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National Health (album)

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National Health
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1978
RecordedFebruary – March 1977
StudioThe Point, Victoria, London, on the Mobile Mobile
GenreJazz fusion, progressive rock, avant-garde
Length49:58
LabelAffinity Records, Esoteric Recordings (Reissue)
ProducerMike Dunne
National Health chronology
National Health
(1978)
Of Queues and Cures
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]

National Health is the first album recorded by the progressive rock and jazz fusion group National Health, one of the last representatives of the artistically prolific Canterbury scene.[3] Although it was created during the rise of punk, the album is characterized by lengthy, elaborate and mostly instrumental compositions that combine prog and jazz elements.

Critical reception

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In a retrospective review, All About Jazz wrote that "revisiting the disc over 30 years later reveals a strength in composition, improvisation and orchestration/arrangement that makes it another high point in the careers of everyone involved."[4] In his History of Progressive Rock, Paul Stump said that National Health "retains an askew charm, dominated by a wheezy, rough-and-reedy sound at odds with the amniotic sybaritism of most Progressive production jobs at the time." He opined that despite the album having been criticized for "excessive compositional rigour", the elaborate and inventive compositions actually enabled the soloists to be more adventurous.[5] The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music called the album "easily the best of [National Health's] three releases."[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tenemos Roads"Dave Stewart14:43
2."Brujo"Alan Gowen10:19
3."Borogoves (Excerpt from Part Two)"Stewart4:16
4."Borogoves (Part One)"Stewart6:37
5."Elephants"Gowen, Stewart14:37

Personnel

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with

References

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  1. ^ Nickson, Chris. "National Health – National Health | AllMusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 126.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Bradley (1997). The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music. Billboard Books. pp. 137–138.
  4. ^ Jazz, All About. "National Health: National Health / Of Queues and Cures article @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz.
  5. ^ Stump, Paul (1997). The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. Quartet Books Limited. p. 223. ISBN 0 7043 8036 6.
  6. ^ "AllMusic Review by Dave Lynch". allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
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