RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE PART 1 - FLYING TEAPOT

Gong is one of the few bands/composers that can make one laugh just through strictly instrumental music, but of course there are also funny vocals!. Add in great musicianship, a willingness to go out on a limb (and enjoy it), Gilly Smyth's provocative space-whisper innuendo, and Daevid Allen's zany ideas and lyrics, and it adds up to a unique and original musical experience. Gong was/is a hugely innovative band, and Daevid Allen would continue making great (and sometimes not-so-great) music for another 40+ years (sometimes with Gong, his brainchild). This is the first of the Gong Radio Gnome 'trilogy' (with Angels Egg, and You), and it sets the tone, and the high standards, for those others. This music was written and rehearsed while the band were living communally in a rented house in rural France, sharing everything, and they really do seem to gel well together in the trilogy. While all three albums are really excellent, and each has their particular qualities ('Angels Egg' sticks more closely to its story, 'You' indulges in more psychedelic jams, etc), I like this one the best for its sheer originality. Every track is excellent and necessary to the album. The theme song still makes me laugh each time I hear it, and I have probably played this to death (to the point that my family won't let me or my son put this on any more!). Flying Teapot is such a classic jam (also with great instrumental humour!). The tunes that make up side 2 are either really musical ("Octave Doctors/Crystal Machine", "Witches Spell) or they are iconic countercultural rock statements (Witch's Song). I give this album 9.4 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which puts it in the 5 PA star range.

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