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Article by Richard Morton Jack in October 2004 issue of Record Collector
Room had been gigging around their native Dorset for years before opportunity knocked at the end of 1969. "We came second in Melody Maker's talent contest". remembers guitarist Steve Edge, "and our prize was a recording contract with Deram". Somewhat staggeringly, Pre-flight - a complex work featuring heavy riffs, tight drumming, frenzied guitar solos and the powerful, distinctive voice of Jane Kevern - was recorded in a single day the following summer. In the producer's chair was Mickey Clarke, red-hot from overseeing Rolf Harris's syrupy Two Little Boys, giving some indication of the bizarrely incongruous nature of the industry at the time. True to the progressive rulebook, the songs are orchestrated and split into sections, but self-indulgence is largely avoided in favour of taut jamming. despite its appeal to modern prog connoisseurs, the group wasn't overjoyed with the finished product. "I was disappointed with the selection of tracks", Edge admits. "Most of the LP was quite depressing, whereas we'd cut some brighter tunes." True, the album has a frequently despondent tone, reaching its apogee on the epic closer Cemetery Junction - but it also showcases some of the most exciting musicianship in the progressive field, especially on the biting Andromeda and the sinister War. Housed in a memorable carton sleeve designed by their bassist, Roy Putt, Pre-Flight sold very poorly on release and is barely ever offered for sale today. Though it's as ambitious as anything in the genre, when it failed to take off the already-jaded Room regrettably fell apart. Record Collector - October 2004 |
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ROOM - Pre-Flight
Unico album de esta banda inglesa y uno de los discos mas dificiles de conseguir en el sello Decca/Deram ingles. Esta banda al igual que muchas bandas precursoras del rockprogresivo mezclan el hard rock con blues y elementos de jazz y hasta orquesta de musicos sinfonicos son incorporados a su musica. Realmente este album esta muy cargado de blues en su piezas y la voz de Jane es mas a ese estilo. Las piezas mas interesantes son los instrumentales Pre-Flight y Cemetry Junction que ademas son las mas largas del album. Buena mezcla de la orquesta sinfonica con elementos de hard rock progresivo y contrapunteo entro los dos guitarras del grupo con elementos de la musica del siglo 19. Recomendable el escuchar este album particularmente por su ultima pieza que es excellente.
www.dlsi.ua.es/~inesta/LCDM/Discos/room_preflight.html |
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ROOM - Pre-Flight
(Deram-Japan) 1970 / Great UK progressive rock. Very versatile sound with lots of cooking, stinging leads, female folkie /bluesy vocals, complex rhythm changes. (Code H)
www.longhairmusic.de/malesch/r.htm |
| ROOM-Pre-Flight-Deram(U.K., '70)-One of the rarest British major label items, this is top-notch progressive/psych with blistering guitars and haunting female vocals. (M-/M-) $800 or (EX/EX,STNC) $600. (SOLD) |
| ROOM "Pre-Flight" ROOM 778-1 LP $12.25 A re-issue of a mega-rare British progressive album, originally out in 1970 on Deram, running the gamut from space-prog to orchestral to straight up Chicago style blues. Heavy 220 gram vinyl, original artwork, Euro import. (MISC. LABELS) |
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Room - Preflight (Deram, UK, 70) This is one of the most collectable ones on the fine Deram label, definatly not usual, in fact more seldom for sale than Mellow Candle. Musically it is top league complex progressive with female vocals, 5cm split at back edge of cover ex/m-
http://home.online.no/~jarun/rg70uk.htm |
| ROOM PRE-FLIGHT UK 22,00 € 1970 EXCELENTE PROGRESIVO CON UN LIGERO TOQUE DE BLUES Y CON MUCHOS ARREGLOS. MAGNÍFICA GUITARRA Y VOZ FEMENINA. |
| ROOM - PRE-FLIGHT - KOR - £ 12.95 SRMC0043 Siwan CD f**king rare (150 quid plus) 1970 only lp of good prog with blues flavour, good female vox, strong guitar, strings, brass... |
| Room - "Pre-Flight" (1970) Room was an obscure British group who released a promising debut-album, and then disappeared into oblivion. They played a quite rough, unpolished and guitar-dominated style of early 70's progressive rock mainly influenced by jazz and blues, but they also gave the music a symphonic side by using lots of strings and brass. They were fronted by a female-singer, and her voice fitted well into their often melo-dramatic and complex songs. The title-track and the instrumental "Cemetery Junction" are both solid progressive rock tracks in several sections, and reveals a tight and technical very competent band. "Andromeda" shows the band from their most dramatic and grandiose side, while the more blues-inflected tracks "Where Did I Go Wrong" and "Big John Blues" are more modest and basic. The quiet parts of "No Warmth in My Life" tend to remind me of Affinity, and that's not a bad thing at all. "Pre-Flight" is an album with lots of qualities, and should be well worth checking out. |
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Room - No Warmth in my Life, from ''Pre-Flight", their first and only album, released in 1970. Next to Leaf Hound's "Growers of Mushroom" and Mellow Candle's "Swaddling Songs", Room's album is one of the r arest on the Deram label and is worth quite a bit on the collector's market. A UK quintet, the band was made up of vocalist Jane Kevern, bassist Roy Putt, guitarists Chris Williams and Steve Edge and drummer Bob Jenkins. Their music is basically p rogressive rock with strong bluesy overtones, with the odd excursion into jazzy territory. There's even a tasteful mix of brass and strings, with some interesting vocal tones from Jane Kevern. The musicianship is above average, but that didn't prevent the band from fading into obscurity. A Chris Williams later appeared with German progressive outfit, Abacus, but we're not sure if it's the same Chris Williams. Bob Jenkins later appeared with Kiki Dee, Sally Oldfield, Alphaville and Lionsheart.
www.dinosaurdays.co.za/110301/d110301.htm |
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Responsible for another extremely rare one-off album on Deram, Room offers progressive rock with strong bluesy overtones and even some excursions into jazzy territory, without ever leaving their rock foundations. A host of instruments, both strings and brass enliven the music, though at times it tends to get a bit too brassy. Jane Kevern sings well, but without much ability for different moods. Luckily the guitar parts are good too, so although more diversity in atmosphere would have made the record excellent, it is now not more than plain good. The arrangement of the final track Cemetery Junction with its unexpected foray into late 19th century symphonical, lifts this cut above the rest. This in fact refers to the major traffic crossroads in central Bournemouth (where the band were resident at the time).
A Blandford Forum band, they won an NME 'Beat Contest'. Shortly after Pre-Flight was released John Hutcheson, who'd been in Ginger Man with drummer Bob Jenkins, joined the band on organ.
www.borderlinebooks.com/uk6070s/tapestry.html?http://www.borderlinebooks.com/uk6070s/r6.html |