Siren - Siren & Strange Locomotion (1969 -1971)

                                                                     Siren
In 1995, Edsel released Strange Locomotion/Siren, which contained two complete albums - Strange Locomotion, originally released on Dandelion in 1969, and Siren, originally released on Elektra in 1971 - by Kevin Coyne's first band, the eclectic British blues-rock group Siren, together on one compact disc.
Before beginning his career as a solo artist, Kevin Coyne was the centerpiece of Siren. The group recorded two albums in the late '60s and early '70s for Dandelion, the British underground-oriented indie run by DJ John Peel. The paths that Coyne would follow on his many solo albums are much in evidence in Siren's work, which spotlight his pained, scraggly, and soulful vocals, as well as his funny, sometimes bitter lyrics. Guitarist Dave Clague (who was once in the Bonzo Dog Band) and pianist Nick Cudworth helped Coyne pen much of Siren's material, and provided much of the low-key bluesy, folksy arrangements. Siren's slim discography was doubled and then some in the mid-'90s, when DJC came up with three albums of mostly unreleased material. Here are the two official Siren records, showing Kevin Coyne in his mid-twenties during the early stages of his professional music career. Of course before this he had worked as a bus conductor and then as an art therapist in the Whittington Psychiatric Hospital in Preston Lancashire, an experience that would inspire a lot of his work as did the strles of his older brother Arthur.

Credits:

Dave Clague - Bass  
Tat Meager - Drums 
Dave Clague - Guitar
Nick Cudworth - Guitar
Mick Gratton - Lead Guitar 
Nick Cudworth - Piano  
Kevin Coyne -  Vocals

Tracklist:

1 Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze 3:07
2 Get Right Church 3:22
3 Rock Me Baby 3:32
4 Wake up My Children 3:39
5 Wasting My Time 2:52
6 Sixteen Women 2:47
7 First Time I Saw Your Face 2:55
8 Gardener Man 3:34
9 And I Wonder 2:48
10 Asylum 3:47
11 Bertha Lee 3:19
12 I Wonder Where 5:11
13 Relaxing With Bonnie Lou 3:23
14 Some Dark Day 3:33
15 Hot Potatao 4:09
16 Soon 3:48
17 Gigolo 4:26
18 I'm All Aching 3:04
19 Strange Locomotion 2:56)
20 Shake My Hand 3:17
21 Lonesome Ride 2:21
22 Fat Moaning Minnie 2:51
23 Squeeze Me 2:37