ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO

3,5 stars really!!!

Gilgamesh's second album is certainly more accessible than its debut. With a different rhythm section, one could not fear for the music's nature too much, certainly so as Hugh Hopper was now free of Soft Machine, but involved in the Soft Heap projects (see the Esoteric reissues). The music here can be best described as a typical example later-70's Canterbury music, as we are never far away from a cross of jazz-rock/fusion and more conventional ECM-type jazz but always remaining calm and determined. While the two frontmen have remained, the rhythm section sees the arrival of the adore-mentioned Hugh Hopper, but also the ex-Rendell-Car Quintett drummer Trevor Tomkins

However, this album is definitely Alan Gowan's vehicle especially with his electric piano on the 10 min+ Bobberty where he shows his full ability on KB, and that track is relatively representative of the album. Although the quartet might appear very aloof-sounding in its approach, they are a very tight unit, as shown on Play Time and Underwater Song. I can only recommend Gilgamesh's second album to confirmed Canterbury fans, but if you are one, this album although not essential, it is very worthy of your investigations. To others, I suggest you start with the debut or the posthumous release.

This is my first taste of Gilgamesh, and to be honest, I'm not sure what to think. Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into remains a typical example of the Canterbury scene. This fully instrumental outfit plays similar music to National Health - to some extent at least. This is very jazzy stuff (no woodwinds, though), more so than most of the Canterbury albums I've heard, but the trademark sound of the genre is still present all the time - whatever that means. Very calm and peaceful music, with Alan Gowen's keyboards leading the way. The music is mostly complex, and yet it's fairly easy to listen to - it doesn't hurt your ears in any way. Perfect stuff to listen to late at night, when you're alone, and want to get your daily dosage of prog, but do not want anything too avant-garde. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, none of the compositions are that memorable or remarkable. Some of the tracks leave me a bit cold - lots of jamming, but the compositions do not seem to go anywhere. AFTYGMI lacks the 'oomph' aspect to make it anything but a fairly enjoyable example of the Canterbury scene. Theme From Something Else is the finest piece here, a nicely quirky keyboard-oriented track with many exciting moments. In conclusion, I'd like to say that this is pretty good stuff if you're a fan of the sub-genre, but if you're not, there are many more important bands and albums you need to go through before entering the world of Gilgamesh.

I must say I much prefer their debut to this one. This one is light and pleasant and it doesn't vary much from that mood and sound. This is surprising considering Hugh Hopper has taken over for Jeff Clyne on bass, and Trevor Tomkins has taken Michael Travis' place behind the drum kit. This is very well played of course, and Gowen is so fluid and nimble on the keyboards. Interesting cover art for this style of music. It's actually a painting titled "The Ghost Of A Flea" by William Blake.Yikes !

"Darker Brighter" features light drums with liquid sounding keys as the bass comes and goes. Lee comes in on guitar with a tasteful melody that is as fluid as Gowen's keyboard play. "Bobberty-Theme From Something Else" has some nice guitar leads early as Gowen continues to impress. The bass of Hopper comes to the fore after a minute. Synths come and go in this one. It calms right down after 2 minutes as light drums and a mellow soundscape take over. The tempo picks up after 6 minutes but it's still light and jazzy. "Waiting" consists of gentle guitar throughout.

"Play Time" is a song I really like alot. I do prefer NATIONAL HEALTH's live version better from the same titled album. It's just so intricate and every note is in it's proper place. Oh yeah, it sounds great as well. "Underwater Song" has an excellent drum intro before keys and guitar arrive after a minute. Synths follow. "Foel'd Again" features bass and drums that beat slowly as keys play uneventfully in the background. "T.N.T.F.X." is the other song on this album that I really like. It opens with a nice guitar melody as drums play random patterns. Lee is the focus throughout and Tomkins is impressive as well.

So there you have it. Not that dynamic really or varied. Just some great playing that is restrained to say the least.

Like Gilgamesh's first album, Another Fine Tune presents a version of Canterbury that is technically proficient and competently composed, but lacks sparkle, emotion or energy - it's very well-mannered music that doesn't really accomplish much beyond being pretty. Alan Gowen's keyboard work is probably the big draw, though National Health fans may find this somewhat tame compared to that band's debut. Hugh Hopper's presence sets the groundwork for his further collaboration with Gowen on Two Rainbows Daily, but the presence of him on bass here doesn't really change the band's sound that much compared to the previous album.

Apparently, Gilgamesh were only reassembled at this point in time as a rehearsals group rather than a band seriously intending to perform for audiences, and this rather joyless release kind of exemplifies that - this is music produced for the sake of producing music, rather than music produced for the enjoyment of listeners.

The tragic death of Alan Gowen at the age of just 33 would rob the progressive rock world of one of it's more refined talents and ultimately overshadow a career that both promised and delivered much. A highly-skilled keyboardist and composer, Gowen's career would start with brief stints in both Afro-rock outfit Assegai and his own, short-lived jazz group Sunship, before joining the blossoming Canterbury movement during the early part of the 1970's. Like many of his peers, Gowen's membership with groups such as National Health and Gilgamesh was fluid - he would move between both several times for both artistic and financial reasons - yet the best of him would be seen in Gilgamesh, a complex, instrumental jazz-prog outfit that released two excellent albums of delicately-wrought music that, although retrospectively popular with both fans and critics, failed to make any serious commercial headway. Featuring guitarist Phil Lee, Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper on bass and drummer Trevor Tomkins, this 1978 release would be the second-and-final Gilgamesh album - and undoubtedly their most impressive - yet in truth it probably arrived far too late in the day to make any real impact on the then rapidly-developing music scene. The light jazz touch prevalent here is beautifully- executed, streaking through a series of lushly-realised compositions, yet with punk barking away it seemed that Gilgamesh were fighting a losing battle that no-one was really watching. The complexity of the music and the poverty of the musicians involved also made touring unrealistic, and Gilgamesh would dissolve before really getting the chance to shine. It's a sad tale as this was a band who deserved so much more, particularly as they were just as good as any of their fellow Canterbury contemporaries, groups such asCaravan, Soft Machine, National Health & Hatfield & The North. However, despite the lack of success you shouldn't be put off. 'Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into' is a dazzling jazz odyssey, and an album that should definitely be investigated by all classic prog lovers. Here's to you Alan. You deserved so much more.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Gilgamesh was among those Canterbury bands that never really made the grade in terms of popularity. Considering the band history, it would have been a miracle if they had. Led by keyboardist Alan Gowen (who had played jazz piano since the 60's, and a participant in the history of NATIONAL HEALTH as well), a gifted keyboardist and composer but who clearly lacked both certain leadership and a will to succeed commercially, it seems. Three years after the forming of Gilgamesh appeared the self-titled debut (1975), produced by Dave Stewart (Hatfield and the North) but the line-up broke even before the album reached the shops. Together with e.g. Stewart, Gowen founded National Health - and left them before finishing the debut album (1977). Then he started to write music for the next Gilgamesh album before he had a band at all.

Only guitarist Phil Lee plays on both albums besides Gowen himself. Drummer Trevor Tomkins was a jazz veteran, and Hugh Hopper is known as a SOFT MACHINE bassist. Gowen tells in the foreword of Another Tune that he prefers to compose for certain musicians and that all the musicians had shaped the final results. Also he informs us that he tries to write music where one cannot really tell the difference between composed and improvised parts. OK, you have already figured out that the music is more jazz than rock, haven't you?

The music bears some complexity but the overall nature is light and airy. Gowen often plays Moog. His keyboards don't steal the show: the emphasis is in the well-crafted band play. 'Waiting', however, is a solo piece for acoustic guitar (written by Lee, naturally). The music is unmistakably Canterbury but surely on its jazziest and the least rocky side. It perhaps lacks the wit and good humour you get in Caravan or Hatfield, instead there's a slight amount of melancholy even with the lightness of it all. The whole album is pretty enjoyable if you like jazz7fusion, but from the prog's point of view it's nothing spectacular. Both Hatfield and National Health have more to offer. Anyway, there has never been too much good British instrumental fusion and this is one of the finest albums in that area. 3½ stars.

To fans of Canterbury Scene, as I myself am, a 5-star certified essential.

And within the scene, a latter day example of more Jazz Fusion inflected music. I was just thinking, as I'm showing this to my girlfriend, a very important album I discovered in my college days (and listened to frequently), stylistically similar perhaps to Pat Metheny, but unlike him (with all very due respect) ever more consistently interesting, holding the ears of the listener despite being soft and reflective. It's a magical sort of album to me in this way.

From the playful and light (and unmistakably Kentish) "Darker Brighter", "Play Time" and "T.N.T.F.X." to the epic and emotive "Bobberty: Theme from Something Else" to the acoustic Winter-welcome beauty of Lee's solo "Waiting": A great album of great music by exemplary and most worthy British master musicians.

This should appeal to those fans of (both inimitable and essential) contemporaries and collaborators Phil Miller (Machine Mole, Hatfield and the North, National Health) and Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan, Hatfield, National Health, Bruford), masters of feeling and masters of their respective instruments. Of a comparable deserved status are Gilgamesh's own Alan Gowen and Phil Lee. Masterful students of Bop and Jazz at large, they know their way around composition (and each other).

True Rate: 4.5/5.0