point – incredibly interesting and absolutely awesome. Oh wow, this tune drops back into place super pleasantly, before climbing up to a quick crescendo and epic crashing of instruments before it fades out in a really sweet way. Great tune.
Wow, this album was super sweet. There were an incredible number of different genres, stylings, and fusions of sounds in this album. I feel like I’d need to listen the album again to be sure I appreciated them all. I’m definitely looking into getting this one on vinyl. If you enjoy strange mashups and medleys of rootsy Americana and jazz rock, you might want to consider checking out this album – it was a great way to spend 40 minutes. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A