Egg – Egg (Esoteric Recordings reissue, 2024/originally released in 1970 on Deram)
Esoteric Recordings is set to release a new vinyl edition of Egg, the iconic debut album by the progressive rock band Egg, on November 8, 2024. This release has been thoroughly remastered at Abbey Road Studios, known for its high-quality production standards.
On Egg you’ll discover one of the early, seminal progressive rock bands that featured important musicians in the British scene. The music on the album is primarily instrumental and features three of the core elements that defined the Canterbury style of progressive rock: western classical music, rock and contemporary jazz. You’ll also find a fourth element that characterized Egg and other Canterbury acts: humorous, long song titles.
Throughout the album, you’ll be able to experience the masterful work of keyboardist Dave Stewart. His command of the organ and piano is central to the album’s sound. His playing exhibits a combination of influences that stretch from Baroque compositions to the exploratory nature of 20th-century western classical music, all while embracing the spontaneity of jazz improvisation.
The rhythm section complements Stewart’s keyboard mastery with remarkable cohesion. Indeed, the electric bass and drums add a vital rock energy that is essential to Egg’s sound.,
Egg’s original lineup included Dave Stewart (organ, piano, tone generator), Mont Campbell (bass, vocals), and Clive Brooks (drums). The band emerged from an earlier band called Uriel, which had included guitarist Steve Hillage, before he left in 1968 to attend the University of Kent. As a trio, they signed with Decca Records in 1969 and recorded their debut album that same year. Released in January 1970 on Decca’s Deram Nova label, Egg is now celebrated as a seminal work in the early progressive and psychedelic rock genre.
Dave Stewart later became a seminal figure in the Canterbury subgenre as co-founder of two essential British progressive rock bands that defined this movement, Hatfield and the North and National Health.
This new vinyl edition restores “Symphony No. 2 – Third Movement,” a track originally withdrawn due to its use of themes by Stravinsky. The reissue also faithfully reproduces the album’s original artwork.
Track Listing:
Side One
1 Bulb
2 While Growing My Hair
3 I Will Be Absorbed
4 Fugue in D Minor
5 They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano
6 The Song of McGuillicudie the Pusillanamous (or Don’t Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas)
7 Boilk
Side Two
1 Symphony No. 2 – First Movement
2 Symphony No. 2 – Second Movement
3 Blane
4 Symphony No. 2 – Third Movement
5 Symphony No. 2 – Fourth Movement
Get the Egg vinyl reissue or the CD.