THE POLITE FORCE

Dave Stewart shines on this obscurity from the early 70s. I was drawn to this mainly due to the pinnacles of excellence from National Health and Hatfield and the North. Although The Polite Force is not up to those standards there is still a lot to soak your prog ears into here.

It begins masterfully with A Visit to Newport Hospital that is the highlight of the album with brilliant keyboards and rhythms that jar the senses.

Contrasong follows with more strange time changes and delightful keyboards. After this it launches into hyper surreal musique concrete on Boilk. It is a virtual pastiche of odd complexities and patches of effects that sound like a music shop exploded. Difficult to endure after a first listen, but it is innovative and experimental in the early years of prog. Lastly a magnum opus of instrumental finesse on Long Piece No. 3. It's a 20:40 epic in 4 parts that are split to give the listener some semblance of clarity. Honestly it's sheer experimentation with jazz fusion and symphonic keyboards.

There you have it. Egg's The Polite Force captures the birth pangs of Canterbury Prog and it delivers a soundscape of proggy excellence.