Mystery tune from the early 70s

[Larry F]

While rehearsing with one of my bands in 1973-74, we used to listen to a tune that I liked while getting ready to play (we were hippie musicians, so you know what that means). I didn't own the record, but here's what I know about the tune:

1. The band was British.
2. They were a jazz-rock ensemble, with an instrumentation similar to Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears.
3. The tune was instrumental.
4. The tune featured a distorted guitar that wasn't super-fast, and had soulful bends.
5. The chord progression wasn't jazzy at all. The chord progression was similar to Hot Tuna's Water Song. Also the vibe was similar.
6. The LP cover photo had the band standing in a row, in daylight.
7. After years of muddling my memory, I had thought that their name was Steeleye Span. However, after recently hearing Steeleye Span, there is no similarity whatsoever. However the words steel, span, and maybe bridge come to mind.
8. I was pretty knowledgable about the music scene then, in the way that 20 year-old musicians tend to be. So it is significant that I hadn't heard of this band before--that is, no big names that I would have recognized. However, I'm not ruling out Dick Heckstall-Smith. The band was definitely not Colloseum, though.

Well, there you have it. I liked the tune a lot and remember that when the band broke up, that meant I wouldn't be able to it again. I could have gone out and bought the record, but I guess I didn't feel like the rest of the album was worth it.

The beauty of this forum is that there are so many guys that share my demographic, that the odds are pretty good that someone will know the band.

[sneakyjapan]

can you hum it for us?

[Larry F]

Hey, I'm not kidding--if I remember enough detail, I would write out the tune. Unfortunately, it has been clouded by time...

[Larry F]

This reminds me. Some of my research is being used by people in the field of music information retrieval. One area is called query by humming. The idea is that humming a tune is a better way to search than typing in misrembered text.

[denny]

The only things that come to mind are the George Clinton/Iseley Bros/Curtis Mayfield genre and possibly Spirit - but the cover of Dr. Sardonicus was sorta trippy wierd.

This may not be PC, but if you remember the photo of the band, were they white boys?

denny

[Tony474]

Could be I'm barking up the wrong tree, but your description brings to mind The Average White Band, a Scottish outfit who had a hit with a thing called "Pick Up The Pieces". As chance would have it, the BBC recently televised a performance of theirs from the early 70s.

Try this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw3k7JD9BMg

and/or

www.last.fm/music/Average+White+Band...+Up+the+Pieces

Best I can come up with!

[jjlinus]

colosseum or soft machine

[Paul in Colorado]

Ansley Dunbar Retailliation?

[hekawi]

could it be:

description here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_(band)

[Larry F]

Yes, they were white boys, with long hair and beards. Definitely not the ones mentioned above. The band I'm thinking of was much less well-known than the ones mentioned. For example, I was a religious reader of Rolling Stone, and this band wasn't mentioned in there, as far as I know. Of the ones mentioned, Colloseum comes the closest. However, I was well aware of them at the time, so I would have known if it was them. Also, their's was not a funky sound at all. Probably closer to Lighthouse (the Canadian band) than Blood, Sweat, and Tears. These are good suggestions, though.

[1293]

Caravan?

[Mid Life Crisis]

Not one of the Canterbury Scene bands perhaps - listed here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Scene

Would have been about this time, the bands fit your description and the style of music would have fitted in with your pre-rehearsal, er, "getting ready to play" routine.

[68tele]

Is it possible to contact one of yer bandmates from back then?

[Larry F]

Wow, I did not know of the Canterbury Scene. I'll spend some time investigating. But judging from the names I know, I'm a little doubtful that it was one of these bands. The sound I remember is pretty square. But, hmm, Alan Holdsworth is a possibility. The guitarist, as I remember, was pretty accomplished. Along the lines of a British John Abercrombie, but in a more square context. The chord progression was not adventurous.

This is interesting, because I'm really digging into my memory in a way that I haven't before. Also during these rehearsal "preparations" we saw on TV Nixon saying that he wasn't a crook. This was live and the room just exploded with laughter. We clearly knew that this was a quote for the ages.

[Telemaniac]

Edgar Broughton Band?

[vic108]

Barclay James Harvest ( & Other Short Stories ), perhaps?

[casterway]

www.allmusic.com A WONDERFUL resource....

[Tim Bowen]

Hey Larry, that's easy... errr, not! Other than with regard to the band you describe as being "British", I'm quickly reminded of the "New York Rock & Roll Ensemble".

[johnreardon]

What about Nucleus?

http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/nucleus.html

[Larry F]

These are interesting leads, and I'm learning a lot. To make the task easier, let's focus on the name of the band or of the album. Somehow over the years, I mentally recombined the elements into Steeleye Span. Now I know it's not them, by a long shot. But those words bridge, steel, span, something that is represent by a steel bridge. Does this jog any memories?