RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 3 - YOU

In order to first get the appropriate amount of appreciation for this album, it's highly recommended that whoever listens to Gong starts with the first of the RGI trilogy. Only once you've traversed through "Flying Teapot" and "Angel's Egg" can the ending of this album really hit home.

"Thoughts for Naught" is the blissfully meditative intro to the final chapter of Zero the Hero's journey. Here the sillyness and psychedelic music are toned down in a welcoming whisper that eases the listener into the right mindset for a Gong album. "A PHP's Advice" is reminiscent of the "Flying Teapot" album, with quirky saxophone and, of course, clear instructions on how to live, or something. The transition into "Magick Mother Invocation" is simply flawless, and completely teleports the listener right out of Earth and into the planet Gong. Here the spacious soundscapes that we've come to familiarize with this band come to life. "Master Builder" is where the real magick happens; the peak of these first four songs and one of Gong's best musical works. By now, there is no question that this is the ultimate Gong experience.

"A Sprinkling of Clouds" is the Tim Blake tour de force; witness the keyboardist come to life like never before in a soaring, ever-increasing, mind-bending, reality-forsaking synthesizer/keyboard hurricane. The clouds get sprinkled with every note, and the picture is clearly painted in the listener's mind. This is one prog song to never give up on.

"Perfect Mystery", like the "The Pot Head Pixies" and "Sold to the Highest Buddah"s before it, blend catchy rhythms with amusing song lyrics/singing styles. It is the short and enjoyable breather before the next plunge into psychedelic chaos and all-out jam seshing.

"The Isle of Everywhere" gets a lot more jazzy than one might expect, but that is not for the worse. Here a more serious song-writing emerges from Gong. Intended for us to set our minds adrift in the great sea of music that is this song, there is no shortage of pleasurable jamming melodies. All members of Gong perform at their utmost best here and before you even realize what's going on, you've segued into the magnum opus that is "You Never Blow Your Trip Forever".

The fondness for the characters of planet Gong are wrapped up in a perfect conclusion that, as some people might attest, resemble the experience of tripping rather accurately. Doused with several separate melodies, Gong spaces them out and delivers them with just the right intensity so it becomes the perfect balance of good song-writing and goofy storytelling all wrapped up in one big ending. The reprising of several other songs in the past two RGI albums towards the middle of the song is sure to give goosebumps to even the most timid of prog rock listeners.

All in all, this is an album everyone needs because it is simply too perfect to not ignore. Especially for pot-head pixies. 10/10