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Rating: Progressive music was characterized, from the late '60s to the mid-'70s, by the presence of multiple subgenres; one of my favorites is the so-called "Canterbury scene," having been a true hotbed of myriad truly interesting and pioneering groups such as Caravan, National Health, Hatfield and the North, Soft Machine, Gong, Matching Mole, etc...
One of the many formations that shone during that period, between '69 and '72, is that of the "Egg," a London trio creator of a Prog that leans heavily on the Jazz side, while continuing to offer the classic somewhat symphonic, somewhat avant-garde sounds. Their album "The Polite Force," released in February 1971, contains, in my opinion, some of the most inspired episodes of their brief career.
The opening "A Visit to Newport Hospital" is as pleasant and at the same time sophisticated (in terms of rhythms and harmonies) as the Canterbury movement has produced, with its dark and severe initial riff that unexpectedly serves as the introduction to a calm and dreamy ride, dominated by a skillful rhythm section and a seductive keyboard, worthy of the sweetest Caravan or Camel. The voice of singer-bassist Mont Campbell in turn conveys calm and intensity to the general atmosphere of the song. For those who love the Canterbury sound, this piece is one of its undeniable peaks.
We then move on to the crazy odd times of "Contrasong," in which one can also appreciate the horn section composed of two trumpets and two tenor saxophones. The third track "Boilk" explores the realms of the most avant-garde prog being a sort of sound experiment that can be likened to some "Krautrock" works (Faust, etc...) and probably contributed to inspiring Fripp's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic".
The second side of the LP is entirely occupied by a long instrumental suite named "Long Piece No. 3," actually divided into 4 parts that naturally flow into each other. The composition in terms of importance can comfortably be compared to a "9 feet underground," being a forward-looking example, not only of excellent instrumental mastery but also of assimilation of various jazzistic, symphonic, and experimental elements, with a valid, and at times perhaps successful, attempt to synthesize them into a "unicum", although it is still keyboard-driven progressive, in many ways comparable to the style of Van Der Graaf Generator and ELP.
We are thus faced with a niche band, but ultimately historic that, at its peak, was important for the subsequent development of Canterbury prog and, I think, not only in that field. My rating would be about 4.5, but considering albums like this are increasingly rare and, moreover, I often see maximum scores given to records that frankly wouldn't deserve even half a star, I feel inclined to grant it an extra half point.
Genre: Progressive Rock/Canterbury Scene
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 A Visit to Newport Hospital (08:26)
There used to be a time when we lived in the van
We used to roam about with Janice, Liz and Ann
Now looking back it seemed to be a happy time
And so we kid ourselves we didn't really mind
The hang-ups and the lack of bread
There were four of us then, the group was Uriel
We played five nights a week at Ryde Castle Hotel
We spent our time avoiding skinheads and the law
It was a freedom that we'd never felt before
And now we're doing this instead
It was a way of life that was completely new
And so we found that we had quite a lot to do
The time passed slowly and each day was much the same
We ate and loved and slept and no-one was to blame
For saying things better left unsaid
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