GONG

I might have considered YOU a masterpiece had I discovered it around the same time as the first two RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE albums. Instead, I got this almost a year after those two Gong albums; not good for the RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE continuity.

YOU is much more of an instrumental album than the two that came before it. Very little of this album other than the overall sound, the first two cuts and ''Perfect Mystery'' remind me of the ANGEL'S EGG album, and this is both good and bad in a way. Gong gets the chance to stretch out their psychadelic sounds into well developed jams that at times (like on ''Isle of Everywhere'') sound like precursors to hip-hop. The downside is that tracks like ''A Sprinkling of Clouds'' take quite a bit of time to build up before the payoff theme comes in.

''You Never Blow Your Trip Forever'' deserves a special mention as it is THE piece of the album (possibly the trilogy, but I can't definitively say so to avoid hyperbole). It picks up right where ''Isle of Everywhere'' leaves off with a funky riff until the band needs to space out. This doesn't last long as the band comes back in at blistering volume with one of Howlett's best lines underpinning everything beautifully. This leads into a jazzy thing that keeps building in intensity until Daevid announces the close of the trilogy, and the piece dissolves gradually then.

Get this alongside the other two RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE parts to hear how all three match up. This has plenty of spacey instrumental passages for those that are interested, but general goofiness that originally attracted me to the group is not as prevalent here, and I'm marginally disappointed by that.

Last words: I is ready.

Not to be missed if you like any of the incarnations of Gong featuring Daevid Allen!

Not only does LIVE FLOATING ANARCHY contain loads of wild and bubbly space-rock, most notably the majestic fifteen-minute "Allez Ali Baba Black Sheep" which still carries me away every time I hear it (and which must have been a major influence on Ozric Tentacles); it also contains Daevid's triumphant attempt to outsnarl Johnny Rotten, in a thoroughly enjoyable Sex Pistols parody called "Opium for the People". (Just why did you think this album was called "Live Floating ANARCHY"? It seems Allen was more than prepared to show those young upstarts who the true anarchists were!)

I can't imagine anyone who likes BANANAMOON, CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE or even YOU would fail to appreciate this album. Just don't expect subtle soloing as provided by the likes of Pierre Moerlen or Didier Malherbe. What you get here is wild and spontaneous, but still rich, thanks to (among other things) esctatic drumming, oodles of whizzing synths and yes: that dratted space whisper!

N.B. Contrary to what certain reviewers have stated, Steve Hillage did not take part in this concert, as far as I'm aware. But professor Sharpstrings, whoever he is (I always suspected him of being Daevid Allen himself, but I must be wrong), does an excellent job at reminding you of the master.

Zero To Infinity is a surprising return of the classic Gong and equals the quality of the Allen fronted early 70's albums. It doesn't shed a new light on this band but the inspiration ran high during the recording of this album. For artists this late in their career it's an amazing album really.

Foolefare, a transcription of Faut Le Faire (You got to do it), opens the album. If they wanted to hint at the 'tour the force' they are doing here with their sudden return to form then this self-appraisal is deserved. The excellent Magdalene kicks of the album for real, it's a space-rock classic that sits comfortably next to Dynamite or You Can't Kill Me. The Invisible Temple is one of their typical space-jazz jams. This simply sends the Ozric Tentacles packing.

Gong not only brought back the trippy excellence of yore, they also continued the eclectic/inconsistent (pick your choice) character of their early albums, Zeroid is a good track still but a step down from the opening. Wise Man In Your Heart continues on the same level, good, but this trip-hop excursion refers too much to the superior Massive Attack in this style of music. With The Mad Monk we're right back with 1967 psychedelic rock.

Yoni On Mars wins me over more easily with its gloomy lounge jazz feel. It comes close to one of my avant-garde post punk favourites, Tuxedo Moon. (It's just a similarity of course, Tuxedo Moon were probably inspired by Gong and certainly not the other way round). Damaged Man is a bit of weird filler that I could do without. It ends in an interesting jazz-noise chaos though. Bodilingus and Tali's Song shouldn't even have made it onto the album maybe, although they're not that different from the silly stuff on their classic albums. There's one more gem at the end, Infinitea, a classic space-jazz-jam.

3.5 stars, but leaving out the tracks that I would discard as filler, there's still a good 44 minutes of 4 star space matter. Recommended to all Radio Gnome Trilogy fans.

When Daevid Allen left Gong he must have snatched away every remaining leaf of weed he could find in Gong's rehearsal room. This is an entirely different band that gracefully landed back on earth after the preceding age of space trips.

Gazeuse is a sparkling record indeed, delivering energetic and focussed jazz-rock. The musicianship is stellar throughout. Especially the way they managed to balance out each member's contribution is noteworthy. Instead of going into an endless full frontal jazz-rock attack, each musician is allowed to shine, sometimes the guitar takes the lead, often the amazing percussion takes over and all the time, the drums and bass are stellar. The absence of synths is also a winner. Gong made good use of synths on previous albums, but dropping them here gives this album a timeless quality. The prominent percussion is a unique feature that makes this album stand out above many jazz-rock album that exploded onto the scene in those years.

This album is a jazz-rock masterpiece that should easily please fans of Mahavishnu, Brand X, Al Di Meola and other jazz-rock classics. I'm not very familiar yet with the Canterbury scene but I think this album deserves a high spot up there. 4 stars with growing potential.

Any band + Allan Holdsworth = Quality Jazz Rock

Allan Holdsworth back in the mid-70's was at his peak proffessionally speaking, starting with his appearance on the killer Soft Machine album, Bundles, after that he had simply replaced the names of Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin with his own, participating on some very notable jazz fusion records like Believe it! by the Tony Williams Lifetime, Enigmatic Ocean by Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford's solo albums, his surprising appearance with Gong on the album, Gazeuse!, and even playing with the progressive rock supergroup, UK.

Well, as I already have reviewed some of those works in which Allan participated, it was time to review this one, Gazeuse! by Gong, another quality and very unique jazz rock effort.

First of all I'll make it clear that Gazeuse! is not the well-known psych/canterbury Gong that prog fans praise, the same goes for Bundles by Soft Machine. Gazeuse! is Gong turning to a more straight- forward Jazz Fusion band leaving the trippiness from their early albums behind.

However, this is not your typical jazz fusion; Gong uses an extensive use of vibes very alike that of Zappa's extenstive use, which is an amazing feature of the music, just listen to the percussive fest on Percolations. Also, the addition of Allan is another obvious factor that this will not be your samey jazz fusion record, his playing is more loose and expressive from that featured in Bundles, simply listen to his great compositions in this album which are Shadow Of and Night Illusion, totally sublime.

The other three tracks maintain the top-notch musicianship and composition, so as a whole Gazeuse! is a very strong non-typical jazz fusion record which I recommend to anyone who is a fan of Allan Holdsoworth' playing and of Jazz Fusion. However, do not think that this album will be your entry to the classic Gong, since their classic records barely sound anything alike what Gazeuse! sounds like.

4 stars.

On Gong's 4th album, the music is still as psychotic and schizophrenic as your state of mind will be after too much weed. In order to fully appreciate Gong, the two have to go together I guess: drugs and a bemused mindset.

Gong got a lot more coherent though, and kick off the album with one of their typical mesmerizing space-jazz jams. It flows into the more rocking Sold to the Highest Buddah, a groovy take on one of their obvious sources for inspiration: Syd Barrett. With 14 tracks for 45 minutes, there are many short interludes here. The jazz-rock jingle Castle In The Clouds is one of the best, very concise and to the point. Only a good minute long but still trippy. Also some of the longer songs are very fragmented. The 6 minutes of Prostitute Poem starts with a one minute of guitar and sound effects before it turns into a smoky jazz song with Middle-Eastern flavours. By the end of it we've had 18 minutes of coherent Gong material. That hadn't happened before.

After a bit of fun with Givin' My Love To You, the album has a bit of trouble to find its momentum back. Selene is quite charming but hardly essential. Flute Salad is a more interesting experiment but is sure to have you searching through all your drawers to find that last stash of grass. This music could serve as an excellent substitute to put you in higher states though. Oily Way is a pleasant psychedelic song that belongs to another era. Outer Temple / Inner Temple are way more convincing. Timeless space-jazz here and one of my most loved Gong moments.

The remainder of the album is ok but doesn't add much. With 20 minutes of passable jumble and 25 of essential material, 4 stars would be too flattering still, but it comes close.

Gong took a step forward with each new album, especially in terms of consistency.

You still has some short ditties but all of them are quite good. It makes for a very diverse album, starting with two short playful oddities before heading for the morose electronic cosmos of Magick Mother Invocation, the following Master Builder is Gong's finest hour. Or is this my love for esoteric music that is speaking again? A Middle-Eastern rhythm and Arabian snake charming scales build up to an enthralling trip.

A Sprinkling of Clouds touches progressive electronic territories. Given this is from 1974, it's quite an astonishing accomplishment. Halfway in, they turn it into another fascinating jazz-rock space jam. Perfect Mystery is the goofy moment. It's actually a welcome rest point in between the gloomy extended trips that make up the bulk of this album. The Isle of Everywhere is another essential piece. Also the bad trip of You Never Blow Your Trip Forever delivers. Sometimes there's a bit of a punk vibe here, similar to Robert Calvert's rants on Hawkwind albums.

You is the greatest achievement of the space-era Gong. It's still very eclectic and some moments might make you turn away from it at first. But it's certainly worth the effort to let it grow on you. A solid 4 stars.

Old-fashioned, but highly attractive

2032 is the latter album from Radio Gnome Trylogy by british Canterbury scene band Gong. This album can be considered as a quite experimental album with all these variations in genres. The title of the album refers to year of 2032, which was mentioned in some of the earlier recordings about the planet Gong. This is the year, when the planet Gong finally make contact with Earth. I'm not quite familiar with this wonderful band Gong, but I'll change this in near future, exactly because of this reunion album of the classic line-up. Despite, not being something special 2032 reveals strong 60's psychedelic influence in very good manner. It's well-forgotten way of creating music and that's increases the value of this recording. Regretfully, I can't give it 4 stars, because it contains moments for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 stars, so it will be 3,3 stars. Highly recommended for 60's psychedelic and experimental lovers.

Highlights in 2032:

1. Wacky Baccy Banker

2. Portal

3. The Year 2032

Gong can be a bit of a frustrating experience. Their experimental compulsions make their albums as much of a hit as they can be a miss. Their style is highly eclectic, reminding me of Gentle Giant, Soft Machine and obvious space-rock overtones from Floyd and Hawkwind.

You can't Kill Me is a classic, a calling card for their unique sound. A good tag to describe it with would be space-jazz. I also hear some echoes of VDGG here. There's goofy humour aplenty as well in this music, as testified by the delirious I've Bin Stone Before. But Mister Long Shanks won't get them high up in my list of competent song writers any time soon. Dynamite on the other hand is another essential Gong track.

One of the most compelling moments on the album is Fohat Digs Holes in Space, especially for its opening 3 minute acid-trip. The second part is an ordinary psychedelic rock tune, right from 1967. Nothing special. The only highlight further on is Tropical Fish, although it also can't make up its mind between being an old-fashioned psychedelic pop-tune or going for a full fledged space-trip.

Uneven and fascinating. Two words that pretty much sum it up for a lot of Gong albums. 2.5 stars

Gong's Flying Teapot album is a nice continuation of the psychedelic avant-garde space-jazz style of Camembert Electric. It's also maintains the same inconsistency though. It's understandable, it must have been hard to stay focused given their doped state. It's even something of an achievement they managed to stir up their mindset to pull off the two great 10 minute psychedelic trips here.

The opening Radio Gnome Invisible has its moments but it's a bit too goofy really. People with more sense of humour then me will probably dig this a lot more. Serious experiments like Flying Teapot and Zero The Hero please me a lot more and take the space-rock of Floyd and Hawkwind even deeper into the cosmos. 4 star material. The rest of the album barely gets above 2 stars though.

If you still wonder what is to be found at the heart of space, Gong will be able to tell you it's basically one huge stash of pot out there. 3 stars