RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 3 - YOU

This album is called Gong by the band You. At least that is what you(ha) would think if you(ha) had the CD and didn't know who Gong were. I am also informed that "Gong is one and one is you". Well, you learn something new everyday. I'm not as big a fan of the mythology of planet Gong as I am of the music, and this album is the most instrumental of the Radio Gnome Trilogy. A bonus to me, although I like Gilli's 'space whispering'. Tim Blake also seems to be more prominent on this album than the previous two. You hear his synths and Mellotron all over the place, but he never really solos just creates lots of atmosphere. The rhythm section of Moerlen and Howlett just gels here as it does on the follow-up Shamal. Of course Daevid Allen plays guitar on here, but it's Steve Hillage who steals the show most of the time. It's funny that I love what Hillage does with Gong but I could never really get into his solo stuff.

My favourite Gong song of all-time is here: A Sprinkling Of Clouds. Ozric Tentacles seem to have based their whole style on this song. Such a buildup, such a climax. I really wish Gong had more songs similar to this. The bassline on "Master Builder" just gives me orgasm of the ears. The part where Allen and Hillage trade solos is really nice. This song features the famous Om Riff that Hillage would use later in his solo work. The best thing about the three shorter, vocal-oriented songs is that they are so short that they never outstay their welcome. "You Never Blow Your Trip Forever" has 'samples' of songs from the previous two trilogy albums about halfway thru. A nice touch. There is even some meaningful lyrics on this one like: "But cha don't have to give up hope/and ya don't have to give up dope".

The most consistent thing to ever be made under the 'Gong' moniker(including Mother Gong, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Planet Gong, New York Gong). My biggest complaint is that the bonus song on my CD, "A PHP's Advice(Alternate Version)", is completely pointless. It just sounds like a demo of the album version. Surely they had better bonus stuff to add than that, like Blake tuning his synths or something. Anyway, You is both the best Gong album and also a good place to start with these guys. About the only bad thing I can really say about this album is that "The Isle Of Everywhere" is maybe a tad bit repetitive. Other than that this is a 5 star album all the way.