LEAVE IT OPEN

It's a funny old world. When I first began my journey into non-Allen GONG, I picked an album at random from this PA page, and found it in an old friend's extensive GONG collection. That album was LEAVE IT OPEN. The most obvious thing to say is that this is miles away from Daevid Allen's GONG. In fact, there can be no comparison to the older GONG greats, a fact I find amazing and invigorating. This is pure chilled out jazz rock, smooth but convoluted, like churning water.

'Leave It Open' begins the album, and sets the mood for one of the tastiest albums you will listen to. Xylophone forms the base of this epic, and I think the guitar parts are a standout. As a follow-up, and using practically the same riff, 'How Much Better...' is like a condensed version of the first song, faster and shorter. 'I woke up that morning...' is one of the weaker songs on the album, but the sax work is pretty good. 'It's About Time' and 'Stok Stok Stok Sto-Gak' are my favourites, with frenetic but controlled drums and bass. "Adrien' is a pretty poor end to this album, but it calms down the mood again from the previous two songs.

LEAVE IT OPEN is a great album for those looking for soft GONG that doesn't completely trip you out. It also makes a great gateway to ESPRESSO and GAZEUSE, which are the peak of the jazz rock GONG's style.