The Civil Surface

The Civil Surface is Egg’s third and final studio album, originally released in 1974 on Caroline Records. The band had broken up in 1972, leaving some of their favourite stage pieces unrecorded. At organist Dave Stewart's suggestion, the trio re-united in order to record these compositions. Among the guest musicians on the album are Steve Hillage (guitar), Lindsay Cooper (oboe & bassoon) and vocalists Amanda Parsons, Ann Rosenthal and Barbara Gaskin.

The Civil Surface
Studio album by
Egg
ReleasedDecember 1974
RecordedAugust 1974 (Saturn Studios, Worthing)
GenreProgressive rock, Canterbury scene
Length40:36
LabelCaroline Records
ProducerEgg
Egg chronology
The Polite Force
(1971)		 The Civil Surface
(1974)		 Seven Is A Jolly Good Time
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
DPRP[2]

Listeners have complained that the drums are mixed too loud on the album's organ trio pieces. In an article written for the UK fanzine Ptolemaic Terrascope in 1990 (quoted in Mark Powell's liner notes of the Esoteric Recordings CD re-release), Dave Stewart explains that it was the unbending wish of drummer Clive Brooks that his drums be featured prominently in the mix, and that the other members were unable to persuade him otherwise.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Germ Patrol"Mont Campbell, Dave Stewart8:31
2."Wind Quartet I"Campbell2:20
3."Enneagram"Campbell, Stewart9:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Prelude"Campbell4:17
2."Wring Out the Ground (Loosely Now)"Campbell8:11
3."Nearch"Campbell3:22
4."Wind Quartet II"Campbell4:48

Personnel

Guests

Wind Quartets performed by
  • Mont Campbell – French horn
  • Maurice Cambridge – clarinet
  • Stephen Solloway – flute
  • Chris Palmer – bassoon

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. DPRP review
  • Lyrics to The Civil Surface
  • "Egg (2) - The Civil Surface (LP) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
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