Room
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1968-70) - Steve Edge -- lead and rhythm guitar - Bob Jenkins -- drums, congas, percussion - Jane Kevern -- vocals, tambourine - Roy Putt -- bass - Chris Williams -- lead guitars
line up 2 (1970-71) - Steve Edge -- lead and rhythm guitar NEW - John Hutcheson -- keyboards - Bob Jenkins -- drums, congas, percussion - Jane Kevern -- vocals, tambourine - Roy Putt -- bass - Chris Williams -- lead guitars
supporting musicians: - Max Burwood -- viola - N. Carter -- trumpet - Denis East -- violins - Eric Eden -- violins - Michael J. Hart -- bass - Peter Hodge -- trombine - Ray Hudson -- trumpet - David Jones - cello - Tom Lister - viola - J. McLevy -- trumpet - Mo Miller -- flugelhorn - Raymond Moseley -- violins - Denis Nesbitt -- cello - Brian Smith -- violins
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- Average Blues Band (Chris Williams) - Be Sharp (Bob Jenkins) - Design (Bob Jenkins) - Ginger Man (Bob Jenkins and John Hutchinson) - Gulliver's People (Bob Jenkins) - Jet Harris Band (Bob Jenkins) - The Surprise Sisters (Bob Jenkins) - Tetrad (Bob Jenkins)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Pre-Flight Company: Arkama Catalog: AK
375 Country/State: Blandfort, Dorset, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: reissue; gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 838 Price: $50.00
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1970's "Preflight" is one of the most of obscure albums released by the Deram label... Assuming you could find a copy of the Deram original (catalog number SML 1073), it would set you back $700 - $800 so for most folks the 2006 Arkama reissue is the way to go. (Getting into a discussion of whether you'd want to spend that kind of money on an original copy is a totally different issue.)
photo credit Dezo Hoffman
Fronted by singer Jane Kevern, Room featured the talents of guitarist Steve Edge, drummer Bob Jenkins, bassist Roy Putt, and lead guitarist Chris Williams. Originally known as One Way, then The Room, finally Room, the group started as a bunch of friends sharing a common interest in music. They started out playing dances, youth clubs, village halls, and local clubs, eventually winning second place in a 1969 Melody Maker sponsored talent contest. The win saw them sign a recording contract with Deram Records which the following year teamed them with producer Mickey Clarke. The resulting album was apparently recorded in one extended session. If true, the results were even more impressive. Featuring all original material, the album showcased a mixture of blues-rock, jazz-rock, classical, experimentation, West Coast psych, and progressive moves; occasional all blending together over the the course of a single composition. The focus was clearly on front woman Kevern who had a sharp and crystal clear soprano voice that you'll either adore, or find quite irritating. I'll readily admit my opinion has gone both ways over the years and for all her technical prowess, her performances didn't seem to embrace a great deal of creative warmth - maybe it was simply a sign of the times. In fact, a cold, distant, almost clinical feel seemed to surround the entire album. This was the product of your typical early-'70s crew of stoned and insipidly happy hippies. Regardless, the rest of the band were quite accomplished performers showing surprising skills navigating through some complex original song arrangements, particularly the title track, 'Andromeda' and 'Cemetery Junction'. Twin lead guitarists Edge and Williams were particularly impressive (check out their work on 'War'. ,While it's an album I've consistently enjoyed, I'll also tell you it isn't the lost classic folks would have you believe. Exemplified by tracks like 'Where Did I Go Wrong', quite a bit of the album was wasted on formulaic electric-blues that sounded like sub-par Savoy Brown.
"Pre-Flight" track listing: 1.) Preflight (Steve Edge) - 8:56. rating: *** stars It's kind of hard to know what to make of the instrumental title-track. Though the track listing showed it as a unified composition, for all intents and purposes it was a two part effort, Parts of it were certainly progressively oriented, but Bob Jenkins' martial drumming and the guitars also gave the song a psych/rock edge. On the downside, the constant "da-dops" that marking the first four minutes of the track proved increasingly irritating and then; suddenly around the 4:30 mark the song shifted to a trumpet powered segment that sounded like something written as an incidental film score. That was followed by a stark ballad segment that showcased Kevern's sharp and somewhat shrill voice. From there, around the seven minute mark it was off into jazz-rock fusion territory. Mildly entertaining and quite unique, but I'll tell you it sure seemed a lot longer than the nine minutes .. 2.) Where Did I Go Wrong (Steve Edge - Bob Jenkins - Jane Kevern - Roy Putt - Chris Williams) - 5:27. rating: *** stars Seemingly like every other early-'70s British band, 'Where Did I Go Wrong' found the band flying their English blues-band flag. A conventional slice of electric blues, the results were competent and would probably appeal to early Climax Blues Band Fleetwood Mac, or Savoy Brown fans. Otherwise ... pass. 3.) No Warmth In My Life - 4:34 rating: **** stars The horns were a bit unexpected and jarring, but compared to the earlier tracks 'No Warmth In My Life' was rather commercial and mainstream with a pleasant melody, some interesting guitar moves, and Keven's double tracked vocals. The abrupt shift into jazzier territory (about two minutes in) with some nifty lead guitar was also kind of cool. 4.) Big John Blues (Chris Williams) - 2:33 rating: ** stars More rather conventional blues-rock, docked a star for Kevern's irritating scat singing. I hate scat singing.
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2) 'Andromeda' was one of those songs that drove me crazy in part because it seemed determined to touch on as many genres as possible in five minutes and the fact I couldn't decide if I loved, or hated Kevern's performance ... Musically the heavily orchestrated track was truly kind of a mass, but there was something charming about the song's timepiece sensibilities. 2.) War (Chris Williams) - 4:33 'War' offered up another oddball mixture of blues, jazz. progressive, and rock moves. It was a nice enough showcase for Kevern's crystal clear voice, but the real standout was the Edge/Williams dual lead guitar line-up. Even though the song wasn't great, their performances were impressive. rating: *** stars 3.) Cemetery Junction (instrumental) (Jane Kevern - Roy Putt - Chris Williams) - rating: **** stars Williams' opening lead guitar gave the track an interesting West Coast vibe and from there the instrumental found the band taking stabs at blues-rock, jazz-rock, what sounded like orchestrated soundtrack work, and outright experimentation. Around the 4:30 mark there was even a lovely classical segment (complete with church bell).
For anyone interested, there's a wonderful Room blog at: http://roomprogressive.blogspot.com/
Edge seemingly dropped out of music and started a career with the Nature Conservancy Council. He has a Facebook page.
Jenkins became an in-demand drummer, playing and touring with an impressive array of bands and artists.
Putt became a well know artist specializing in automotive art (think it's the same guy since he designed the cool original album cover).
Not sure about the other members, though I'm sure someone out there has the answer.
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