Tim Blake

"Majick" ............it was originally released in the early 90's and taken from a live performance. Apart from his vocals (which I am not particularly fond of), "Majick has some great instrumental electronic pieces.

I've only got the last two albums, but I would recommend "Tide of the century" which I play regularly. "Caldea music 2", the album after that, is OK but it is a commissioned work and as such not really in keeping with Blake's usual output.

   was hoping for more Gong fans here

Ame son? a french band from the early seventies? only know the name, i love Gazeuse with Holdsworth and previous releases like You and Angel eggs, a few weeks ago my friend Oliverstoned from PA helped me to discover a live Gong album: Sherwood forest, try it, worth listening 

Tim Blake was the best Robin.

Gong live in Osolo 74' can be purchased from Synphonic Music. For me it's the most unique musical transition of Gong. On this concert you will hear things like never before. Steve Hillage plays a couple of songs that were featured on "Fish Rising" however this is a year before the Sherwood forest show. This time the "Fish Rising" pieces are fit into the original Gong sound with Daevid Allen on board. Daevid Allen plays material at this show which presents a style he was developing for "Good Morning" Bill Bruford on drums! It cracks me up listening to this because of the 4 minute section where the band improvises in an ambient dark Larks/Starless style. Bruford adds in all the chimes, bells , and blocks just like he did with National Health. Trust me on this one.....this has got to be the strangest Gong performance ever. The sound quality is just okay. It's not technically bad like "Earthbound" or some of the other rare live recordings of prog bands where everything sounds like it's inside a cardboard box. If you mess with your EQ and put some extra bass in the ingredients it's beautiful. Especially on a pair of JBL tower speakers. It's the most unique Gong concert in history and it displays a musical transition in the writing from the Gong members that most people have yet to hear.  

What mystified me about Gong or any of the various Gong bands like Mother Gong, Pierre's Gong, Para-Gong etc....was the diversity in the various drummer's styles. Pip Pyle was very good on the earlier material and of course Pierre Morlen on the Gong Trilogy and his own band. I remember Daevid Allen did this guided tour on the Gong Mythology where he would explain the history of the mythology and in return the audience would ask questions. He often told his story of how he left Gong. The invisible rubber curtain or force field that was preventing him from entering the stage. 'That's actually how I left Gong because I couldn't get on the stage". I can just hear him saying that now.I remember when he walked into "Third Street Jazz and Rock" record shop in Philadelphia with stacks of Gong albums saying "Here is my music"....."Please sell it"......Gong struggled like many of the prog bands in the 70's or then known as "Space Rock" bands, but historically they have made a landmark.

Edited by TODDLER - July 05 2011 at 09:50