Gilgamesh - Gilgamesh (1975)

La Princesa Vicky nos trae una enorme banda de la Escena Canterbury: Gilgamesh con su álbum homónimo, una formación fenomenal y muy creativa en su ópera prima, que los invitamos a conocer, un disco y una banda muy recomendados. No se los pierdan!

Artista: Gilgamesh

Álbum: Gilgamesh
Año: 1975
Género: Jazz fusion/ Escena Canterbury
Duración: 37:04
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

Lista de Temas:

1. One End More / Phil's Little Dance - For Phil Miller's Trousers / Worlds Of Zin
- a) One End More
- b) Phil's Little Dance - For Phil Miller's Trousers
- c) Worlds Of Zin
2. Lady and Friend
3. Notwithstanding
4. Arriving Twice
5. Island Of Rhodes / Paper Boat - For Doris / As If Your Eyes Were Open (6:39)
- a) Island Of Rhodes
- b) Paper Boat - For Doris
- c) As If Your Eyes Were Open
6. For Absent Friends
7. We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name
- a) We Are All
- b) Someone Else's Food
- c) Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name
8. Just C

Alineación:
- Phil Lee / guitars (electric, classic, acoustic, 12-string)
- Alan Gowen / acoustic & electric pianos, clavinet, synth, Mellotron, vocal arrangements (7-c)
- Jeff Clyne / bass, double bass
- Michael Travis / drums, percussion

With:
- Amanda Parsons / vocals 
- Dave Stewart / vocal arrangements (7-c), co-producer

¡Amigos y amigas cabezones/as! Hoy les presentamos a Gilgamesh, una ENORME banda de la Escena Canterbury.  Formada en 1972, sus fundadores fueron el tecladista Alan Gowen, quien antes había estado en  Assagai y Sunship (con Jamie Muir y Allan Holdsworth), y el baterista Mike Travis.

Fueron varios los músicos que integraron esta banda antes de grabar este primer disco.  La primera formación estaba constituída, además de por Alan y Mike, por el bajista Jeff Clyne (quien previamente estuvo en Nucleus e Isotope) y el saxofonista Alan Wakeman (primo de Rick). Sin embargo, ya para el primer recital hubo un cambio: Richard Sinclair reemplazó a Clyne. Más adelante, el grupo quedó establecido como un cuarteto. De esta forma, los miembros eran: Alan en teclado, Mike en batería, Neil Murray en bajo y Phil Lee en guitarra, quien fue recomendado por el propio Mike Travis. Durante 1973 hicieron numerosas giras, algunas de las cuales compartieron recitales con Hatfield And The North. Más adelante, no sé exactamente en qué momento, regresó Jeff Clyne al bajo. Finalmente, en 1975 logaron firmar un contrato con el sello Caroline Records, teniendo como co-productor a Dave Stewart (Hatfield And The North y Egg).

¿Qué decir de la banda y de este primer álbum? Si bien se trata de una formación fenomenal y muy creativa, me parece que no está demás recalcar que gran parte del disco fue compuesto por Alan Gowen. Creo que Alan nunca tuvo el reconocimiento merecido, lo cual me apena mucho ya que este artista excelente, que siempre se destacó en las bandas y discos en donde participó, falleció tempranamente.

Este trabajo, y en realidad todo lo que hizo Gilgamesh, es especialmente recomendable para amantes del jazz rock. No tiene desperdicio, está lleno de ideas súper interesantes, pero por sobre todas las cosas, bellas y conmovedoras. Después de Alan, la segunda fuerza creativa es Phil Lee, quien nos regala algunos de los momentos más etéreos del disco (como en “Lady And A Friend”, “Worlds Of Zin” o “For Absent Friends”, tema en donde nos deleita con su nostálgica guitarra clásica). Algo que no mencioné es que cuentan con la participación de Amanda Parsons (futura  cantante de National Health en su álbum debut), cantando en “Worlds Of Zin” y en “Jamo And Other Boating Disasters-From The Holiday Of The Same Name”.

Luego de este haber lanzado esta joya, la banda decidió disolverse. En la última gira de Gilgamesh  Alan Gowen y Dave Stewart tuvieron la gran idea de formar una orquesta de jazz/progresiva, que incluyera a dos tecladistas, dos pianistas, algunos vientos y cantantes. Así es como nació National Health. Sin embargo, Gowen en el álbum debut de esta última tocaría como músico invitado, abandonando después el grupo.

Afortunadamente, en 1979 volvió a formar Gilgamesh y publicó su segundo disco, del cual ya hablaremos más tarde.

¡¡Espero que disfruten mucho este excelente álbum!! No se olviden de agradecerle a Moe que sin él no lo estaríamos compartiendo :).

Algunos más comentarios por aquí:

"Alan Gowen's Canterbury crowd form the other half of the puzzle which came together with Hatfield and the North to form National Health. This is the sole album they put out before National Health (their second album would emerge after Gowen dropped out of National Health), and it's a rather mellow affair, showcasing where the gentler side of National Health's sound came from. Never quite getting into the sort of madcap soundscapes that, say, Hatfield and the North, Caravan, or early Soft Machine would sometimes visit, this is Canterbury for a gentle afternoon snoozing on the sofa. Some may find it a bit too sedate, polite, and overpolished, but in the right mood I find this an interesting different side of the late 1970s Canterbury house style."

Warthur 

"keyboard whiz Alan GOWEN's own project in the 70s, Gilgamesh is an obvious attempt to make a late stab at the Canterbury sound though none of the players are from any of the original bands from the Sixties. This album is produced, however, by none other than Dave Stewart--late of Hatfield and the North--whose sound this quite resembles.1. "One End More / Phil's Little Dance - For Phil Miller's Trousers / Worlds Of Zin" (10:20) collects several sounds and styles being used in the then current jazz world including the clavinet, Eric Gale/John Tropea-like guitar play (think Deodato's "Also Sprach Zarathustra") and some more laid back drumming with tight, quiet fills and lots of quirky accessory (cymbals, etc.) play. The finale, "Worlds Of Zin," is the suite's shining moment in which a bluesy Santana-like guitar solos over some absolutely gorgeous support from the rest of the band--keyboards, bass, and drums. This one gets a (9/10) from me for its memorable melodic hooks and nice compositional organization--though the final section is a full 10/10. 2. "Lady and Friend" (3:44) opens with an acoustic guitar and Fender Rhodes playing off their gentle play to establish a melody. Then a rather dynamic section interrupts for a few seconds before we return to a very nice, gentle keyboard and bass interplay--which is later joined by gentle jazz electric guitar in a kind of Jan AKKERMAN style. The final 45 seconds shifts into a definite FOCUS sound and structure. Nice piece! (10/10)3. "Notwithstanding" (4:45) is a bit more Herbie Hancock-like in its keyboard sounds and with some rather weak drumming and an Eric GALE-like guitar sound and style feeling as if it is detracting from the high caliber of skill required of the composition. (8/10)4. "Arriving Twice" (1:36) revives the melodic theme from the album's opening song only in a slightly different arrangement and with a variation in the instruments used. (9/10)5. "Island Of Rhodes / Paper Boat - For Doris / As If Your Eyes Were Open" (6:39) The opening section, "Island Of Rhodes," uses a repeated bass line as its rather simple foundation, but then the second section, "Paper Boat - For Doris" builds over this with the drums mixed quite a bit behind the dominant multiple keyboards and bass. The final section, "As If Your Eyes Were Open," allows the guitarist to so his chops (not bad!) over a bouncy clavinet and fast-paced drum play. Nice development and composition! (Especially considering its rather weak start.) (9/10)6. "For Absent Friends" (1:11) is a pleasant acoustic guitar solo of the pseudo-classical vein.7. "We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name" (7:48) opens with the electric guitar establishing the melody and tempo in the first section, "We Are All." I really enjoy the jazz rhythm guitar play beneath the Fender Rhodes electric piano solo toward the end of the movement. The bass play is a little simplistic but it does a nice job of holding the song together in terms of pace. And I LOVE the drum and guitar play at the end of the fourth minute--just before the transition into the brief countrified second section, "Someone Else's Food." The third section, "Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name," is an odd piece in which the keyboard goes from clavinet to piano and then Aarp-like synth while in this last part, being accompanied by layers of vocals as done by future 'Northette' Amanda Parsons. Overall, this is probably the piece in which the band shines most instrumentally and compositionally--when they are at their most original and most technically proficient as well as tightest as a band. This is a song well worth repeated listens. (9/10)8. "Just C (0:45) is a brief piano solo to close out the album.This is a very nice album full-on representative of the quirky jazz being produced in the style of the Canterbury masters at this point (1975) in the evolution of the music of the Scene. A 3.5 star album rated up for its consistency and its compositional maturity. Alan Gowan can play keyboards! Many!"

BrufordFreak

"This was just a pleasure to listen to. I had heard and reviewed "Arriving Twice" which was a collection of songs recorded prior(1973- 1975) to this their debut album. It consisted mostly of songs that are on this album. Dave Stewart produced it, and we have the pleasure of having Amanda Parsons from HATFIELD AND THE NORTH singing on two tracks. She would go on to sing on NATIONAL HEALTH's debut. The late Alan Gowen who would later hook up with Dave Stewart in the band NATIONAL HEALTH is truly the star here. He incorporates mellotron, piano, synths and clavinet to these beautiful songs. GILGAMESH offer up a smorgasbord of tasty, intricte sounds to satisfy the listener. Jeff Clyne formerly from NUCLEUS plays bass. One look at the long song titles and one knows that this has to be Canterbury music."One End More / Phil's Little Dance-For Phil Miller's trousers / World's Of Zin" has some mellotron in the intro followed by those intricate sounds meshed together that are just a delight. Great interplay ! The guitar 3 minutes in is a highlight. There is a change 4 1/2 minutes in as we get to "World Of Zin" and it's so soothing and relaxing for 6 minutes ! The guitar leads the way tastefully as Phil Lee does such a tremendous job holding back, yet in the end letting go with some soaring melodies.The drumming is intricate, and we get some female vocal melodies from Amanda. The piano is sprinkled in. Amazing ! "Lady And Friend" is mellow with keys and bass for 3 minutes except for one startling outburst. It ends with a louder sound with drums joining in. "Notwithstanding" is jazzy with some excellent piano, drums, bass and guitar interplay. I just have to shake my head at how tight these guys are. Mellotron comes in early and can't be missed."Arriving Twice" is a short 1 1/2 minute tune that is light and beautiful. "Island Of Rhodes / Paper Boat-For Doris / As If Your Eyes Were Open" is lighter to begin with but there is so much going on. The second part is similar but louder. Keys, bass and drums lead the way. The final section is where Phil breaks out some aggressive guitar melodies. Nice. "For Absent Friends" is a short acoustic guitar piece. "We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters-From The Holiday Of The Same Name" features some angular guitar melodies in the first part. Liquid sounding keys and light drums as bass throbs. The guitar starts to get more upfront and passionate, as do the other instruments. The next section is almost funky before the final part 5 1/2 minutes in where Amanda is back singing those lovely melodies. "Just C" is a short piano piece.The album cover had an actual game on it like "Snakes and Ladders" with numbered spaces, and comments on some of them telling you to go forward or backwards and why. Statements like "Payment after gig in cash ! Go forward 2 spaces".Or "Drummer late for gig. Go back 1 space". "Mobbed by groupies. Go forward 4 spaces". "Guitar player drinks 10 Carlsbergs. Disqualified from game". I could see people playing this back in the day. As for the music, i'm a big fan if you couldn't tell already. 4 solid stars."

Mellotron Storm 

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