Locomotive's only album was an oddball piece of second-tier British psychedelia, stuck somewhere between psych and progressive rock, and mixing in a lot of soul music, a good deal of jazz, and a bit of classical. In those respects, they were similar to
Traffic and
Family, though putting more emphasis on soul music. The influences didn't cohere as well as they did in
Traffic and
Family, though, and the material wasn't nearly as effective. Of-the-day traits like swirling organ, fishbowl-distorted vocals, and phased drumming provided the freakiest elements, along with the band's liking for throwing in jazzy tempo changes. Melodically and lyrically,
Locomotive were uncommonly grim for a late-'60s British psychedelic band, and there was a touch of
Procol Harum in the vague tormented metaphysical questing of some of their lyrics and vocals. It's a reflection of their relatively inaccessible original material that the most memorable song is their cover of
the United States of America's "Coming Down/Love Song for the Dead Che," an imaginative choice, considering the original must have been barely known in Britain at that time. ~ Richie Unterberger