CD Details

OF QUEUES AND CURES

NATIONAL HEALTH
1978 , UK , EAN CODE 5013929722927 - EURO 13.00

Label: ESOTERIC RECORDINGS

ALBUM REVIEW
2nd album by the exquisite band National Health, which was the last of the great original bands and the centerpiece crown jewel of the Canterbury scene, as it combined all the elements that made this musical excursion so unique and important, crystallizing a decade of development and constant search for new forms of musical expression. Formed by keyboardist / composer Dave Stewart, who previously led such cornerstone Canterbury ensembles like Egg and Hatfield And The North, combining musicians of the last and another sublime ensemble Gilgamesh, which also recently fell apart. After bassist Neil Murray left the band following the recording of the debut album, he was replaced by bassist John Greaves from Henry Cow, another Canterbury icon. The album included several guest musicians, among them the superb trumpeter Phil Minton and overall it fallowed the same lines as the debut. Overall National Health was an ideal tool to deliver the intricate melodic content of Stewart's compositions, spiced with lengthy jazzy improvisations, which could go on for several minutes and allow ample opportunity for the players to stretch out, probably more that in any earlier Canterbury ensemble. There is never a dull moment here, with ideas chasing ideas at all times and the listener is drawn into the music completely. This album is a timeless masterpiece and an essential cornerstone of any serious record collection! (Jazzis - Rate Your Music)