Hugh Hopper (of
Soft Machine fame) and Alan Gowen (
Gilgamesh,
National Health) first met in January 1978 and recorded together with Soft Heap/Soft Head and Gowen's
Gilgamesh (on their second album Another Fine Tune). At the end of 1978,
Hopper retired, only to come back to music in 1980. Waiting for him was his friend Gowen, who proposed a duo project. Two Rainbows Daily was recorded during the first week of June 1980 and released on the short-lived Red Records. There are only keyboards and bass, sometimes with multiple overdubs, keeping it a two-man creation. Therefore, the mood of the album remains very intimate and friendly. Two Rainbows Daily is simply about two friends crafting Moog and bass melodies that retain something from the Canterbury sound but remain very laid-back. This is Sunday afternoon jamming in the living room with a cup of tea music and is as close to new age as Canterbury rock ever got. The Cuneiform CD reissue adds five tracks (20 minutes) taken from a one-off concert on September 21, 1980, with
Hopper, Gowen, and drummer Nigel Morris. These improvisations are rather sloppy and of little interest compared to the beautifully crafted tunes preceding them, although the bonus is appreciated if only for historic relevance. ~ François Couture