Eclectic Discs
2005
Egg
Egg
About This Album
Egg hatched from the shell of Uriel, a college band formed by a quartet of friends at the City of London School. However, in 1968, with the departure of guitarist Steve Hillage for university in Canterbury, Egg emerged as an axe-less trio. After a series of successful local gigs, the band signed to Decca the following year, with the group's self-titled, and self-produced, album arriving in 1970. With its members still in their teens, Egg exhibited a surprising musical maturity and quite breathtaking creativity. Influenced by the likes of Soft Machine, the Nice, and Pink Floyd, among others, the group's highly experimental sound took proggy excursions through a variety of genres from jazz to classical. Side one was more eclectic, ranging across jazzy landscapes, joyous pomp rock, storming Nice-esque psychedelia, champagne piano pieces, a quite glittering adaptation of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and a clever tape-looped Mellotron. In contrast, all of side two was given over to "Symphony No. 2," a suite of improvisational pieces built around classical works by Grieg and Stravinsky, although one movement, the third, while featured on test pressings, was deleted before release due to objections from the administrators of Stravinsky's estate. However, this reissue now returns the movement to its rightful place on the set. Also included as bonus tracks are the A- and B-sides of Egg's 1969 single, "Seven Is a Jolly Good Time," a witty recap of the group's graduation from 4/4 to more complex time signatures, backed by the less catchy but more dramatic "You Are All Princes." A fabulously original set now makes a welcome return. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5 and 13)

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