Customer Reviews

Gilgamesh

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Alan Gowen was a brilliant composer and keyboard player who had a knack for writting music that drew from the tradional Canterbury sounds and jazz and classical tradions. Alan later on went to form National Heath but here we get to hear Gilgamesh. This verson of Gilgamesh features Alan's long time guitar side man Phil Lee who perhaps is better known in jazz circles than pop-progressive fans. Phil had a nice way of bringing out the ideas that Alan composed making them sound neither like your typical fuson recording or progressive rock recording. If you are a fan of National Health, Henry Cow, Hatfield and the old Soft Machine Gilgamesh follows similar taditions of offering you challenging music for your mind.

This is the more complex end of progressive rock. Most of this album is knoty instrumental fusion, comperable to National Health and Hatfield and the North.

Gilgamesh boasts the complex time signitures of 70s fussion, sounding at times like a less dissonent Mahavisnu Orchestra. The technical ability is outstanding, and the bands insticts are melodic. Though the music is extremely complicated, the songs never get lost in the complexity.

Most either love or hate 70s fusion. This won't change the minds of those that lothe the music, but if it is your taste, this album is for you.