Gong: C/D; S/D

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Hello ILM! Honest to Kobaia there's no thread. I searched.

http://ilx.p3r.net/searchresults.php?board=2&q=gong&mode=threads

In light of their recent amazing collaboration with Acid Mother's Temple (a more impressive resurrection than SMiLE, IMHO) might we assess the mighty (or not so mighty) Gong? Early period versus late period? Latterday Gong versus University of Errors?

Have at it, Pothead Pixies!

Nanker Phelge, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 04:32 (twenty years ago)

Camembert Electrique and Flying Tea Pot are urgent and key to get.

donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 04:36 (twenty years ago)

i would add 'you', 'gong live etc' and planet gong's 'floating anarchy live 1977' to that.

'camembert electrique' is my fave though.

stirmonster, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 06:07 (twenty years ago)

'camembert electrique' is catchy weird good, my personal twee-meter sounds off louder than the music soon afters but full respect to them

(Jon L), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 06:22 (twenty years ago)

"magick brother" and "angel's egg" are the ones i've listened to most, and are great. they're all good, "camembert" is the only early one we don't have.

"floating anarchy" has the lineup of here and now playing on it, i think? i really like the here and now "past masters" cassette that was floating around on slsk for a while.

el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 06:27 (twenty years ago)

Camembert Electrique is, indeed, The One. ("And You Tried So Hard" being the radio-friendly hit single that never was, IMO.)

Of the Radio Gnome trilogy: Flying Teapot is whimsical fun, Angels Egg reaches a musical peak (and remains my most played of the three), while You suffers from way too much interminable Steve Hillage noodlings (you sense that Hillage was launching a power coup at this stage).

Then Allen, Smyth & Hillage all leave, leaving Malherbe, Howlett & Moerlen to usher in a radical change of direction with the unique and quite wonderful Shamal - after which the band morphs into an arid and frightful jazz-rock techno-flash outfit.

Meanwhile, Allen makes two utterly delightful solo albums - Good Morning and Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life, before the "Gong-goes-punk!" shock of "Opium For The People" and the space-rock longueurs of Live Floating Anarchy 77. After which I lose track for years on end, until the recent-ish Allen/Smyth/Howlett/Malherbe/Travis reformation (the newly recorded material is good-natured and perfectly servicable), and University Of Errors (too improv-freeform for me on record, but terrific live, where they cover old Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt & Kevin Ayers numbers).

Of the pre-Camembert stuff: Magick Brother is quaint but patchy, Banana Moon is wildly uneven with some great moments, and Continental Circus is one extremely long and extremely good lost biker anthem "Blues For Findlay" (which missed its ideal audience of Steppenwolf hairies), plus three soundtrack fillers.

Gong Live Etc is also excellent, and a good introduction. However, if it's OPO, then it's Camembert by a country mile.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

Another vote for Camembert, but I've never really listened to anything beyond the BYG albums, so I can't say if it's better than late-period stuff or not. But it probably is.

Vic Funk, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

apparently deavid allen received several letters from people telling him that Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life had helped them reconsider killing themselves. my ex used to say it had the opposite effect on her!

stirmonster, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

Another vote for Planet Gong / Floating Anarchy / Opium For The People - and a special mention for their Daevid Allen-less precursor / successor Here & Now (when oh when oh when is someone going to release their fabulous Fantasy Shift album on CD?)

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 13:41 (twenty years ago)

Here & Now supported University Of Errors last year; I caught them at Sheffield Leadmill. Actually, they were ace.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

I'd heard they (or at least some of them) are still together although I haven't seen them for about 15 years.

I gather they're a very different proposition now 'though, aren't they?

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

Ooh, I dunno; they still seemed pretty "mantric and tantric" to me...

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

There is a thread in the archives (it's about steve hillage as well) I know, I started it!

Pashmina (Pashmina), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

Sorry Pahsmina. I scanned the archives, I swear! Must have missed it.

Mike-t diva, you may want to check out Acid Motherhood, Gong and AMT's collaboration. Bits of it don't work, but it all comes together in a brief Negativland-esque send up of GeorgeBush Caesar and then from there on out channels pure timelessness. Trhoughout it's also the most disciplined I've ever heard Kawabata Makoto and Cotton Casino on record.

Nanker Phelge, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

Luckily I got "You" first and then worked backwards so it only got better. I agree that Camembert Electrique is the strongest but in the past couple of years I've listened to Magick Brother more than any of the others. That one reveals itself slowly. The bass playing by Barre Phillips is a highlight.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 5 January 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)

i remember as a kid hating later era "jazz wank" gong but i must admit 'gazeuese' and especially 'shamal' have grown on me considerably in recent years.

stirmonster, Wednesday, 5 January 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...
"techno-flash" seems a bit harsh!

gazeuse! always makes me think of a chrome-plated kitchen-top appliance (ie it is trim not flash)

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

Was recommended 'You' the other day, which I duly bought s/h and really loved. I'm not one for too much gnome and tea-pot silliness, so it went down very well as a pretty rocking psychedelic slice of action.

Just picked up 'Angel's Egg' today also s/h, which I'm hoping will similarly suit.

Is this the best Gong thread going? Please point out other useful reads. Thanks.

krakow, Wednesday, 25 November 2009 23:23 (fifteen years ago)

Is New York Gong 'About Time' worth a punt at £4? Passed that one up today, but may go back...

krakow, Wednesday, 25 November 2009 23:31 (fifteen years ago)

four months pass...

I did get New York Gong's 'About Time' those 4 months ago and it was worth it.

Also picked up 'Expresso II' for £3 the other day and am just spinning that for the first time tonight. It's different to flying teapot stuff I'd been mainly listening to, much more jazzy and smooth, less oddball, but I like it so far.

krakow, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 20:25 (fifteen years ago)

This sounds a lot like Tortoise, but more fun.

krakow, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 20:45 (fifteen years ago)

am sure there is another gong thread but i can't find it just now.

stirmonster, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 21:14 (fifteen years ago)

This is the main one:
where is the love for GONG?

everything, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 21:25 (fifteen years ago)

Downloaded Camembert Electrique on mike t-diva's recommendation way up thread. Better be good!

Davek (davek_00), Tuesday, 30 March 2010 22:43 (fifteen years ago)

it's not good. it's doubleplus good.

stirmonster, Tuesday, 30 March 2010 23:16 (fifteen years ago)

It's great, and Flying Teapot is perhaps even better, imo.

Michael F Gill, Wednesday, 31 March 2010 00:58 (fifteen years ago)

Acid motherhood from 2004 is really good. the best for me is still between camembert or angel's egg

nakamura, Thursday, 1 April 2010 00:51 (fifteen years ago)

three years pass...

hey gong fans, are here & now any good at all? they're obviously collaborators on planet gong, but i only really know them as the hippy band that keith from world dom was in. saw a few of their records knocking around so was seeking opinions.

gotta lol geir (NickB), Wednesday, 9 October 2013 21:04 (eleven years ago)

Hmm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EOHEqjzGR8

although I admit I'm not a Gong fan

Addison Doug (Matt #2), Wednesday, 9 October 2013 22:26 (eleven years ago)

i saw them a ton of times as a teenager and they were always incredible but i don't think they ever fully captured that on record - i always used to listen to the live tapes they'd sell over the records. but, "give and take" is pretty good and contains one of their almost classics in the form of "what you see is what you are". the only other ones i still have are the live one with ATV which is ok and "fantasy shift" which has another of their near classics. "jacques cousteau" on it. there must be some well recorded live releases as the tapes they sold were always recorded off the mixing desk and were of very high sound quality.

stirmonster, Wednesday, 9 October 2013 22:26 (eleven years ago)

thanks, that's helpful! that song matt posted - i'm not sure if all the elements in it quite work for me (kind of a funk metal thing going on in there isn't there?) but on the whole it's alright i thought

gotta lol geir (NickB), Wednesday, 9 October 2013 22:40 (eleven years ago)

yup, the production on that studio version let it down a bit imo. live they was a lot more space in their music and while they had zero funk there was something about it that really made audiences move. that could also have been because 99% of the audience were stoned out of their gourds. first time i saw them i must have been about 14 and left the gig extremely passively stoned.

stirmonster, Wednesday, 9 October 2013 22:50 (eleven years ago)

there was a lot more space

stirmonster, Wednesday, 9 October 2013 22:51 (eleven years ago)

http://poorfromcro.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/give-take1.jpg

^ i would never have guessed they were pot smokers

gotta lol geir (NickB), Wednesday, 9 October 2013 23:03 (eleven years ago)


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