You have to get Gong's 'You''

I have been wanting to get hold of this much esteemed, highly revered album in the weird world of prog for a long time; Gong's final part of the Radio Gnome Flying Teapot trilogy. After hearing the other two parts of the strange tale, 'You' hammers the final nail in the coffin for pot head pixies, octave doctor's, Zero the Hero and pussy witches everywhere. What were they on? From the very outset the album transports you into this drugged psychedelic universe where we land on planet Gong and experience dramatic shifts from accomplished musicianship to passionate flights into fantasy, where hallucinogenic drugs seem to take over.

'A PHP's advice' is simply weird, but it gets you in the right frame of mind and fires the imagination. "In case you don't remember this is what you do, get up out of bed... If you are a believer, what do you believe, why do you believe it.... let the Pot Head Pixies show them what to do.... if you've got a problem....remember you are me, I am you..." The lyrics are as quirky as ever, and almost non incidental, though inseparable from the musical ambience.

Gilli's space whispering is here again, on "Magick Mother Invocation" and those bizarre sound effects merge from the trees, and of course Daevid's idiosyncratic vocals that are pure Gong. The chanting Gregorian monks are unsettling but what more can any Gong addict ask for? Perhaps these aforementioned tracks are too peculiar or highly eccentric to be standouts on this album.

There are highlights here which have become part of Gong mythological folklore. These include 'A Sprinkling of Clouds', a lengthy but wonderful ambient mental instrumental, that is beautiful and haunting. A multi phased synthesizer pulsates and throbs along as spaced out effects echo. This is a bit like a vamped up version of Tangerine Dream in a sense. A very different approach from Gong, heavily reliant on keyboards, and fully instrumental. The icy glacial soundscapes transport us to another world with very effective ambient textures. Eventually a guitar lick locks in and a bass line that drives the track to its conclusion.

Also there is the compelling 'Master Builder'. This was segued from 'Magick..." and is like an alien tribal chant; a strange combination reminiscent of Magma meets Hawkwind. The spacey swooshes and piercing trills are off-kilter, and there is a pipe in their somewhere and a scorching saxophone solo. Glorious instrumental virtuosity with a wonderful bass line and off beat drumming keeping it all together. Then it stops and the birds are heard twittering in the trees as the track stops and starts, till it locks into a chant and phased guitar fret runs. The spacey effects are overkill at this point but its effective enough. Nonsensical lyrics propel it along and the sax builds to a climax.

But for any Gong Pot Head Pixie the quintessential tracks are 'The Isle of Everywhere' and the epic 'You Never blow Yr Trip Forever'. Both these tracks are arguably the best of Gong with spacey guitars and ethereal soundscapes that only Gong could create in their own inimitable style. 'The Isle of Everywhere' is quintessential Gong and is featured on all the best Gongompilations. 'You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever' features Daevid's wild jabbering and a quirky time sig and musical effects that sound childishly playful but like all Gong there is a dark undertone prevalent throughout, like a little innocent sweet girl in pigtails wielding a knife behind her back. This is as bizarre as you like Gong to be, beautiful flute and an ethereal keyboard create a feeling of morbid dread. The track plunges into an atonal shift into psychedelia "the more you know the more you don't know..." Daevid muses, and we are reintroduced to Zero the Hero, and the lyrics chatter about "the hole in the morning, dawning, ....around and round and round and round, ..maybe you like and maybe you won't and it's all the same it's all in the name... but you don't have to give up hope..." After this infantile but highly amusing section, we hear a narrative voice ending this bizarre trilogy, "Well there goes Zero The Hero turning around, and meanwhile all the characters of Planet Gong have to leave you now," they are farewelled, each one, and then Daevid asks the simple question and his farewell speech is basically "why don't you, why don't you, why don't you try, why don't you try, to try, oh why don't you tr-y-y-y-y-y-iyayiyi, why, why, don't you try". But there are no answers; the trilogy is over.

OK, It is not for all tastes certainly, perhaps too strange, off beat and downright unsettling, according to how jaded your sensibilities are, but if you allow it, Gong have an ability to captivate and finally entrance like no other. 'You' remains perhaps Gong's finest achievement along with the enthralling 'Angel's Egg' and mesmirising 'Flying Teapot'. Together they are the infamous and indispensable Flying Teapot Radio Gnome Invisible saga that every prog fan should experience at least once. A solid 5 stars. *****

A band of serious, mature musicians who desire to make challenging, sophisticated music. Though all coming from Canterbury roots, I consider this album more akin to good jazz fusion than spacey, psychedelic experimentalist fun and silliness that some of the Canterbury stuff was. (Though by this time, as we all know, the Canterbury flower-power era was all but over.)

1. The Bryden 2-step (for Amphibians)" (8:55) begins with some floating instruments, finally gelling into a tightly woven, fast-paced collaborative piece. The recording quality is far superior to most of the Canterbury sounds coming before it, which is a big plus. Also, the instrumental mix is quite balanced with no one really going off to become the central show- person. The use of brass and woodwinds are effective. (8/10)

2. "The Collapso" (6:19) is fun experiment with Carribbean 'callypso' instrumentation and styles--more of a parody or play on them, really. Not any really memorable melodies or soli (maybe the fuzzed bass solo in the last minute?), it is another fairly tight group collaboration. (8/10)

3. "Squarer for Maud" (11:50) begins like 1960s European murder-mystery soundtrack: bass, piano, symbol play, cello, sustained electric guitar chords. With the rhythm-cum-melody established, Phil Miller takes the first lead with his electric guitar. At 2:15 arrives a little bridge to re-direct. The tones get heavier, more aggressive, as the sound effects on the stringed instruments get rougher around the edges. 4:07 another shift, this time into a more avant-jazz horn-led rhythm. Pip Pyle's drumming here is very tight, the glue that holds it all together--and continues to do so, along with Dave Stewart's wizardry at maintaining "controlled chaos"--Break! "Numinousness!" Quelle surprise! Slowed down piano chord progression but more frantic drum playing! The guitarist, too, brings his playing under control. The shift at 8:30 plays out into a frenetic, MAGMA-like frenzy of reckless abandon-- speed like that of a runaway train! Everybody's on board, now, they can't be stopped! Stewart and Miller are shining! the background accompanying brass is awesome! Then, spurt and sputter, it's a UNIVERS ZERO ending! Incredible song! (10/10)

4. "Dreams Wide Awake" (8:50) begins on the heavier side, like a MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA piece. The first soloist, Phil MIller, is awesome and ear-catching while his accompanists groove gets a little stale (this is jazz!) A rapid succession of key changes at 2:20 shift the music into Dave's World--organ and keyboard sounds we have all become quite used to associating with his work. The soloing is okay, but it's interesting to listen to Phil Miller's (too far up in the mix) accompanying rhythm guitar work. At 4:55 the band comes back together to give Phil and a couple of different guitar sounds another chance. At this point I'm realizing that the song is really just a basic jazz song trying to provide solid set ups for the two principle soloists to do their thing. Unfortunately, neither of the soloists is quite as captivating or mind-blowing as, say, a Lester Brown or John Coltrane. Good song. (7/10)

5. "Binoculars" (11:46) begins with multiple layered organs and horns(?) going through a beautiful progression of chords. At 1:08 Pip Pyle establishes a drum backbeat over which the others organize their chord progression (Those horns were Phil Miller's guitar!) over which some male voice sings a typically unforgettable flow-of-consciousness lyric. Nice delicate keyboard, bass, cymbol and flute work in the fourth minute lull section--and nice transition (by Pip Pyle) at the 3:53 mark taking the same melodic "pretty' part onto the expressway. 4:50 begins Dave's brief solo, before everything comes to a slowly rolling stop. (Very prettily, I might add--like a full orchestra! Is this a variation on that opening chord progression?) Horns and cacaphony until 7:55's return to bare-bones organ, cymbols and the singers tribute to John Wayne and Rip Torn. Very well recorded, this song! Excellent mix, balance and blend. Love the bass, drum and keyboard interplay in the tenth minute. Woodwinds and, later, Phil's screeching distorted guitar round out this final section of this beautiful song. Listen to John Greaves' bass work! Sublime. (9/10)

6. "Phlakaton" at 0:09, is this really a 'song?'

7. "The Bryden 2-step (for Amphibians) Part 2" opens with 'Jaws' rolling bass line, around which drums, organ, and fuzz guitar weave aggressively. By the end of the third minute the song has developed into a tight combo presenting with the same clarity and unity as they did on the opening number. Npt sure I'd end the album with the same spacey 'random' instrument play as they started, but, there you have it. They've come around full circle. (8/10)

As an example of the twilight evolution of the Canterbury bands, this is a positve note: maturity, (relative) sobriety, music to be taken serious, to be admired, not just to be amused by. If everything was quite at the level of the two masterpieces, "Squarer for Maud" and "Binoculars" we'd have an uncontested masterpiece. As it is, I appreciate Dave Stewart's reserve on this one, love the work of Pip Pyle, am duly impressed with that of bassist John Greaves, but, unfortunately, don't see that Phil Miller's work did anything to make him rise up with the cream. He's good but lacks that je ne sais quoi that makes one great.

4.5 stars, marked up for its quality at a time when quality was lacking (in production) or waning (in progressive rock)