j o n b

With National Health, Dave Stewart and crew came together to produce a good prog album in an era of declining prog fortunes. A year later, with the follow up album Of Queues and Cures, the band produced an honest to goodness masterpiece (in my eyes, at least). With band cofounder and improvisation inclined keyboardist Alan Gowen departed between discs, Dave Stewart's more structured approach to prog won out for this album. And it shows, as each track develops well, with its own identity, while leaving plenty of room for all involved to pull out the stops instrumentally. The two-part "Bryden 2 Step (For Amphibians)" bookends things, with a certain familiarity between the tracks that perfectly brings this album into and then out of motion. In between are several unique cuts with great ideas. One example is "The Collapso" which is, as you might expect, a proggy take on the whole calypso concept, complete with steel drums (prompting the comment "Not bad for a white band" from steel drummer Selwyn Baptiste). Another gem is "Squarer for Maud", with two manic instrumental sections separated by a sparse, bizarre, spoken word section that reminds me of something Adrian Belew would do with King Crimson. The final completely unique track is "Phlakaton", an 8 second "drum" solo, which was "Pip's grudging acknowledgment of the commercial need for a drum solo." Sure, if you say so! From beginning to end this is just a great album to listen to. Is it perfect? No, of course not. For one thing, the synth sounds in use here sound awfully dated now (as do those on UK, released the same year). But any minor quibbles like that are easily overcome by the strengths of the disc. So what are you waiting for? Go get your own now! review by Jon Byrne — undated —

b o b

The same disclaimer I made for National Health's first album holds here too - I'm used to listening to the Complete set straight through, rather than taking the band's albums individually. But I'll do the best I can to review them as separate albums. This album starts out even more gently than the band's debut, with a slowly swelling keyboard note overlaid by chirping birdsong. But once the rhythm section kicks in, the music takes on a slightly more "driven" feel than the first album. That feel continues into the second track, the prog dance song with a sense of humor, "The Collapso". The rest of the disc continues similarly to the first album - classic Canterbury. "Squarer For Maud" has some neat odd time signatures (it starts off sounding like a dark waltz), "Dreams Wide Awake" features the guitar more prominently than most National Health songs, and "Binoculars" is the album's one song with vocals - odd lyrics about John Wayne and death. If I had to pick, I'd probably take this album over the first one. Fortunately, I don't have to choose, since they're both included on Complete (along with the third album and some rarities). My advice would be to try to find that two disc set, because if this sounds like the kind of music you'd like, you'll probably want to own it all eventually anyway. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

j o e

The second album of National Health added John Greaves (Henry Cow) to the bass department. Blowing out of the starting gate with two terrific compositions from keyboardist Dave Stewart, the band throughout is not afraid to play it fast and with force. Though the "Bryden 2-Step" begins in a haze with a quiet, lopsided keyboard riff and morning bird chirps, it doesn't take long until the band burst out of the shrubs. Similar to "Tenemos Roads" from the band's debut, the main theme is a gallop, slowly ascending, that sounds almost like it came out of a Western movie (I think of the heroes' theme of the Magnificent Seven). "The Collapso," my favorite track on the album for its fabulous main melody, sounds very much like a composition one might hear in Stewart's other band at this time, Bill Bruford's 70s fusion quartet. The four musicians were at the peak of their physical abilities on their respective instruments, and all put in performances as if there's no tomorrow. Greaves assimilates naturally into the band, and his contribution, the quirky, technically audacious "Squarer for Maud," works well within this framework. Phil Miller's guitar work is as passionate as ever I've heard from him. In addition to his usual virtuosic fastidious, Stewart goes with aggression for the Hammond jugular with a freakout wah-wah solo over the suitably gritty blues riff opening "Dreams Wide Awake"; a rare treat for the listener. Finally, special notice should be given to Pip Pyle, who provides driving, seemingly indefatigable drumming from beginning to end. The best album that emerged from this band and also one of the all-time top Canterbury albums. All prog fans who have not yet should venture forth to hear it at earliest convenience. review by Joe McGlinchey — 2-2-05 —