The Polite Force

Step back a few years to the oddly named Uriel, from which Egg was (sorry) hatched; founded in 1968 by bassist Mont Campbell, guitarist Steve Hillage and Dave Stewart, who reportedly only took up the organ because he was intimidated by Hillage’s superior guitar playing. They eventually recruited Clive Brooks on drums through a Melody Maker advert. Uriel played bluesy psychedelia, self-described as part Cream and part The Nice. The band gigged sporadically around London and recorded one album posthumously, released under the more pleasant moniker, Arzachel. After Hillage’s departure for the University of Kent in Canterbury, the band dropped all blues numbers from their set and moved forward with compositions built around classical motifs and odd time signatures. The management of Middle Earth club then approached them, and convinced them to change their name to Egg. They eventually signed to Deram Records, releasing their first album in Spring 1970. It was a solid debut, but not without some traces of influence. The instrumental “Symphony No. 2,” encompassing the record’s second side, was notable. (Of course, it also begged the question, where is “No. 1?”) But Egg’s second album, The Polite Force, remains their classic. It begins with Campbell’s narrative on the autobiographical “A Visit to Newport Hospital.” Again, the album’s second side is dominated by an instrumental, the great “Long Piece No. 3.” Stewart provides the definitive Hammond organ and Leslie cabinet tone, while drummer Brooks keeps meticulous time. Moreover, the motifs are transcendent. Prone to digress into wonderful moments of psychedelic weirdness, the piece is complicated and original; it avoids the typical pomposity of organ rock, which is perhaps its greatest triumph. In all, the record reveals the promise of Stewart’s later Canterbury efforts. Despite BBC appearances and further touring, Deram did not commit to a third record and Egg (really sorry) broke up in 1972. Stewart next joined Hillage’s new band, Khan, while Brooks would join The Groundhogs for the excellent Hogwash album. Egg would record a final “reunion” album, The Civil Surface, for Virgin in 1974, simply because they were offered.