Sea Train ‎– Sea Train - 1970 Prog Rock (vinyl)

Seatrain was an American roots fusion band based initially in Marin County, California, and later in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Seatrain was formed in 1969, subsequently drawing some members from the Blues Project upon its break-up. The group, which recorded four albums, disbanded in 1973.^[1]

Band history

Flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg and drummer Roy Blumenfeld of Blues Project formed the band with Jim Roberts, ex-Mystery Trend guitarist John Gregory, formerJim Kweskin Jug Band violinist/fiddler Richard Greene, and saxophonist Don Kretmar. Seatrain recorded their first album, Planned Obsolescence, in 1968, but had to release it as a Blues Project album for contractual reasons. In 1969, they released a self-titled LP (Sea Train), but faced a major change in membership a few months later.^[2]

The group's second self-titled album was released in 1970 under the single-word name Seatrain. By then, Blumenfeld, Gregory, and Kretmar had been replaced by drummer Larry Atamanuik, keyboardist Lloyd Baskin, and Earth Opera guitarist and former Blue Grass Boy Peter Rowan. The album's "13 Questions" was released as a single and became a minor hit in the US,^[3] reaching #49 on Billboard's national chart.

George Martin produced the album, marking the first time he had acted in that capacity with a rock act since his work with the Beatles. He also produced Seatrain's much-anticipated 1971 follow-up album, The Marblehead Messenger.^[4] In September Seatrain toured Great Britain for the first time, usually performing as a support act for Traffic.^[5] However, Rowan and Greene left the band soon after to form Muleskinner, while Roberts and Atamanuik joined the backing band ofEmmylou Harris. Kulberg and Baskin replaced these members with guitarist Peter Walsh, keyboardist Bill Elliot, and drummer Julio Coronado, but only released one more album, 1973's Watch.