RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 2 - ANGEL'S EGG

Angel's Egg encapsulates the high strangeness that we know and love about Gong. This is definitely one of their best albums and notably features some of the weirdest tracks of the band's repertoire. Gong are eternally surreal cosmic adventurers who always strive to produce the wackiest spaced out music on the planet. They accomplished it here.

They have notably been referred to 'an invisible ideological empire' more than a band and it is easy to see why. The concept of this album takes on the same themes as Flying Teapot. The pot head pixies are back as is Zero the Hero, and the jazz fusion and Eastern influences abound. It is all rather absurd and you have to be in the right mood and the music works better listening to it as a whole album rather than individual tracks.

This album is the second in the Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy, and it is the best. We are transported to Planet Gong, via a Flying Teapot, and the allegorical tale of life and the idiocy of our heroes quest begins: a quest that is never ending but nevertheless essential in finding the meaning of that perfect life. Steve Hillage is excellent as guitar extraodinaire and he is complimented with Allen, Malherbe, Blake, Howlett and Moerlen. A special mention must be made of the sultry vocals of Gilli Smyth as she croons 'Prostitute Poem', a nice break from all the lunacy and mayhem. Gong recorded this by hanging microphones from trees and the atmospehere is present throughout. Highlights include 'Other Side of the Sky', 'Flute Salad', showcasing Malherbe's incredible flute, and 'Oily Way', 'Inner Temple' 'Love is How Y Make It' and the rocker, 'I Never Glid Before'.

The album was voted as Gong's best by Mojo readers and it is easy to see why. Coming in at Second was Camembert Electrique and You, though I have a soft spot for Live Etc, that polled number 7 in the votes. In any case Angel's Egg is quintessential Gong and one of the best albums of 1973.