Canterbury Scene Music

dougmcauliffe wrote: I listened to national health today on the way home from a day of skiing with a friend today. I really only have a surface level knowledge of this sub genre currently but I’m hoping to expand over the coming months

National Health's debut album is the one album I hold more dearly than any other on this earth, it's such an amazing journey. As a musician, this song written by keyboard wizard Alan Gowen gave me huge anxiety for a long time because it felt so far ahead of what I was able to accomplish compositionally, but it did help me to broaden my horizons and refine my own writings:

The two bands that National Health was formed out of (Gilgamesh and Hatfield & The North) are truly excellent as well:

 

I have precisely five Canterbury Scene albums: The first four Steve Hillage albums, and the self-titled Hatfield and the North album. The Hatfield and the North album I got since I started visiting PA (before becoming a member), and the four Steve Hillage albums I got more than 30 years ago, well before I'd ever heard of the "Canterbury Scene".

 

My two favourite Steve Hillage tracks are "Lunar Musick Suite" from L, and "The Glorious Om Riff" from Green. I'm not sure which is my favourite album, though probably Fish Rising. Steve Hillage is not an artist I listen to often.

 

I have listened to some Gong since I started visiting PA, and it was quite a while afterwards that I discovered that Steve Hillage was a member (and that "The Glorious Om Riff" is essentially the same as a Gong track). Admittedly, this came as a surprise since the Gong I knew was such songs as "The Pot Head Pixies".

 

 

 

and this:

and this:

and one more:

 

Starting with Steve Hillage - Live in Canterbury - BBC TV 1979

 

 

Amazingly, I only just discovered the Canterbury Scene music of Steve Hillage a week ago after reviewing his first album "Fish Rising" (1975). I'm heading into Nottingham soon to buy his 2nd, 3rd & 4th albums. I'd buy his first album too, but it's no longer available.