OF QUEUES AND CURES

A band of serious, mature musicians who desire to make challenging, sophisticated music. Though all coming from Canterbury roots, I consider this album more akin to good jazz fusion than spacey, psychedelic experimentalist fun and silliness that some of the Canterbury stuff was. (Though by this time, as we all know, the Canterbury flower-power era was all but over.)

1. The Bryden 2-step (for Amphibians)" (8:55) begins with some floating instruments, finally gelling into a tightly woven, fast-paced collaborative piece. The recording quality is far superior to most of the Canterbury sounds coming before it, which is a big plus. Also, the instrumental mix is quite balanced with no one really going off to become the central show- person. The use of brass and woodwinds are effective. (8/10)

2. "The Collapso" (6:19) is fun experiment with Carribbean 'callypso' instrumentation and styles--more of a parody or play on them, really. Not any really memorable melodies or soli (maybe the fuzzed bass solo in the last minute?), it is another fairly tight group collaboration. (8/10)

3. "Squarer for Maud" (11:50) begins like 1960s European murder-mystery soundtrack: bass, piano, symbol play, cello, sustained electric guitar chords. With the rhythm-cum-melody established, Phil Miller takes the first lead with his electric guitar. At 2:15 arrives a little bridge to re-direct. The tones get heavier, more aggressive, as the sound effects on the stringed instruments get rougher around the edges. 4:07 another shift, this time into a more avant-jazz horn-led rhythm. Pip Pyle's drumming here is very tight, the glue that holds it all together--and continues to do so, along with Dave Stewart's wizardry at maintaining "controlled chaos"--Break! "Numinousness!" Quelle surprise! Slowed down piano chord progression but more frantic drum playing! The guitarist, too, brings his playing under control. The shift at 8:30 plays out into a frenetic, MAGMA-like frenzy of reckless abandon-- speed like that of a runaway train! Everybody's on board, now, they can't be stopped! Stewart and Miller are shining! the background accompanying brass is awesome! Then, spurt and sputter, it's a UNIVERS ZERO ending! Incredible song! (10/10)

4. "Dreams Wide Awake" (8:50) begins on the heavier side, like a MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA piece. The first soloist, Phil MIller, is awesome and ear-catching while his accompanists groove gets a little stale (this is jazz!) A rapid succession of key changes at 2:20 shift the music into Dave's World--organ and keyboard sounds we have all become quite used to associating with his work. The soloing is okay, but it's interesting to listen to Phil Miller's (too far up in the mix) accompanying rhythm guitar work. At 4:55 the band comes back together to give Phil and a couple of different guitar sounds another chance. At this point I'm realizing that the song is really just a basic jazz song trying to provide solid set ups for the two principle soloists to do their thing. Unfortunately, neither of the soloists is quite as captivating or mind-blowing as, say, a Lester Brown or John Coltrane. Good song. (7/10)

5. "Binoculars" (11:46) begins with multiple layered organs and horns(?) going through a beautiful progression of chords. At 1:08 Pip Pyle establishes a drum backbeat over which the others organize their chord progression (Those horns were Phil Miller's guitar!) over which some male voice sings a typically unforgettable flow-of-consciousness lyric. Nice delicate keyboard, bass, cymbol and flute work in the fourth minute lull section--and nice transition (by Pip Pyle) at the 3:53 mark taking the same melodic "pretty' part onto the expressway. 4:50 begins Dave's brief solo, before everything comes to a slowly rolling stop. (Very prettily, I might add--like a full orchestra! Is this a variation on that opening chord progression?) Horns and cacaphony until 7:55's return to bare-bones organ, cymbols and the singers tribute to John Wayne and Rip Torn. Very well recorded, this song! Excellent mix, balance and blend. Love the bass, drum and keyboard interplay in the tenth minute. Woodwinds and, later, Phil's screeching distorted guitar round out this final section of this beautiful song. Listen to John Greaves' bass work! Sublime. (9/10)

6. "Phlakaton" at 0:09, is this really a 'song?'

7. "The Bryden 2-step (for Amphibians) Part 2" opens with 'Jaws' rolling bass line, around which drums, organ, and fuzz guitar weave aggressively. By the end of the third minute the song has developed into a tight combo presenting with the same clarity and unity as they did on the opening number. Npt sure I'd end the album with the same spacey 'random' instrument play as they started, but, there you have it. They've come around full circle. (8/10)

As an example of the twilight evolution of the Canterbury bands, this is a positve note: maturity, (relative) sobriety, music to be taken serious, to be admired, not just to be amused by. If everything was quite at the level of the two masterpieces, "Squarer for Maud" and "Binoculars" we'd have an uncontested masterpiece. As it is, I appreciate Dave Stewart's reserve on this one, love the work of Pip Pyle, am duly impressed with that of bassist John Greaves, but, unfortunately, don't see that Phil Miller's work did anything to make him rise up with the cream. He's good but lacks that je ne sais quoi that makes one great.

4.5 stars, marked up for its quality at a time when quality was lacking (in production) or waning (in progressive rock).