OF QUEUES AND CURES

As National Health was intended to be an eight-piece supergroup (two guitars, bass, two keyboards, drums and feminine vocals), you might notice that Of Queues And Cures is everything Dave Stewart and the late Alan Gowen were not expecting. The amazing rock orchestra didn't make it for too long.

Not that I'm complaining! Of Queues And Cures is just as brilliant, if not greater than, their debut. Most of the time I think it is no Canterbury at all, but there are moments which make me think otherwise, which I shall tell later.

Also, the writing was shared more democratically this time: each of the four members has a composition or more here. No wonder you think that this album is different of its predecessor, yet it is very complex too, always full of surprises, twists and turns.

Let me get to what really matters now: the music. It kicks off and finishes with a Dave Stewart composition splited in two, called The Bryden 2-Step (For Amphibians)... and they are marvellous. Since Hatfield And The North, Stewart became a sensitive and excellent composer. I think they called cellos to play in these songs, and the effect is indeed stunning.

The Collapso, written by Stewart, follows. God knows why Phil Miller's guitar sound so much like Van Der Graaf Generator's Theme One... the song is very agressive, and at any moment caribbean steel drums pop up giving a quite chaotic feeling, and a maybe record you a little about ELP's Karn Evil 9 (2nd Impression). If you are keen on this kind of music, you are likely to enjoy it a lot.

The strangest track, however, is Squarer For Maud. It consists of two jams created by the newcomer John Greaves, from Henry Cow, explaining why it sound sort of alien. It features Peter Blegvad saying at the very middle of the song some witty, crazy and so Canterbury-esque thoughts, leading to the second part. The second part presents a set of cellos, and once again they'll take your breath away.

Dreams Wide Awake is the weakest moment, IMHO, and I hope Phil Miller will forgive me. By far the least interesting from the album, perhaps due to being the most "common". Very nice song, though.

The next is Binoculars, penned by Pip Pyle, the only one in which there is somebody singing. John Greaves voice isn't as pleasant as Amanda Parsons' or Richard Sinclair's, but his style somewhat resemebles the latter's (pretty sarcastic), suiting the song perfectly. As the lyrics are critical about to people alienated by the TV, John Greaves is perfect for the job. And Jimmy Hastings plays some wonderful flute, as always.

And we have a "drum solo". Replace the drums, cymbals and percussions by eletronically treated voices that are supposed to sound like the drumming kit. Really funny song, and that's soooooooo Canterbury!

I've already talked about the closer, so I'll give an end to this huge review saying the regular about an album you like a lot. Unless you are not very fond of Fusion or really unusual stuff, do not even hesitate about buying Of Queues And Cures! Although it doesn't hook you at a first listen (and I say that for myself), you will most probably love it after several times!