Gong - You (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

The most amazing album I can think of...

Paul Minot | Waterville, ME United States | 10/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I say so because I can't think of any other album in which this quality of musicianship is submitted to the task of such inspired lunacy.

Steve Hillage rocketing into space on guitar; Pierre Moerlen's frantic jazz pummeling on drums, and magical tuned percussion; Mike Howlett's funky-smooth pursuit of the cosmic groove; and Didier Malherbe's tasty soprano sax and flute musings--a crack band as good as any that EVER played rock music--accompanied by Tim Blake's divinely inspired ambient synthesizer landscapes, Daevid Allen's equally ambient glissando guitar, and the space whispers and instrumental contributions of various women named Yoni.

It's a once-in-a-millenium musical mix that would be noteworthy in and of itself, but shoots into the stratosphere because of the spiritual depth of Daevid Allen's psychedelic whimsy. Allen has written many provocative and beautiful songs, but this album is in my opinion his magnum opus, or the whole tamale if you prefer--the climactic story of everyman Zero the Hero "going round the circle of births and deaths" struggling, and failing, and struggling again to attain/maintain spiritual awakening--it's the story of everybody who ever tried. Accompanied by the musical equivalent of nirvana. (Most succinctly demonstrated by "A Sprinkling of Clouds", which is my favorite instrumental rock piece of all time--a piece of terrifying beauty, like looking into the face of God him/herself...really.)

This release of the album is lovingly, perfectly remastered, and packaged with intriguing drawings and photos of the band that give us a window into the time and place. It is the definitive CD release, and the best this incredible album has ever sounded. It is, as space-rock should be, not of this world.

Many albums of the psychedelic and prog eras came from the stance of presumed enlightenment, with variable musical and lyrical success. However, "You" manages to make the leap from merely inspired to INSPIRING--an actual album-length primer for the pursuit of enlightenment. It's no wonder the band as it was broke up after this album, when Daevid Allen walked away. There was really nowhere else to go but down, after achieving this dizzying height.

If I had to pick one obscure album that I wish that others could hear for their own sake, this would be it. It is, as I said, amazing--and if you have ever wanted to hear how great space-rock could be, you should take a chance on this marvelous disc."

Gong's masterpiece

Alex Malone | California | 12/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Psychedelic space-rock brilliance by an amazing band. The musicianship is unequalled.... as is the 'feel' of this record. Each and every band member gives a tour de force performance. Didier Malherbe's sax playing is breathtaking. Steve Hillage's guitar work, inspired.. especially on Master Builder. If any musical piece pulses with spacey wonderment better than the Tim Blake inspired 'A sprinkling of clouds' then I most definitely need to hear it. From start to finish, a fascinating experience and an amazing 50 minute journey into the mind of Daevid Allen. Listen to it alone with the lights off and candles on.... it will take you to a better place."

The Incognito Return of the Octave Doctors...

C. H. Moody | Atlanta, GA United States | 06/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I first heard YOU, I thought it was the most odd and brilliant record I'd ever heard. It is the final act of a hippie-esque "smoke opera" that takes the now-venerable jam-band flights of trippy fantasy to new and dizzy heights. More akin to Ozric Tentacles than to the Grateful Dead, the tunes on this disc are challenging, mesemerising, and ultimately quite satisfying.

Steer clear if you're attached to traditional song dynamics, 2:45 bits of pop structure, or made nervous by music that carries you away.

Not a perfect album, but well worth the time and attention of the adventurous listener."

GONG (a.k.a. SEASIDE FUNBAND) has done it again for YOU

W. T. Hoffman | Pennsylvania, United States | 07/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Daevid Allen, originally with SOFT MACHINE in 1967-68, formed GONG when he got stuck in France after a Soft Machine Gig. GONG has a strange mythology evolved from one of Daevid's strangest LSD trips, revolving around PHP (pot head pixies), and the OCTAVE DOC (who knows?), which results in a psychedelic trilogy of GONG albums, that tell the story of ZERO THE HERO. So, RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE Part 1 is the FLYING TEAPOT album, "Angel's Egg" is part two, and YOU is part three. Do you need to listen to all three albums, to get the plot or musical leitmotifs? Haha, are you SERIOUS? Tho there is a small thread of coherantcy within the RADIO GONG Trilogy, what you REALLY want the YOU album for, is the incredible, etherial, cosmic music that the album contains. It brings together the SPACE WHISPER of Gilli Smyth, the slide guitar effects, and freaky theories of Daevid Allen, the lead guitar playing of STEVE HILLAGE, Mike Howlett on bass, Malherbe's beautiful and spacey Flute and Sax playing, along with a synth player, a percussionist, etc. to get these 10 minute astral journeys in the music, which are as close as music can come to turning into a spiritual UFO. That sound, is much closer to what you might hear in the KOSMISCHE music that was coming out of Berlin at the time. (GONG, tho a French band, had at least half their members from Britian, and ALWAYS sang in English.) What would have been the first side of YOU, had many short songs, four of which were less than 3 minutes long, most of them only two minutes long. BUT, you do have a couple of spaced out semi-instrumental songs like MASTER BUILDER and A SPRINKLING OF CLOUDS on the "first side". The intelligiblity of the lyrics is too heavy to understand, so the booklet that comes with the CD, has many written bits to connect the songs' concepts together. This album truly shines, on the second side of the album, which was only made up of two songs, ISLE OF EVERYWHERE and YOU NEVER BLOW YOUR TRIP FOREVER, both over 10 minutes long. I can never get enough of these long, etheric songs. Its not that I dont like Daevid Allen's lyrics, or Gilli's space whispers. ITs just that those LSD inspired concepts, really DO date some of this material. It's cute, its funny, its deep in its own allagorical way, but its DEFINATELY hippie dippie. But the long instrumental parts are NOT dated. It has bits of new age sound, jazz sound, and a bit of rock still struggling to break thru here and there. At the end of YOU, we bid farewell to ZERO THE HERO, ie Daevid Allen, and GONG loses about half their musicians, as the drummer takes over to create SHAMAL. (The next great GONG album is the first solo album by Hillage, FISH RISING, since most of the GONG gang play on it.)

For those who have NO idea what the GONG sound is, this is a great place to start. If you are more inclined to enjoy a more tightly constructed album, with narrative lyrics, etc, then you might enjoy "CAMBERT ELECTRIQUE" as a first purchase, or "FLYING TEAPOT". Many people connect this band with the CANTERBURY sound, since Daevid Allen was in SOFT MACHINE for its entire developemental period. However, Daevid Allen lost control of GONG, and he and Gilli quit the band during the recording of the first album of the trilogy. He returned to the band, but not truly as leader. GONG in its 73-74 heyday, simply contained too many top notch musicians, who had too many good ideas, to remain in one single configuration. GONG is a hybrid in many ways, and perhaps that is the secret to its mysterious hold it has on those who discover the magic of its music from this period. Anybody into TRANCE music, freak folk rock, or maybe even the etheric sound of King Crimson around 1974, or the ENO/Fripp sound, would DEFINATELY enjoy this album. Anyone who wants to take a vacation to the International Space Station, but only wants to stay for 20-40 minutes, would also love the album. YOU is one of my all time favorite albums, certainly my favorite by GONG. It always sounds new, no matter HOW often you play it."

The best

Kevin M. Kuschel | Milwaukee, WI | 11/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is definitely the best of the three. The coming together of all the parts. It really stands the test of time even if obviously pyschedelic the musianship is surperb."

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