Gilgamesh - Arriving Twice. 1975 England (archival)

When I first picked up the LP of In the Land of Grey and Pink by Caravan at the tender age of 19, I had become an instant Canterbury fan. One that carries to this day. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s I bought everything I could that was related to the genre. Of all the major bands from the scene, Gilgamesh was decidedly my least favorite. I just couldn't understand the allure here.

In 2000, even though I'd already waved off the first 2 studio albums, Cuneiform released Arriving Twice. This CD promised to be for Canterbury fans who didn't like Gilgamesh. It was rawer, more rocked out. I bit that bait hard - and found myself flopping in the boat barely breathing, getting prepared to become suppertime. To me, it was the same ole Gilgamesh. What is with this band and why does everyone say they are so great? I don't get it I plea'd! ...Sold.

Well it's 18+ years later, and I haven't heard Gilgamesh since then. Here comes the ever present cheap CD copy wafting by. "Try me again?" it flirts. Yes, CDs and LPs talk to me. I was just explaining that to some nice lady in a white coat the other day. "Yea, sure, OK why not?" I replied.

After hearing the opener 'With Lady and Friend" I'm saying to myself what the hell Tomas, that's exactly what I love about Canterbury! Fuzz organ and raw guitar, just as it is written in the Bible. But it was fleeting and the 18 minute 'You're Disguised' pops in and then I started to hear the Gilgamesh I was more familiar with. But.... I like it now. And why is that? Well it's true that Gilgamesh aren't my favorite sort of Canterbury. They are very much coming from the improvisational jazz wing of the school, and they don't always rock out as I would prefer. But if taking Gilgamesh as a jazz rock fusion band, rather than pure Canterbury, the contents are easier to digest. I've said it many times, but setting expectations is a dangerous thing to do. When I was younger and money more scarce, each dollar had to count. I didn't want mediocre, I wanted greatness every time! The problem there is I was bringing my filter, rather than letting the music come to me.

There's close to an hour of material here, almost all of it very good. Much of the contents are variations of what showed up on the debut album with a few unreleased tracks thrown in at the end. Obviously at some point I need to revisit their two albums again as well. Enjoyable on the whole for certain.

Personal collection
CD: 2000 Cuneiform (USA)

Fantastic archival issue with full liner notes giving the complete musical history of Alan Gowen and the genesis of Gilgamesh, covering the years of 1966 to 1974. Excellent sound as well for this sort of thing.