Egg self-titled album

Egg, self-titled debut album, 1971

Egg formed in 1968 with Dave Stewart (organ), Mont Campbell (bass, vocals), and Clive Brooks (drums), originally from the Uriel quartet, which also included Steve Hillage.

Their work is characterized by complex compositions influenced by classical music, a strong organ presence, and complex tempos, making them a key band on the Canterbury scene.

They released three albums: Egg (self-titled album, 1970), The Polite Force (1971), and The Civil Surface (1974), the result of a brief reunion after the band's 1972 disbandment.

They were at the height of the Canterbury scene, with a sound that at the time of the album's release was truly avant-garde music influenced by jazz and classical elements. The album also features a remarkable progressive reinterpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Fugue in D minor.

We find the fantastic and brilliant organ of Dave Stewart (who also appears in bands like Khan, Hatfield and the North, and National Health) and the intense bass of Mont Campbell, who is also the band's lead vocalist, and who, in my opinion, bears a striking resemblance to Jim Morrison's voice.

The album's liner notes are truly interesting; I've reproduced them here in full, translated, and where specific, track-by-track (in the English version, the notes are the original, in the Italian version, their translation).

Generally speaking, how could I disagree about the album:

"The music on this L.P. is not dancing music, but basically music for listening to. It is harmonically and rhythmically complex, designed to be as original as possible within the confines of the instrumental line-up; so it's pretty demanding on the listener's attention."

- "Bulb" is a very short introductory track composed of strange sound effects.

-- "While Growing My Hair" is a beautiful classic piece with a psychedelic vibe and a swing-jazz tempo.

Here are the liner notes for this track:
""While growing my hair" exploits some of the rhythmic possibilities of the traditional 6/8, including the properties of syncopation which has made it a stock jazz rhythm."

- "I Will Be Absorbed" is the album's representative of the Canterbury scene, with jazz influences, whimsical lyrics, and shifting tempos. It's beautiful.

Here are the liner notes for this track:

"I will be absorbed" has varied moods; the peacefully secure rhythms and harmonies in 9/4 and 7/4 contrast with the heavier, more neurotic 13/8 middle section with its chordal build-ups and anti-climaxes.

The subject is the unattainable; the ideal, mysterious music that all true musicians seek."

- Fugue in D Minor is a beautiful classical interpretation of a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Here are the liner notes for this track:

"Fugue: Some of the famous "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" (adapted)"

- They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano... is a short and eclectic instrumental piece.

- The Song of McGuillicudie the Pusillanimous (or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas) is another piece with a hilarious title and a complex arrangement.

Here are the liner notes for this track:

""McGillicudie the Pusillanimous etc." is a fast-moving improvisation song in 5/8 constructed on the chord of F minor."

- Boilk, another short instrumental piece that introduces the main suite.

- Symphony No. 2 is the album's masterpiece, a suite that occupies an entire side of the album, lasting about 22 minutes. It is a long, avant-garde piece on the album, showcasing the band's great technical and compositional skill.

NOTE: In the liner notes referring to the original version, Movement 3 is omitted, but it is present in this reissue.

Here are the liner notes for this track:
"Movement 1 is a vehicle for organ improvisation in different rhythms and harmonic bases, one of them the "Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg, set off by a rhythmic/melodic figure in 9/4.

Movement 2 is concerned with the treatment of a theme basically in 5/4 including drum "solo" interludes and an improvisation on the tone generator. Movement 3 has had to be omitted from this record due to copyright difficulties. The last movement is a framework for drum bass solo in 7/4 with an atonal theme."

An album that has become a classic, a milestone in progressive rock with an instrumental sound featuring a high level of harmonic and rhythmic complexity, using odd time signatures and unusual chord structures.

A beautiful album and a great debut, ambitious, complex, and innovative. A must-have, without a doubt.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page.

LineUp

- Dave Stewart - organ, piano, tone generator
- Mont Campbell - bass, vocals
- Clive Brook - drums