SHAMAL

as i have read a couple others say on this forum..this was the "introduction" if you will to gong for me. i had bought the best of before this, which was difficult for me at 1st, due to all the strange tracks like "wet cheese delirium" i didn't quite get off on that. though, there were some good tracks which inspired me to seek further enlightenment into gong. i bought shamal, and was amazed at the difference in the song styles. being a musician myself, i really appriciated the musicianship and creativity that this album offers. wingful of eyes, chandra, and mandrake stand out in particular for me here. chandra in particular is a song that became a favorite in my cd player for some time and often has found it's way back. all the interplay and counter melodies occuring in this song make it very fun. the smoothness of mandrake is wonderfully nice to the ears, and the great lyrics of wingful of eyes can be very inspirational. anyone that gives this album a bad rap really must have some mud in their ears as i can't see how it would disappoint. early gong for me is difficult, because it lacks substance at times....i like humor in music, cause i love zappa....but early gongs was a bit hard to relate to for me. however, from angel's egg to about wingful of eyes...(which i know is a compliation) their music i think really peaked and there was some major creativity. this is an essential album to have from gong, though i do think that one should check out their earlier stuff, so that the change in direction really hits you once you listen to this album....worked for me!! get it? got it? good!!!