RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 3 - YOU

Gong is simply one of the weirdest bands ever- ultra-silly acid space jazz? Who cares, all we know is that it's great. There are two kinds of tracks here- short, silly, psychedelic rock songs, and long, spacey jazz freakouts- not unlike early Pink Floyd, except with much more of a Canterbury Scene feel.

Thoughts for Naught and AP HP's Advice seem to exist mainly to show us that the guys in Gong as some crazy dudes- it's a mix of instrumental randomness and wacky lyrics, which manages to be quite enjoyable. Magick Mother Invocation is a prelude to Master Builder, which begins the reign of the extended song with a bang- an ominous, freaky song, which seems to twist through the little piece of psychotic weirdness in all of us. A Sprinkling of Clouds is a journey through the cosmos, with some really good synthing from Blake. Perfect Mystery is a kind of interlude, in the realm of the first two songs. After that is The Isle of Everywhere, the bustling, trippy masterpiece that I'd call the best song here. And, to finish things, You never Blow Yr Trip Forever, which takes the long, trippy format and combines the elements of the short, silly song, making an interesting fusion of styles that ends the record nicely. Gong is the weirdest, wackiest bands that most people have never heard of- excellent, but probably not a masterpiece and all that- so, four well-earned stars for You.