National Health

National Health's beginnings precede this debut recording by about two years. Two keyboardists, Hatfield and the North's Dave Stewart and Gilgamesh's Alan Gowen, founded the group as a large-scale rock ensemble in 1975. Early lineups included Stewart and Gowen, along with Phil Lee and Phil Miller on guitars, Mont Campbell on bass, Amanda Parsons on vocals and Bill Bruford on drums. Large indeed. Lee left first, to be temporarily replaced by Steve Hillage. Bruford was the next to depart, followed by Campbell and Gowen. By the time Stewart's head stopped spinning, he'd settled with Miller, Neil Murray and Pip Pyle on drums: basically, the Hatfield and the North lineup he had left! In March 1977, National Health recorded their self-titled debut, with Gowen, Parsons and long-time Canterbury stand-in Jimmy Hastings augmenting the lineup. Their music is instantly recognizable: intricate, highly arranged, partly frenetic and always melodic. "Tenemos Roads" rides over the Pyle/Murray rhythm section; Parsons's vocals are angelic and Miller's guitar tone thick, while four hands worth of keyboards fill out the lush sound. Shifting between sections with ease, it is one of Stewart's finest compositions. "Brujo," penned by Gowen, follows with the same tenacity, though punctuated by his lead Moog. "Borogoves (Excerpt from Part Two)" features Murray's bass work; the second section sneaks in a bit of that fuzz organ, something often associated with Canterbury bands. The chaotic introduction to "Elephants" is followed by a more frenetic than usual pace, before the record returns to "Tenemos Road" for a final coda. The group signed to Charly Records late in 1977, leading to the album's release in 1978. But as to be expected, more change was just around the corner.