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1.
Above and Below 07:41
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2.
Reflexes in the Margin 04:00
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3.
Nowadays A Silhouette 04:30
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4.
Silver Star 02:24
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5.
Fourfold 06:15
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6.
Before A Word Is Said 07:58
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7.
Umbrellas 03:54
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8.
A Fleeting Glance 07:33
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about

For those who are already acquainted with the musician Alan Gowen, some of the following will be stating the obvious. Alan was a brilliant composer and keyboard player who, sadly for those who loved his music and music in general, died far too young aged 33. This album was Alan's last recording project and features his superb, characterful keyboard playing as well as three of his masterly compositions.
richardsinclairsongs.bandcamp.com/track/before-a-word-is-said-2
richardsinclairsongs.bandcamp.com/track/alan-gowen
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Gowen

Alan and I first met in Harlow in 1968, when we were both young musicians with a common interest in jazz. Our first musical collaboration came in 1973, a joint venture between his band Gilgamesh and mine, Hatfield & The North, playing a double quartet piece Alan had composed specially. Later, Alan joined me and keyboardist Dave Stewart in founding National Health, with who Alan played over a six year period from 1975 to 1980. The band went out in a blaze of glory after a final, successful tour of America, and Alan went on to record a fine duo album, "Two Rainbows Daily," with bassist Hugh Hopper. We had already spoken about making an album together, and in April 1981 we recorded "Before A Word Is Said" with the excellent rhythm section of Trevor Tomkins (ex-Gilgamesh) and Richard Sinclair (ex-Hatfield), a neat echo of our original Gilgamesh / Hatfield collaboration.

The actual location for the recording was Alan's flat in South London, scene of many rehearsals for all the various line-ups of Gilgamesh and National Health down the years ... I don't know who's living in that flat now, but it wouldn't surprise me if they sometimes half-heard a few bars of wonderful music, interspersed with guffawing and the clinking of tea cups, mysteriously emanating from their empty front room. For this project, the band played in the back bedroom, while the engineer, Pete Ball, set up his equipment in Alan's music room, nobly battling and finally conquering the domestic acoustics. The album was funded and released on his own Europa label by Jean-Pierre Weiller, a close friend of Alan and his wife Celia.

The music on "Before A Word Is Said" was recorded when Alan was extremely ill with leukaemia and the effects of chemotherapy. It is a testament to his stoicism, and to his love of music, that he could even contemplate embarking on a recording project, let alone embue it with a combination of relaxed enjoyment and steely determination. Implicit in the title is the idea that here was a man composing his own musical epitaph, a sad thought, but Alan would have been quick to discourage such sadness. Let's instead celebrate the new-found availability of this album on CD, and enjoy the music of one of England's finest keyboard players and composers.
-Phil Miller, London, April 1995
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eqBhKOv1XI

credits

released May 4, 1981

Richard Sinclair - bass & vocals
Alan Gowen - keyboards
Phil Miller - guitar
Trevor Tomkins - drums

"Above and Below," "Nowadays A Silhouette," Fourfold" and "A Fleeting Glance" written by Phil Miller. "Reflexes in the Margin," "Silver Star" and "Before A Word Is Said" by Alan Gowen. "Umbrellas" by Richard Sinclair.

Recorded at Trinity Road on April 25th - 27th & May 2nd - 4th, 1981
Engineered by Peter Ball for Tri-Arts Associates Ltd.
Produced by Jean-Pierre Weiller
Cover drawing by Alan Gowen

The music on this album is very much the result of the combined energies of musician, engineer and producer.

Conceived initially by the respective musicians, the pieces were contributed to during rehearsals by all four musicians and developed during recording. This demanded an understanding of the writing and improvising which resulted in the co-operative and encouraging atmosphere that existed between the six people involved.

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Richard Sinclair Martina Franca, Italy

The leading voice of the Canterbury Scene. Beginning with the Wilde Flowers, on to Caravan, Hatfield & the North, Camel and all his recent group efforts, Richard Sinclair's singing and bass playing have been a constant source of delight for lovers of Canterbury music. A deep, low voice, a talent for memorable melodies few can match, plus an imaginative and fluid technique on the bass and guitar. ... more

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