Label: Virgin Records (Japan), VJCP-2534
Style: Instrumental, Progressive Rock, Jazz Rock
Country: United Kingdom
Time: 37:03
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 190 Mb
Gilgamesh's
1975 eponymous debut portrays a fine group that emerged during the
waning days of Britain's Canterbury scene. The album by keyboardist Alan
Gowen's quartet -- also featuring guitarist Phil Lee, bassist Jeff
Clyne, and drummer Mike Travis in this incarnation -- was issued by
Virgin Records' budget-line Caroline imprint. By the mid-'70s, Virgin's
support for bands of this ilk was approaching its end, with punk and new
wave soon ruling the day. Arriving late in the game, Gowen and company
sounded most similar to Canterbury supergroup Hatfield and the North,
and in fact Hatfields keyboardist Dave Stewart co-produced the album.
Gilgamesh had clearly mastered the Hatfields' suites'n'segues approach
to Canterbury-style complexity while sidestepping blatant imitation --
for the most part. Certainly from the first notes of opening three-part
suite "One End More/Phil's Little Dance/Worlds of Zin," Gilgamesh prove
capable of nimble thematic lines and knotty stops and starts, while
admirably refraining from pyrotechnics. The suite's kitchen-sink
approach makes room for King Crimson-ish Mellotron and grand piano
flourishes (recalling Keith Tippett on Lizard) as well as Stevie
Wonder-ish funk-lite clavinet, but the uniform production smooths out
such quirky juxtapositions. "Lady and Friend" provides a true jolt, with
Clyne's lullaby-like bass melody, seasoned by light electric
piano/guitar accompaniment, preceded by a brief blast of full-band
unison riffing seemingly designed as a rude interruption. Just over a
minute and a half long, Gowen's "Arriving Twice" is a wonderful
interlude, with acoustic guitar, electric piano, and synth sketching a
melody that draws from jazz, folk, and classical but ultimately
transcends such labels; it's the perfect segue into "Island of Rhodes,"
the first portion of the album's next three-part suite, with the track's
namesake keyboard floating in nocturnal ambience a la In a Silent Way
before the introduction of a dreamily beautiful theme accompanied by the
subtlest percussive embellishments from Travis. The suite ultimately
offers its own share of unpredictable twists, ending with a driving vamp
as guitarist Lee cuts loose, but the production again manages to avoid
shattering the prevailing vibe. The album does court Hatfields imitation
here and there -- "Jamo and Other Boating Disasters" features Amanda
Parsons' soprano vocals in pure Northettes style during an interlude
that clearly strives for the drama of The Rotters' Club's "Mumps" coda,
while elsewhere Lee employs a decidedly Phil Miller-esque electric
guitar tone. But Gowen himself avoids obvious Canterbury devices,
eschewing fuzz organ solos during the music's most animated moments in
favor of round-toned synth voicings that snake and float through rather
than pierce the air. Gilgamesh's studio-based forays may have tamped
down the band's woollier aspects, but the keyboardist and his bandmates
were charting their own inimitable direction, too briefly explored but
holding up admirably in recordings such as this.
(allmusic.com/album/gilgamesh-mw0000743979)
01. (a) One End More; (b) Phil's Little Dance - for Phil Millers trousers; (c) Wo... (10:22)
02. Lady And Friend (03:44)
03. Notwithstanding (04:47)
04. Arriving Twice (01:37)
05. (a) Island Of Rhodes; (b) Paper Boat - for Doris; (c) As If Your Eyes Were Open (06:41)
06. For Absent Friends (01:13)
07. (a) We Are All; (b) Someone Else's Food; (c) Jamo And Other BoatingDisasters ... (07:49)
08. Just C (00:47)
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