Sometimes it happens that people so in love with something (in this case, music) never get discouraged, even when faced with the most insurmountable obstacles, just to carry on their infinite passion. Alan Gowen fully embodies this type of individual, having played with the same energy, grace, and elegance that always distinguished him, even in the darkest moment of his life.

After the release of the second Gilgamesh album in 1978, Alan focused his attention on the "Soft Heap" project (the name comes from the initials of the band members: Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Alan Gowen, and Pip Pyle), producing two albums, the first of which ("Rogue Element") would be released under the name Soft Head since, during the tour where it was recorded, Pip Pyle was temporarily replaced by Dave Sheen.

The following year, Alan returned to National Health to make up for the departure of his friend, keyboardist Dave Stewart, and played in many concerts in Europe and America (documented by the live album "Playtime" released in 2001), until the band dissolved in March 1980. This gave the musician the opportunity to create an album ("Two Rainbows Daily") with bassist Hugh Hopper, with whom he then performed three months later in a concert that would be remembered as his last public appearance.

During that period, Alan was diagnosed with leukemia, amounting to a few months of life remaining before reaching the inevitable. Faced with such shocking news, the keyboardist does not bow his head, waiting helplessly for the end to come, but instead, he calls some of his musician friends together and sets out, with them, to do, even in the twilight of his existence, what he has always loved most: play.

Guitarist Phil Miller, bassist Richard Sinclair, and drummer Trevor Tomkins thus find themselves rehearsing with Alan, in his home (used as a recording studio), the last pieces he composed, which would form this album called "Before a Word is Said".

The testament left by the great keyboardist is characterized by excellent music, very close to the Gilgamesh style, surprisingly balanced and flowing despite its intrinsic complexity. The initial "Above and Below" and the concluding "A Fleeting Glance" show just how well the musicians involved manage to express themselves, dazzling us with their solos without unbalancing the compositions too much in favor of a single instrument. Another example of this is "Fourfold", where keyboard and guitar executions advance hand in hand until Alan takes over, always without affecting the perfect stability of the piece. The harmony that permeates this work can be felt even in the shorter episodes, where the keyboards, though always present, do not steal space from Phil's guitar flights ("Silver Star") or Trevor's jazz-tinged drumming flair ("Reflexes in the Margin"). Richard, as well as embroidering the pieces with his vocalizations, highlights his abilities by handling complex evolutions with the fretless bass, as in "Nowadays a Silhouette", where he constantly intersects with the keyboards, and in "Umbrellas", an incredible jewel that retraces the magical and dreamy style of early National Health. The only track where darker sounds appear is "Before a Word is Said", a slow march with rather dark tones, featuring, at the beginning and end, the laughter of children playing, as if to show that, even though Alan's time is about to run out, life nevertheless continues.

Two weeks after the end of the recordings, on May 17, 1981, Alan Gowen died at the age of 33, leaving the world orphaned of a great artist who, if he had had the opportunity, would have given us many more emotions with his wonderful music. His fellow musicians will pay tribute to their deceased friend with the album "D.S. Al Coda", released under the name National Health, entirely composed of pieces written by him.

There is no adequate way to effectively express one's gratitude and esteem to a person who has given so much, except perhaps the most simple, therefore:

Thank you, Alan.

Tracklist and Videos

01   Above and Below (07:41)

02   Reflexes in the Margin (04:00)

03   Nowadays a Silhouette (04:30)

04   Silver Star (02:24)

05   Fourfold (06:15)

06   Before a Word Is Say (07:58)

07   Umbrellas (03:54)

08   Fleeting Glance (07:33)

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