Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Gilgamesh - Gilgamesh CD (album) cover

GILGAMESH

Gilgamesh

 

Canterbury Scene

3.87 | 207 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

seventhsojourn
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars While Gilgamesh was never one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene it was perhaps most noteworthy because of its leader, the late Alan Gowen. He went on to form National Health, along with Dave Stewart of Hatfield And The North, as well as Soft Heap. Gilgamesh was also revived in the middle of these other projects, the first manifestation of the band having split shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album in 1975. This album is first and foremost a vehicle for Gowen's compositions, with his wide array of keyboards forming the bedrock of most of the tracks.

In effect, it's an instrumental work although guest Amanda Parsons adds some intermittent wordless vocals on a couple of tracks. While the standard of musicianship is top-notch throughout, with some members of the band having been mainstays of the London jazz scene, it's Gowen's keyboard skills that are the main focus of attention here. Nonetheless, extensive use is also made of Phil Lee's guitars with ''Worlds Of Zin'' providing one of his most significant contributions.

The whole Canterbury kit and caboodle is represented by the album's moments of whimsy and psychedelia and it's extensive instrumental excursions. I've seen this described as one of the more difficult Canterbury albums, although I'm not sure if I agree completely with that assessment. ''Notwithstanding'' and ''We Are All...'' are the most challenging jazz orientated tracks but in the main the album is fairly approachable with a mellow, calming vibe running through most of the tracks.

While you can download this album for the equivalent of a British fiver, until now if like me you wanted a CD version you'd have to pay through the nose for the Japanese import. However it's being released by Esoteric at the end of January and can now be pre-ordered at Amazon for a fraction of the cost of that import.

seventhsojourn | 3/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this GILGAMESH review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.