01	Bulb						00:09
	02	While Growing My Hair						04:02
	03	I Will Be Absorbed						05:11
	04	Fugue In D Minor						02:49
	05	They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano...						01:21
	06	The Song Of Mcgillicudie The Pusillanimous (Or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging In The Coal Cellar With Thomas)						05:09
	07	Boilk						01:02
	08	Symphony No. 2: First Movement						05:46
	09	Symphony No. 2: Second Movement						06:17
	10	Symphony No. 2: Blane						05:27
	11	Symphony No. 2: Third Movement						03:10
	12	Symphony No. 2: Fourth Movement						03:13
	13	Seven Is A Jolly Good Time*						02:47
	14	You Are All Princes*						03:45

Egg - "Egg" (1970)
A Canterbury-trio lead by the excellent organ-work of Dave Stewart. Personally I've always viewed them as the Canterbury-version of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Less grandiose, more down to earth and more jazz-influenced (NOT fusion) than their more famous counterparts. But their debut-album also features some obvious 60's influences, especially on the raw and energetic "The Song of McGillicudie the Pusillanimous" (reminding me somewhat of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) and the adaptation of Bach's "Fugue in D Minor" sounds VERY proto-prog. "I Will Be Absorbed" is my personal fave here. It's a kind of relaxed and laid-back track the demonstrates Stewart's distinctive and atmospheric organ-sound very well. The 20-minute "Symphony no.2" includes several good themes and even incorporates some classical themes. Some of the most experimental parts may seem to drag a bit, but overall this is a good track. A fine album that will appeal to all fans of early 70's organ-driven progressive rock.



Egg [UK]
Egg (70), Polite Force (71), Civil Surface (74), Seven is a Jolly Good Time (85)

Early Canterbury band. Polite Force was their best, yet for classical rock bands I'd try Le Orme or Trace first. Dave Stewart, of course, is on this - and this should be a reason if any to buy all three of them. They can be quite cold, though.

Their first release is an old classic from the Canterbury scene, featuring the brilliant keyboard pyrotechnics of Dave Stewart (*not* the guy from the Eurythmics). Mixing progressive rock styles with the complexity of jazz, filled with unusual time signatures, and adaptations of Bach and Grieg, this is one of the masterpieces of prog rock. The Polite Force was Egg's second release, and was better developed musically from their debut, a style that was carried on to the subsequent The Civil Surface. It is quite revealing to see what kinds of complex rock music can be accomplished with a small three-piece band. Blending classical rearrangements with odd time signatures, they were one of the most adventurous groups to emerge from the Canterbury scene, prior to making way for ELP, etc.

Canterbury band that released three organ-prominent albums. The first s/t sounds very proto-prog, comparable to stuff like The Nice, but with a more jazz influence. Featured Mont Campbell and Dave Stewart, later of National Health. The second and third albums are purportedly much better.

Important early progressive trio that broke through many musical barriers no one dared to approach before. The first album features outright dissonance (as on the short-circuiting organ-solo "Blane") and askew rhythmic figures (like the 13/8 meter in the middle section of "I Will Be Absorbed") to a degree never dreamt of before. The band consists of Dave Stewart on organ, piano and "tone generator" (a very primitive, home-made synth), Mont Campbell on bass and vocals and Clive Brooks on drums. Very primitive-sounding by today's standards, and featuring some awful, hippie orientated lyrics by Campbell which date the music to a good degree. Still, this is light-years ahead of, say, the Nice as far as musical sophistication goes, although even here there are "rock" interpretations of classical pieces (Well, Bach pieces, anyway). Important more for the doors they opened for other progressive bands to explore than the actual music they produced themselves, still of historic interest as one of Dave Stewart's earliest bands, pre-Hatfield, National Health et al. The third album, The Civil Surface, was recorded much later, and is supposed to be much more Canterbury-like in sound, and as a result much less dated-sounding. -- Mike Ohman

One of the classic UK bands, Egg was Dave Stewart on organ, Clive Brooks on Drums, and Mont Campbell on bass and sometime French Horn. The music is very structured and composed, with little room for improvisation. A bit of humor is also evident throughout. It is also quite excellent. The band explored a variety of time signatures and key relationships, sometimes explored classical ideals, and even composed their own symphony. Egg is an essential part of any progressive collection. All are good, but the first one is a little raw and Civil Surface is maybe a little clinical (but it features guests Steve Hillage, Lindsay Cooper, Tim Hodgkinson and Amanda Parsons on a couple of tracks). Start with The Polite Force.

I have Civil Surface and wasn't terribly impressed even though I usually like Dave Stewart a lot. Somewhat symphonic and kind of boring.

Seven is a Jolly Good Time is a mid-'80s reissue of Egg's eponymous first album plus their first and only single ("Seven is a Jolly Good Time" b/w "We Are All Princes") on the "See- for-Miles" label. -- Dave Wayne



SEVEN IS A JOLLY GOOD TIME
Words and Music
by Mont Campbell

I used to play in four time when I was very small
But recently I've realised the folly of it all
Supreme thoughts disturbed me, upset my decent mind
I started writing songs in all the rhythms I could find
Like five...

Seven is a jolly good time, seven is a jolly good time
It's just a very good sign to play in seven time

I found it hard to follow, my foot became confused
My facial muscles echoed the rhythms that I used
And now I found my mental gate playing in a brew
I gathered all the notes up and jumped 'em through a hoop
As in eleven...

Seven is a jolly good time, seven is a jolly good time
It's just a very good sign to play in seven time