GILGAMESH

The unreleased early recordings by Gilgamesh found their way into this album. Clocking at 58 minutes, it is experimental and engaging if you're into instrumental Cantebury influenced fusion. Despite early band years they already had the two sound facettes that would characterize their two studio albums: edgier guitar-led fusion on one hand and mellow Rhodes/electric piano formed groovy shorter tracks that could be a bit reminiscent of Return to Forever minus Latin influence. I already own the two studio albums and still like to put on this one due to the sheer amount of music immersion from the beginning till the end. Despite its loose feeling, it is quite a focused effort.

Unlike the band's namesake, the Canterbury jazz outfit GILGAMESH was never king of its craft and certainly hasn't been deified posthumously but rather one of the many accent pieces to grace the unique intersections where free jazz, progressive rock and touches of comedic whimsey commingled in 1970s England before drifting abroad and cementing a stronghold as a small yet significant subset of the greater rock paradigm. The band GILGAMESH began in 1972 as the brainchild of Allen Gowen previously of the Afro-Funk rock band Assagai which itself dabbled in psychedelic rock and jazz-fusion along with myriad traditional African musical styles. Like many bands under the Canterbury banner, GILGAMESH pretty much saw a flurry of Canterbury heroes come and go such as Richard Sinclair before finding a stable lineup that would allow an actual album to be born.

The self-titled debut was released in 1975 with Gowen providing the classic Canterbury keys ranging from acoustic and electric pianos, clarinet, synth and mellotron and was joined by guitarist Phil Lee, bassist Jeff Clyne and drummer Michael Travis with the extra help of vocalist Amanda Parsons and Dave Stewart who provided vocal arrangements. With much more adventurous and groundbreaking projects like Hatfield & The North capturing the Canterbury Scene's lion's share of attention during those days, the light-hearted slower burner GILGAMESH sort of came and went without much fanfare, the band splintered off into myriad directions and seemed like a one-off ready to be abandoned at a drop of a hat and written off as a mere footnote to the 1970s world of progressive rock while bands like National Health and Steve Hillage's solo career carried the torch for the new innovative approaches of the style.

Gowen put the project on hold as he joined National Health in 1975 but after leaving two years later never let the dream of GILGAMESH subside and continued to write new material throughout the years. Rejoined by guitarist Phil Lee, Gowen recruited drummer Trevor Tomkins of Nucleus and was then joined by bassist Hugh Hopper to fulfill his ambitions of a second coming of GILGAMESH coming to light. The second album ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO was recorded in June 1978 and then finally released in 1979 on the Charly label and delivered another slice of distinct all-instrumental Canterbury jazz mixed with a lot more upbeat tempos and moments of improvisation. The band was notably more complex and technical than its predecessor although it recaptured that mellow slow burning demeanor of the debut. The album was considerably bolder and ventured pellmell into various musical motifs.

More like a nerding out noodling session, Canterbury style, ANOTHER FINE TUNE perhaps came off as a little too arcane for the average Canterbury Scene aficionado who at this point expected lyrical contributions as well as all the twists and turns of the musical contributions. ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO a sort of a celebration of Canterbury top dogs who relish in the most outlandish complexities of the genre and provided a place where they can find them all under one roof without the troublesome distractions of thematic concepts or vocal distractions to get in the way. This is the ultimate jamming session between some of the top progressive musicians that the 1970s had to offer in full regalia. The album drifts between familiar Canterbury tones and chord progressions to free improv jazz along with moments of pure psychedelia and even included in the rare Canterbury moments of guitar virtuosity.

ANOTHER FINE TUNE also excelled at time signatures run amok with every cadence featuring a dizzying array of technical chops where every musician seemingly played in a different key and / or time signature simultaneouslyo. The jittery nature of these complexities however is completely tamed into a smooth-flowing almost glissando delivery of primo Canterbury jazz unlike anything else that was going on at the time. I avoided this album for the longest time simply because the debut album only left me lukewarm although i appreciated it on many levels. It delivered a unique style but was a little to tame and lackadaisical in its approach to really get me to throw it on rather than the Hatfields, Soft Machine or good old National Health. However ANOTHER FINE TUNE is a completely different beast altogether and finds the GILGAMESH brand expanding its reach into a wide plethora of musical styles each accomplished with a sense of professionalism and instrumental integrity few others could accomplish.

Overall this is the album i always wanted the debut to be. Spruced up with all the Canterbury excesses taken to their limits and then some. The instrumental interplay of the four musicians on board is of epic proportions and is tantamount to the most sophisticated jazz greats of the past only playing double duty as it also adopts all those intricacies that allowed the Canterbury Scene to exist in its own distinct bubble outside the confines of ordinary jazz, progressive rock or even the burgeoning world of jazz-fusion. The light and airy moods of the debut had been infiltrated by an intensity and jaw-dropping musical gymnastics that featured some of the most demanding twists and turns and knotty musical constructs to be heard even within the overtly complex style of the Canterbury jazz ethos itself. Although unknown to most, GILGAMESH and this album in general remains a seminal part of the entire British Canterbury Scene and one of Gowan's top achievements. Sadly he would pass away only a two years later at the age of 33 from leukemia. ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO showcases Gowen and friends in peak performance with no compromises. WARNING: This is difficult listening music.

4.5 but rounded down

The second Gilgamesh album is even more sophisticated, gentle but also abstract. Unlike its predecessor, it's a fully instrumental effort. Lee(guitar) and Gowen (keyboards) remained on board, while the famous Hopper and less known Tomkins emerge in the rhythm section. If you're looking for demanding fusion-inspired Canterbury album, then this is the right venue to stop at. Playing is refined, warm (unlike some other fusion records) but compositions lack cohesion and aren't that memorable in comparison to most other Canterbury output and even Gilgamesh' first album. I feel that these guys would have been (as very few from the progressive rock scene) competent to record a straightforward jazz album since there is a lot of atmosphere, freedom and nuance in their playing. One of the non-essential nevertheless still interesting Canterbury outputs.

Gilgamesh was formed at the peak of progressive rock era when ambitions met with sophisticated and maturity. That characteristics matches their music well. Though labeled as Cantebury band (and they definitely match that comparison when looking at the line-up), they are actually closer to the jazz-rock/fusion area. Music on that album is quite nuanced with proficient playing that is exploratory rather than rigorous, more atmospheric than energetic. It is one of the less accessible "Canterbury" music which may be an advantage for instrumental freaks and may put off folks looking for good compositions. The first composition (over 10-minutes) is, in my opinion, the landmark of Gilgamesh, blending several advanced motives to create an impressive instrumental suite. Shorter pieces are less substantial but we still have two tracks well worth attention - number 5 and 7 (their names are too long to write here ;-)). The 5th track evolves from a fine jazzy keyboard-guitar tandem into a "Hatfieldesque" fiery upbeat piece. The seventh track graces us with the female vocals again in the "Hatfield" way, but before that, I must again highlight the excellent guitar leads supported by Rhodes. Really tight playing by all band members.

I wanted to give it 3.5 stars but due to highly proficient playing, will round it up to 4.

Its hard to imagine that something as obscure as Gilgamesh could produce a 5-star masterpiece. One would assume that if they had created such good music, they wouldn't be so obscure. However, clearly, Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into is the exception that proves the rule. Yes, its weird. Yes, it is obscure. But when actually listening to the music itself, one can discover how truly incredible this album is. The album features the quiet but complicated "Darker Brighter," the brilliant "Bobberty / Theme For Something Else," the acoustic "Waiting," as well as many other gems. Definitely a surprising masterpiece of progressive rock, and essential to any collection.

To fans of Canterbury Scene, as I myself am, a 5-star certified essential.

And within the scene, a latter day example of more Jazz Fusion inflected music. I was just thinking, as I'm showing this to my girlfriend, a very important album I discovered in my college days (and listened to frequently), stylistically similar perhaps to Pat Metheny, but unlike him (with all very due respect) ever more consistently interesting, holding the ears of the listener despite being soft and reflective. It's a magical sort of album to me in this way.

From the playful and light (and unmistakably Kentish) "Darker Brighter", "Play Time" and "T.N.T.F.X." to the epic and emotive "Bobberty: Theme from Something Else" to the acoustic Winter-welcome beauty of Lee's solo "Waiting": A great album of great music by exemplary and most worthy British master musicians.

This should appeal to those fans of (both inimitable and essential) contemporaries and collaborators Phil Miller (Machine Mole, Hatfield and the North, National Health) and Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan, Hatfield, National Health, Bruford), masters of feeling and masters of their respective instruments. Of a comparable deserved status are Gilgamesh's own Alan Gowen and Phil Lee. Masterful students of Bop and Jazz at large, they know their way around composition (and each other).

True Rate: 4.5/5.0

GILGAMESH (named after a legendary Sumerian king of Mesopotamia) were a two-album Canterbury Scene band led by keyboard player Alan Gowen. Gilgamesh are closely associated with two other Canterbury Scene bands from the proggy 1970's era: Hatfield & the North and National Health, with various band members migrating from one band to another. Gilgamesh recorded two mostly instrumental albums of complex Jazz Fusion:- "Gilgamesh" (1975) and the comically- titled "Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into" (1978), the album title no doubt inspired by the comic duo Laurel & Hardy. There was also a much later compilation album "Arriving Twice" which arrived once in the year 2000. It's time now to delve into the not-so-ancient musical legend of Gilgamesh and check out their first self-titled album.

The Gilgamesh album opens with the three-piece-suite: "One End More / Phil's Little Dance - For Phil Miller's Trousers / Worlds Of Zin". With a total running time of over ten minutes in this opening number, there's plenty of time for a wild excursion into typical experimental Canterbury Scene territory. It's mostly laid-back instrumental Jazzy music, focusing mainly on keyboards, electric guitar and delicate understated percussion, with occasional harmonising vocals courtesy of Amanda Parsons. This dynamic and ever-changing style of inventive Jazz Fusion will be instantly recognisable to fans of Hatfield & the North and National Health, so even if you've never heard this particular Gilgamesh album before, listening to this album on the record player will sound as comfortably familiar as wearing a comfy woolly sweater or donning a pair of fluffy carpet slippers that have been warmed-up by the fire. Having been introduced to the album, it's now time to meet "Lady and Friend", which opens as a tranquil keyboard piece to put one in a relaxed frame of mind, but be prepared for the occasional outburst of strident electric guitar when you least expect it. This is like the kind of cool Jazz you might hear played in a cocktail lounge, only this endlessly entertaining music comes shaken and stirred with a slice of lemon and a cherry on top. Notwithstanding the fact that the complex instrumental Jazz on this album has so far been as enigmatic as the mysterious legend of Gilgamesh, "Notwithstanding" takes us into even wilder exotic realms of musical experimentation, which will no doubt leave fans of the Canterbury Scene sound awestruck in amazement at the musical proficiency on display here. For the uninitiated though, this may be one step beyond what is enjoyable or even listenable.

Arriving at Side Two now comes "Arriving Twice", a short and sweet, pleasant stroll along the mellow Canterbury Scene trail. We come to the second of the three extended three-piece-suites on the album now with "Island Of Rhodes / Paper Boat - For Doris / As If Your Eyes Were Open". It's a seven-minute pleasure cruise opening in calm waters, but with occasional large waves in the shape of dynamic keyboard and guitar runs. This is music that should come supplied with a windbreaker and a sou'wester hat, as it's a constantly changing fusion of Jazz and Rock, charting an unpredictable course through some choppy windswept waters. It's time now to spare a thought "For Absent Friends", a gentle acoustic guitar diversion running at just over one minute long, and we're all at sea again with the final three-piece suite "We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name." There are no real surprises in store here. It's a very familiar 8-minute-long pleasure trip aboard the good ship Canterbury for another weird and wonderful excursion into the outer reaches of complex Jazz Fusion. To play us out now comes "Just C", a 45-second-long gentle tinkling of the keyboards to put one in a relaxed and mellow frame of mind.

This Canterbury Scene album of experimental Jazz Fusion will almost certainly appeal to fans of Hatfield & the North and National Health, so even if you've never heard this album before, you'll know exactly what to expect from Gilgamesh if you're at all familiar with those two legendary bands of the Canterbury Scene. If you've already headed up the Great North Road to the sound of Hatfield & the North and picked up a prescription for National Health on the way, then Gilgamesh would make an ideal third stop-off point on the musical journey along the Canterbury Scene trail.

One of the band's that emerged after the Canterbury's heyday nevertheless responsible for tethering together two prominent acts in the Scene, namely the extraordinarily larger-than-life supergroup Hatfield and the North and the also late to the scene but equally relevant National Health. GILGAMESH, named after a historical Sumerian king of the city-state, Uruk, was formed in 1972 by Alan Gowen, who entered the music world through the Afrobeat fusion band Assagai in 1971 before joining the ranks of the Canterbury jazz club.

After three years of various lineups including such Canterbury stalwarts as Richard Sinclair and a veritable who's who cast in the Canterbury world, a self-titled debut finally emerged in the final year of first run with the lineup of Gowen (piano, synthesizers, mellotrons), MikeTravis (drums), Jeff Clyne (bass) and Phil Lee (guitars). There are a few brief appearances by Amanda Parsons whose angelic ethereal siren effects clearly bring the Hatfield and the North connections to the forefront.

What comes off as a more straight forward jazz-fusion album than contemporary Canterbury music of the early 70s with a more orchestral sort of flow to the album, GILGAMESH still contains an ample dosage of angular harmonic complexities laced with subtle self-deprecating humorous effects most obvious in the track titles as well as on the album cover that depicts the game Chutes And Ladders depicted in a life on the road, the musician's guide approach.

Musically this debut is more airy with a floaty feather in the clouds sort of feel with the harshness emerging in the free-for-all compositional twists and turns that are presented in the three tracks that contain mini-suites however even tracks like "Notwithstanding" present some challenging jazz workouts that implement that indescribable Canterbury warmth that separates it from the rest of the jazz-rock world.

While clearly derived from the Hatfield and the North projects with Dave Stewart even joining in for vocal arrangements and co- production, GILGAMESH not only eschews the pure copy and paste approach by adding different stylistic meanderings but in retrospect provides the bridge between H&theN to the more dynamic complexities that Gowen would fully come to master on the National Health albums.

While tracks like the lengthy cumbersomely titled "One End More / Phil's Little Dance - For Phil Miller's Trousers / Worlds Of Zin" are quite exciting with all the unexpected twists and turns through dynamic, tempos and angular jitteriness the Canterbury Scene presupposes, there are lazy lackluster tracks such as the piano ballad "Lady And Friend," which sort of lollygag in a linear direction and provide nothing more than nice dinner music for an ear sensitive date.

GILGAMESH may not have released the most memorable slice of Canterbury with their eponymous debut but there is still a lot to love here with unexpected frenetic outbursts of creativity emerging between longer bouts of placidity. This album is also an important bridge between the two more important supergroups that rank amongst the best the Scene offered. The band would break up after this debut only to scatter and rejoin other groups but Gowen would reform the band with yet another lineup for the 1979 followup "Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into." In short, not the best Canterbury album but well worth the time.

3.5 but rounded up for the excellent musicianship on board

Alan Gowen's Canterbury crowd form the other half of the puzzle which came together with Hatfield and the North to form National Health. This is the sole album they put out before National Health (their second album would emerge after Gowen dropped out of National Health), and it's a rather mellow affair, showcasing where the gentler side of National Health's sound came from. Never quite getting into the sort of madcap soundscapes that, say, Hatfield and the North, Caravan, or early Soft Machine would sometimes visit, this is Canterbury for a gentle afternoon snoozing on the sofa. Some may find it a bit too sedate, polite, and overpolished, but in the right mood I find this an interesting different side of the late 1970s Canterbury house style.

In 1972, a keyboardist Alan Gowen, previously of the afro-beat band Assagai, Sunship (with King Crimson's Jamie Muir and Allan Holdsworth) and (one year later of) Hatfield And The North teamed up with a guitarist Rick Morcombe, saxophonist Alan Wakeman (the cousin of Rick Wakeman), bassist Jeff Clyne of Nucleus and Isotope and drummer Mike Travis to create Gilgamesh. After various personel changes, Wakeman left and Morcombe was replaced by a guitarist Phil Lee. In 1975, the quartet signed a record contract with Caroline to record their self-titled debut album.

Gilgamesh always remained fairly obscure, breaking up after recording two albums. Their sound is clearly shaped by their contemporaries, mainly Hatfield And The North. The band's sound however does not have the goofiness and the English sense of humor. As much as we could debate whether Hatfield And The North or National Health are fusion of progressive rock, Gilgamesh is a bit like Soft Machine - it's pretty much just straight-up jazz fusion. Unlike Soft Machine though, the quartet does not use jazz instrumentation like saxophones, but rather typical prog rock instrumentation of keyboards, a guitar, a bass and drums. The musicians are definitely very good at their craft. Alan Gowen's sound is dominated by an electric piano and a clavinet as well as a Chick Corea-like synthesizer. His style is inspired by previously mentioned Chick Corea as well as Dave Stewart and Mike Ratledge. Phil Lee's guitar work reminds of that of Phil Miller with pastel-like fuzz guitar. Mike Travis is a very decent drummer, capable of pulling off fantastic grooves, while Jeff Clyne's style is inspired by upright bass.

The album consists of eight tunes, three of which could be called "mini-epics" and two one minute-long piece. All the other tracks are kept between three and six minutes. Despite having a great dynamic variety between them and drawing dreamy soundscapes, they are very forgettable. And so is the whole album for that matter. The dry improvisation-based fusion style is quite boring, monotonous, ho-hum, and "too consistent". Despite the great instrumentalist abilities, every track (maybe with an exception of "Notwithstanding" and "We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name") ask to get skipped. And it's a shame, because the band definitely could do much better than that! Just listen to the follow-up of this one!

In conclusion, the self-titled debut album of Gilgamesh presents phenomenal musicianship. However, it is overshaded by rather repetitive compositions, that lead to nowhere. This album is well suited for Canterbury fans and collectors, but not recommended for newcomers and those trying to get a taste of Canterbury scene. Much better things were to come from Gilgamesh. I am struggling between rating this album for two or three stars. Composition would get two stars, while playing would get four. So, the most adequate rating would be three stars!