Aktion	Zweigstelle	Standorte	Status	Frist	Vorbestellungen
Vorbestellen	Zweigstelle: 17., Hormayrg. 2	Standorte: CD.09 Gilg / 70er	Status: Entliehen	Frist: 25.11.2024	Vorbestellungen: 0

After leaving National Health in 1977, Alan Gowen (keyboards) reassembled Gilgamesh to record this, their second album. Here, he is joined by Phil Lee (guitars), Hugh Hopper (bass) and Trevor Tomkins (drums), and the result is far more consistent and original than their rather patchy debut. Vinyl could never convey the subtle dynamics of the group and the CD is so quiet that it is difficult to imagine this material ever being played live. Nevertheless, it captures the most melodic and expressive playing of Alan Gowen's brief career and is well worth having for that reason alone. Phil Lee's guitar work is all the more exceptional for its restraint and his solo acoustic piece, "Waiting", is an undoubted highlight. Very much towards the Jazz end of Jazz-Rock, it's more like a thoughtful John Abercrombie album than the frantic fusion that was in vogue at the time and, for this reason, stands up rather better than Brand X, Lifetime or Jeff Beck material of the same vintage. The outstanding tracks are "Playtime", during which Alan Gowen lets rip with a couple of Moog solos that UK's Eddie Jobson would be proud of, and the haunting "Underwater Song", which sounds like a long, sad farewell. Martin Harper