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Gong - Camembert Electrique CD (album) cover

CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE

Gong

 

Canterbury Scene

3.80 | 456 ratings

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classicprogsovereign
5 stars Camembert Electrique is the one of the three quintessential Canterbury albums (the others being Third by the Soft Machine and In the Land of Grey and Pink by Caravan); it is, indeed, Gong's greatest achievement under the artistic direction of Daevid Allen. The thing that separates this album, and really all of those from Gong, from the likes of Yes and Hawkwind, is that, instead of constantly re-inventing the same tunes with the same format over and over again, all of their songs are genuinely distinct. Although the 'pothead pixie' style is apparent throughout most of their recordings, they could each have been from separate bands, if you really dissect them. The interesting thing about this record is that each individual track follows the same sort of basic idea; psychedelic- sounding, accessible, but still grim and intense.

This album is a planet all of its own; when you drop the needle on Camembert Electrique, you're immediately swept off of Earth and into space. It's almost somewhat reminiscent of King Crimson; the guitar-laden, jazzy structure of the music is similar in structure to their early work.

Although all the songs are good individually, the standout track is "Tropical Fish: Selene", which is, in my humble opinion, one of the all-time classics of progressive rock, and the magnum opus of the Canterbury scene music.

This album is an all-time classic, something that just about anyone could enjoy thoroughly. I heavily recommend it.

classicprogsovereign | 5/5 |

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