The whole notion of a Canterbury ‘scene’ is suitably blurred and
indistinct . Who exactly fits into this musical category and why? Geography often
seems to have little or nothing to do with it. It is generally agreed that the
founding fathers were the august agglomeration that produced The Wilde Flowers,
Soft Machine and Caravan. But then you can’t ignore Matching Mole and Hatfield
and The North! Although most people did. Then there are bands like these two who
shared some personnel, a propensity for guitar and keyboard solos and even a keyboard
player himself in the shape of Alan Gowen. They inhabited the territory where
young men in greatcoats once discussed the finer points of a fuzz organ solo.
They played a recognisably English music which met with almost total indifference
from record companies and radio stations throughout the land. And National Health
if not Gigamesh, were the darlings of the technical college and their riffs rocked
many a refectory. So, what do these archived works add to the documentation of
the scene? A mixed view, I feel.
I first saw this incarnation of the ever-changing Health at Eric’s in
Liverpool, in 1979. I was somewhat disappointed, at the time, because Dave Stewart
wasn’t in the keyboard seat and I’d gone to hear that famous fuzz-organ
and tunes from Of Queues And Cures. On keyboards was Alan Gowen joined
by Pip Pyle (drums etc.), John Greaves (bass & voice) and Phil Miller (guitar).
In the years since then I’ve probably heard less of Stewart and more
of the others, especially Gowen, in various combinations. Perhaps that is why
I can now appreciate what a fine version of the band this is. Whatever the reason,
it is a matter for surprise and pleasure to hear these ‘live’ and unreleased
performances from April and December 1979.
The sound is better than some more recent ‘live’ gigs I’ve
heard and allows the distinctive improvisatory skills of Miller and Gowen to be
heard clearly in consort with Pyle and Greaves, who could never be called just
‘a rhythm section’. These are, as far as I know, the only concert recordings
of this line-up and show just how much of a unit they were, and a unit that leaned
more towards improvisation than previous ones. Gowen’s solos always had more
of a jazz-tinge than Stewart’s quirky, English/Canterbury stylings. And,
of course, being ‘live’ gigs the band do stretch out more, even within
the composed frameworks of pieces.
For example, Miller’s Dreams Wide Awake has a section where Gowen
starts a solo pretty much as Stewart did then within seconds bends and constructs
it to suit his own voice, the moog soaring and racing over the busy rhythms. The
track is not appreciably longer than the version on Of Queues… but
it feels freer. Gowen’s Flanagan’s People, is another familiar track
from the tribute album, D.S. al Coda, and is stretched further but never falls
into the miserable form that sometimes afflicted jazz-rock bands in the U.K. and
elsewhere, ‘the plod’ ! This is brisk, energetic playing from a band
who seem to be thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. Another familiar
piece, John Greaves’, Squarer For Maud, is, of necessity, given a slightly
different workout. The oboe, cello, flute and clarinets from the original may
be missing but this is made up for by the invention and drive of all four on stage.
I do miss Jimmy Hastings’ clarinet but Miller replicates one of his brief
solos in a muted, restrained way. This version stands as an equal, a fine balance
of structure and freedom.
Of the previously unrecorded tracks, there’s a brief free piece, Rhubarb
Jam and a Blegvad/Greaves composition, Rose Sob. The latter features Greaves’
vocals which I have never particularly enjoyed. However, Miller’s, Nowadays
A Silhouette, and Pip Pyle’s, Pleaides, are both excellent examples of how
the band could alter mood and direction in split seconds. Moving from wistful,
delicate synthesiser through racing, inventive guitar explorations and taking
in those famed, deft time changes along the way these pieces are worth the cd
on their own and will be invaluable to fans of the Health and the Canterbury scene
in general. Especially for those who didn’t get to hear them at the time,
or like me, didn’t fully appreciate them!
Looking at the work of Gilgamesh suggests some similarities; a guitar / keyboard
/ bass / drums line-up and extended instrumentals with more time changes per minute
than most. One difference here is that these pieces were never really meant to
see the light of day. Recorded between the autumns of 1973 and 75, they are the
remnants of a band that never quite got itself together, that spent more time
in rehearsal than on a stage and eventually fell apart in a flurry of indifference.
Some of the music reflects this lack of direction among the members as tunes start
off focussed then meander through solos which sometimes make you sit up and at
others make you skip to the next track. I can picture the bass player, particularly
in the case of Neil Murray, going through the motions as the guitar solo noodles
around . Murray was a straightahead rock bassist who must have felt like he was
drowning in some of Alan Gowen’s longer compositions. Come to think of it
they had trouble keeping any regular bass player, there are three on this album!
Drummer, Mike Travis, sometimes batters his way around the time signatures but
on Island Of Rhodes he displays a restraint that complements the tune’s grace.
This is one of those pieces where they got the balance right; Gowen’s keyboards
add colour and texture to the composition and Phil Lee’s guitar embellishes
rather than swamps the tune. It has to be said he could be a fine improviser but,
equally, at times he could simply fill up space, often with fairly undistinguished
solos as on the medley which makes up track 2. He isn’t the only one either.
The band fare better on Extract, part of a long piece originally written for
the double quartet of Gilgamesh and Hatfield and The North. Gowen’s lyrical
acoustic piano gets the tune off to a promising start, as Lee’s guitar understates
and counterpoints a melodic line. Restraint is the keyword and it produces a shapely
composition which eschews the dull funk which surfaces on some tracks. Lee’s
solos are economical with less of the awful string bending that seems to occur
when the soloist is running out of steam! Though, in the sleeve notes, Phil Miller
is less sure of the worth of the whole ‘double quartet’ piece, this
section shows how editing improved the sometimes rambling approach that lessened
the effect of Gowen’s compositions.
Another model of economy and restraint is Arriving Twice with its duetting
guitar and keyboards not given any room to improvise, they simply state a gently
succinct melody over minimal rhythmic support. It’s all over in 1:41. Lady
and Friend which closes and, in a different version, opens the album exemplifies
the problems when you have a good tune and a few chord changes but nowhere special
to take them. Nice theme but…
Gilgamesh disbanded completely after recording an album in 1978 in which only
Lee and Gowen remained from this quartet. Gowen was keen to work with National
Health and did so. That was a wise move. The Health allowed him to work with a
fairly stable band that had a sense of unity and purpose. They produced some memorable
work. Sadly, Gilgamesh will probably always be found in the second division of
the Canterbury league.
