line up 1 (1966-69)

- Pat Clausing -- keyboards

- Russ Kammerer -- drums, percussion

- Skip Morehouse -- keyboards

- Bill Stroum -- bass

- John Ussery -- vocals, guitar

- The Fabulous Wailers

- John Ussery and the Full Tilt Blues Band

- International Brick (John Ussery)

- Peece (Pat Clausing)

- John Ussery (solo efforts)

Genre: blues-rock

Rating: *** 3 stars

Title: Locomotive

Company: MGM

Catalog: SE 4653
Year: 1969

Country/State: Mercer Island, Washington

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: gatefold sleeve

Available: 1

Catalog ID: --

Price: $35.00

I keep reading there's a link between Tacoma Washington's The Fabulous Wailers (of "Tall Cool One" fame) and Locomotive.  I have no idea what it is.  None of the Locomotive members seem to have been Wailers ...  Someone out there will know.  Clue me in.   Another mystery I haven't been able to figure out - the personnel line-ups for this outfit all reflect five members, but the album cover shows four members.  I'm guessing that by the time the LP was released one of the keyboardists (Pat Clausing or Skip Morehouse) was gone.  My guess is Morehouse was the guy missing from the album.

Formed in Mercer Island, Washington, Locomotive's line-up featured keyboard players Pat Clausing and ex-Constellations piano player Skip Morehouse, drummer Russ Kammerer, bassist Bill Stroum and former International Brick guitarist John Ussery. Calling Seattle home the band started to attract attention on the local club scene, including a stint serving as house band at the Trolley Club where they were apparently spotted and signed by MGM Records.  

Produced by former The Undertakers lead guitarist Chris Houston, 1969's "Locomotive" was one of those albums that simply slipped through the cracks. It enjoyed little in the way of promotion or publicity; little in the way of critical recognition and little in the way of commercial sales.   With Ussery responsible for writing or co-writing all ten tracks, exemplified by material like the single "Big City Car" and "Catch You Later" about half of the set offered up a mash-up of blue-eyed soul and blues-rock moves.  Imagine The Young Rascals-meet-Vanilla Fudge ...  The fact producer Houston had worked with The Young Rascals might explain part of the comparison.  Personally I found the harder rocking numbers like "Move On Up", "Get On Away" and "Don't Cut Your Hair" far more interesting.  Hard to adequately describe, but it was an album where individual songs were quite good ("Thinking of You"), but when you listened to the entire album in one sitting it all sort of blended together.  Still, the performances were uniformly good, even if nothing here jumped out as being instantly catchy ear-candy.   In addition to handling lead guitar Ussery was also the lead singer.  His rough, gravelly voice may not have been the sweetest vehicle you've ever heard, but ultimately that raggedness was quite enjoyable.  One of those albums that has grown on me the more I listen to it.

inner sleeve

"Locomotive" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Big City Car (John Ussery) - 2:37 rating: *** stars

Powered by Ussery's gravelly voice and nice lead guitar, "Big City Car" sounded like a mash-up of blue-eyed soul and tougher blues-rock moves.  The song was mildly commercial, but wasn't helped by mindless lyrics and an odd start-and-stop structure.  Not that those drawbacks stopped MGM from tapping it as a single:

- 1969's "Big City Car' b/w "Roberta" (MGM catalog number K-14012)

2.) Get On Away (John Ussery) - 3:16 rating: **** stars

A straight-ahead blues-rocker, "Get On Away" was perfectly suited for Ussery's rough hewn voice and Clausing's Vanilla Fudge styled organ and barrelhouse piano solo. One of my favorite songs on the album.

3.) Barbara Jean (John Ussery) - 3:22 rating: *** stars

"Barbara Jean" offered up a sweet country-rock melody.  Very unlike the rest of the album, the song had a raw sound, almost like it was an unfinished demo.

4.) All Come Free (John Ussery) - 4:33  rating: **** stars

Going back and forth between breathy, harmony-rich segments and  wah-wah guitar powered rocker, "All Come Free" was one of the album's cooler performances.  Love the song's take-no-prisoners ending.

5.) Catch You Later (John Ussery) - 4:29  rating: **** stars 

Another blue-eyed soul/blues rocker mash-up, "Catch You Later" was built on a tasty Ussery guitar riff.  This one would have been fun to hear in a live setting.

(side 2)
1.) Thinking of You (John Ussery) - 4:44 rating: **** star

The keyboard powered ballad "Thinking of You" sported one of the album's most attractive melodies.  Initially I didn't think Ussery's raw, strained vocals were a good match for the song, but the more I listened to it, the better the song sounded.

2.) Roberta (John Ussery) - 3:32 rating: *** stars 

Powered by a nice Bill Stroum bass line, "Roberta" was the album's funkiest slice of blue-eyed soul.  Add in the sweet backing vocals and this one was more commercial than "Big City Car".  Always wondered why MGM elected to slap the song on the "B" side on their "Big City Car" 45.

3.) Wah Wah (John Ussery) - 2:30 rating: *** stars 

With his guitar front and center, "Wah Wah" made no effort to hide Ussery's affinity and affection for blues.  Loved the quirky "wah wah" backing vocals.

4.) Don't Cut Your Hair (Johnson - John Ussery) - 3:59 rating: **** star

The lyrics haven't aged well ("I want you to be a square ..."), but "Don't Cut Your Hair " was the album's best blues-rocker.  The combination of a killer riff and Latin percussion touches gave the tune a commercial edge that set it apart from anything in the Canned Heat/Paul Butterfield catalogs.

5.) Move On Up (John Ussery) - 4:01

Built on a bouncy organ powered melody, "Move On Up" sounded like Alex Chilton fronting The Young Rascals.  Great tune and Kammerer's Locomotive-styled drumming provided a cute nod to the band's name.

Neither the album, nor the single did anything commercially and within a matter of months Locomotive were history with the band members scattering to other projects.

- Clausing joined Seattle's Peece.

- Kammerer spent several years with the Seattle band Streetcorner.

- Stroum spent some time with the country-rock band Skyboys; recording a 1979 album for Jerry Dennon's First American label ("Skyboys" First American catalog number FA-LP-7709)

- Ussery had the most active post-Locomotive career, recording a 1973 solo album for Mercury ("Ussery" Mercury catalog number SRM-1-671) and several albums with The Full Tilt Blues Band.

 © Scott R. Blackerby November 2025