ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO

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