Egg - Egg (1970)

[umbertino]

 

 

Side one

1. "Bulb" (Peter Gallen) – 0:09
2. "While Growing My Hair" – 3:53
3. "I Will Be Absorbed" – 5:10
4. "Fugue in D Minor" (Johann Sebastian Bach) – 2:46
5. "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano…" – 1:17
6. "The Song of McGillicudie the Pusillanimous (Or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas)" – 5:07
7. "Boilk" – 1:00

Side two

1. "Symphony No. 2" – 20:43
   • Movement 1
   • Movement 2
   • Blane
   • Movement 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egg
Egg Canterbury Scene

Review by TheMIDIWizard

 

 Egg is one of my personal favorite Prog/Canterbury bands of all time, and it all starts with their self titled debut album.

We begin our journey with Bulb, a weird intro that makes you feel that your transending into another dimension, a song that foreshadows what the rest of the album (or even the entire discography of Egg) will sound like. Overall, a really spine chilling song to start off the album. 4/5

 

Then we go to the second song While Growing My Hair, which technically is the "First" song in the album if you consider Bulb an intro. This song is a simple tune with a really groovy vibe thanks to the organs from Dave Steward, and with the help of drummer Clive Brook with his equally groovy drumming. Overall, this is a really good song that sets the vibe of the album. 4/5

 

I Will Be Absorbed is the third track, and its equally as good as the previous track. With a more mellow vibe, it contrasts well with the more alive and joyfull While Growing My Hair. Again, Dave does a great job playing those notes, and the odd time signature gives this track a unique sound that just screams "Egg". 5/5

And then we get to a cover of Fugue In D Minor by good ol' Joseph Bach. This is a great rendition of an already classic composition, the drums really compliment well with the melody as always. Yeah, this is an obvious 5/5.

 

We continue with They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano... And oh man, this song really hits hard for some reason. The melancholic piano meddling along side the distorded guitar wails really give a chilling tune to this song. This interlude is an easy 5/5.

And now we get to The Song Of McGillicudie The Pusillanimous (Or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging In The Coal Cellar With Thomas)... I think i'll just call it McGillicudie for now. Anyways! this is one of the more chaotic songs in the album, and in a good way! This is where Clive goes nuts on the drums, and with Dave going along playing these dissonant chords that go really well with the berserk drumming. 5/5.

 

We close off Side 1 with Boilk, a very experimental piece that also goes really well if played after McGillicudie. I have little words to describe how good this Mellotronic sounding interlude is, so i'm gonna rate it 4/5.

And then we get to Side 2 with a 20 minute epic, simply titled Symphony No. 2. What can i say? It's a masterpiece. The track starts with an already awesome organ melody that already gives out how the rest of the song will be.

 

Movement 1 is a smooth part of the song, and also including In The Hall Of The Mountain King in between the melody, which adds even more charm to this already charming song. Movement 2 then starts, and it gets even more smoother. It's just wonderful, that's what i'm gonna say. And then we get to Blane, my favorite part of Symphony No. 2. This is by far the most experimental Egg has been in this album, it just gives me shivers down my spine every time i hear that distorted guitar. And i love it. And we finally end this track with Movement 4, with the vibes of the first two movements back. I feel like a broken record just saying this, but this is smooth. Just, smooth. And when you think its going to end with an epicloud finale, it abruptly ends. Which adds more to the experimental and unpredictable nature of this album. 5/5.

 

Although i still think this still is my least favorite album (but i still love it), i think this is still an almost flawless record from Egg. It's easily a 8.5/10.