THE CIVIL SURFACE

Gorgeous morning English music. I'm unsure how this is the lowest rated studio Egg album. It includes admirable about Egg before (psychedelic textures, odd rhythmic stuff, pure talent), and gets rid of what sucked about Egg before (no long mellotron/percussion experimenting tracks, variety of timbre). I can't see the ELP comparison anymore. The Soft Machine association is also very diminished. Read The Copious Notes for more info on that. I don't listen to a whole lot of ELP but from what I have heard, Egg is miles beyond what ELP did creatively.

Maybe Keith Emerson IS a better keyboard player than Dave Stewart (that is debatable), but Mont Campbell is a master composer thinking beyond most prog acts. The easiest thing to compare this era of Egg to is Henry Cow. Campbell's composing style is most comparable to Stravinsky, while Tim Hodgkinson of Henry Cow's is comparable to serial and avant-garde composers. There are many many classical elements in place of the rock n' roll ones. The music is more tightly composed, but some piece leave room for improvisation. The downfall of this album is that some of its great aspects, such as the variety in timbre, could not be performed live. Mont's bass playing is precise and incredible, as usual. I adore his tone- not too much treble but when applied to a fuzz box it has more intensity than a guitar.

My favorite piece is Prelude. I'd love an analysis of it. There is a ton of chromatic counterpoint provided mostly in the bass that is pure bliss. Germ Patrol reminds me of Hendrix's Third Stone From The Sun but.. better. :p Ennegram is intense. Nearch is clever. Most people say the wind quintets are out of place but I think they are fitting. Wring Out The Ground is superb and fun to jam to. ;)