Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Dirk Mont Campbell — Long Time Gone
(Bandcamp áMARXE 0425CD, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-06-01

Long Time Gone Cover art

A long time ago in a land far away, there was a smokin’ hot band called Egg that embodied some outstanding musicianship, and among the players was bassist and multi-instrumentalist Mont Campbell, who did some singing as well; the other players were drummer Clive Brooks and keyboardist Dave Stewart. Almost concurrent with their debut album as Egg, the three plus Steve Hillage recorded a powerful psychedelic rock album as Arzachel, all four members using assumed names in order to not run afoul of their new record deal with Decca, and for this endeavor Campbell became Njerogi Gategaka. By ‘74 Egg had released three albums, and called it a day, though in the ensuing years Campbell appeared as a guest with Hatfield, Gilgamesh, National Health, Henry Cow, and many others. Decades later, in the mid-90s, he released a wonderful solo album (as Dirk Campbell) — with help from his friends Dave Stewart, Barbara Gaskin, and others — titled Music from a Round Tower, a complete surprise that was well received. Since that time he has recorded several more, though intermittently and stylistically diverse, these days composing mainly for television, movies, and commercials. Long Time Gone is Campbell’s latest, a powerful statement, mostly instrumental, where Campbell plays nearly all of the instruments with only a few exceptions, clarinet, rabab, flutes, piano, duduk, violin, trumpet, oud, kora, ngoni, zither, laoto, gongs, Uillean pipes, charango, percussion, and more, basically a smorgasbord of instruments from all over the world crafted into unique compositions that defy any convenient categorization. There are vocals on a few of the thirteen tracks, mostly handled by guests (though he does sing on the title track). Especially noteworthy is the track “Three New Psalms,” a piece exclusively for four-part vocal hamony and no other instrumentation — and Cambell doesn’t play or sing on it. It’s a complete change of style right near the end of the album. The closing ‘bonus track’ is “La Livinière,” a demo, with vocals, that Campbell programmed and recorded a dozen years ago for a hopeful reunion with his former Egg band mates that never got off the ground, and it’s the only thing here that sounds even remotely ‘Canterbury.’ Long Time Gone is wonderful and instrumentally diverse album that should appeal to all Exposé readers. 

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Dirk (Mont) Campbell

More info
http://amarxe.bandcamp.com/album/long-time-gone

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.