Bakerloo "Bakerloo" 1969****

I had stumbled across the (sole) Bakerloo album several times and entertained the idea of buying it because of its cover. It's an engraving of what initially appears to be a battle scene but reveals itself as some short of industrial accident - possibly on the worksite of the Bakerloo (Baker street-Waterloo) underground line in the late 19th century. It makes me think of how many wokers lost their lives to build the train stations, roads, stadiums and common facilities we use each day, and how I've never seen a commemorative plaque to them. In Greece every public building from the grandest concert hall to the tiniest playground has a plaque saying it was built during the administration of Mayor X or Minister Y, as if they had built them with their bare hands or, for that matter, paid for out of their own pockets. No such distinction for those who actually did the work.

But, of course the cover alone (usually) isn't reason enough to buy an album. I bought it when I saw who the guitarist of this band was: I've always considered Dave "Clem" Clempson to be one of the great unsung heroes of the electric guitar. He's done great work with Colosseum and Humble Pie and could have replaced Blackmore as Deep Purple guitarist in '75 - a job that went to Tommy Bolin instead because Clempson didn't want to mimic Blackmore's style. At first I thought that he probably wasn't fast enough, but "Bakerloo" proves me wrong. He was only 19 when he made this album but he totally shreds from the opening minutes of "Big Bear Ffolly", a double-time jazz instrumental with supersonic guitar that reminds me of Ten Years After's Alvin Lee. Drummer Keith Baker and (especially) bassist Terry Poole prove themselves equally good. The power trio format was all the rage back then, with Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and Groundhogs some of the top examples. Like those groups, Bakerloo played a mix of blues, hard rock and psychedelia. "Bring It On Home" is a great Willie Dixon blues with prominent harmonica. Led Zeppelin covered that same song on "II", released the very same year - incidentally, Bakerloo were the support band on Zeppelin's very first show. "Drivin' Bachwards" (notice the pun) is their take on Bach's Bourrée in E minor, covered (also later in the same year) by Jethro Tull. It is a natural and effortless mix of classical music and rock, one of the first of its kind. "Last Blues" is a wonderful psychedelic ballad, interrupted by a hard rock middle section with fast solos. It's followed by "Gang Bang" a hard rock instrumental with a lengthy drum solo, kind of like Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" - now that I think of it also released in '69, a few months after Bakerloo. Coincidence or what? "This Worried Feeling" is another excellent blues ballad, reminiscent of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. "Son Of Moonshine" is a 15-minute heavy blues jam. Mostly improvised and recorded live in one take, it shows great ingenuity on behalf of the players and chemistry between them. It used to close the album, but the CD is augmented by two further tracks, the psychedelic Cream-style "Once Upon A Time" and an alternate take on "Worried Feeling". On a whole, Bakerloo is an excellent album - among the best in its style, but of its time and not individual enough to really earn the distinction of a classic. It's mostly worth for Clempson's great guitar work. He would later be invited to join Colosseum and Humble Pie. Poole and Baker would form May Blitz, after which Poole played with the band Vinegar Joe and Graham Bond before he left music for a career as a...croupier at casinos. Baker joined Supertramp and Uriah Heep for a while. Heavy metal fans may be interested to learn that his predecessors in Bakerloo's drum stool (not playing on this album) included John Hinch (original drummer of Judas Priest) and Bill Ward (of Black Sabbath, of course). Sabbath, Priest and Heap drummers who played in the same 60's blues band - I sense a very difficult music trivial pursuit question here, and the only ones who can answer it are you, my readers. You're welcome!

***** for This Worried Feeling

**** for Bring It On Home, Drivin' Bachwards, Last Blues, Once Upon A Time, This Worried Feeling (alternative take)

*** for Big Bear Ffolly, Gang Bang, Son Of Moonshine