The Civil Surface

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Customer reviews

review by: peter60780 date: 2007-12-24 rating:
One to go to work on ...
Recorded for Virgin's esoteric Caroline label in 1974, The Civil Surface marked both re-convention and last gasp from this archetypal Canterbury Scene act. Where Caravan is the genre's logical port of access, Egg is its counterpoint: as clever and witty, but playing more serious, uncommercial, dexterous and demanding fare. Hatfield & The North, Khan and Henry Cow get name-checked here: Egg members had either settled in their camps or musicians from them were guesting on this essay in jazzy, keyboard-driven progressive with underpinnings in modern classical music most revealed in introspective pieces for wind quartet. The presence of Steve Hillage, Lindsay Cooper, Barbara Gaskin amongst other luminaries of the Scene helped build a substantial body of work that has not lost its place in the annals of avant-garde. One to go to work on ...

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review by: date: 2007-11-08 rating:
Great Band, Great Album, Buy, Buy, Buy!!!!!!
Dave Stewart: Organ Piano and Bass (on track 6 - Nearch) Clive Brooks: Drums and Mont Campbell: Bass, Voice, French Horn and Piano are the core Egg (or Egg yolk). The backing singers are Amanda Parsons, Ann Rosenthal and Barbara Gaskin.

The two Wind Quartets are played by Campbell along with Maurice Cambridge: Calrinet, Stephen Sollony: Flute and Chris Palmer Basoon. These pieces are haunting interludes amoungst the more complex and challenging group pieces.

Other assistance, on Germ Patrol,comes from Jeremy Barns: Germophone and Flute, Lindsay Cooper: Basoon and Tim Hodgkinson: Clarinet.

This was a reformation project, the band had split up and gone on to other things but is works very well alongside their other two albums, Egg and The Polite Force. Note that this third album continues the punning theme from the second.

Thre was another album where the three members of Egg all played along with their old pall Steve Hillage, who appears here on Wring Out The Ground. The story goes (and I am unclear if this is true or not) That Hillage was in Urel, a precursor to Egg, and left to go to Uni' so the other continued as Egg. During Hillages summer vacation they got together in the studio under the name of Arzachel, for contractual reasons Hillage was Simeon Sasparella, Brooks was Basil Dowling, Campbell was Njerogi Gategaka and Stewart was Sam Lee-Uff. That album is rather difficult to come by on CD (or any format) but is is also very worth having. After recording that album hillage apparently returned to University before again taking up his musical career.

The Civil Surface is a cracking album and if you like other, so called, Canterbury sound bands like National Health, Soft Machine, Caravan etc, then this is the album for you. I have this on a very cheaply produced version from 1990 with rather miserly packaging so I am pleased to see it given a bit more respect this time around. I do love this album


review by: Marvin's Musical Sleve date: 2007-06-21 rating:
Best Egg album
Well... its rarity owes to its supremity. Down with the cheesy cliches of the self-title album and the subtle uncertainties of Polite Force and up with interlectualism, 20th Century-type orchestration, facinating harmonic structures and lyrics that say what the music is saying; 'I tried to think of something new, I couldn't help thinking it was true - It was true'. And yes it was. Make way for the fantastic wind quartets. If only Dave could have been creative enough to compose actual symphonies... that would have made my day.

Downside - the mix is a bit off. The drums are a bit too loud (not played too loud, just mixed as such). However, after a few listens you start to like them as they pack the notes a good punch.

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