Gong

^ I'd start with the Downwind album by Pierre Moerlen's Gong, which is just upwind of Daevid Allen's Gong and downwind of Gilli Smythe's Mother Gong - or vice versa. 

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - September 27 2023 at 09:38

Maybe not their best, but this is my favourite. 

Thanks for the replies, I already started with Downwind and some Shamal, now I'm just going through the albums, will check You, next

Zappastolethetowels wrote: @Octopus II There was a time I would play that one on repeat and love it to death!  I really like the Dada structure of this one and the one before that (Brother). Allen was an early member of Soft Machine so I assume the Dada nature of the debut and Vol 2 was influenced by him.  It's not for everyone, but I am partial to early Gong!

sydbarrett2010 wrote: Hi, I'm hoping to get an answer on where to start with Gong, are they really that big a deal? I just listened to Radio Gnome Invisible from Flying Teapot and I'm, well not impressed (not that I didn't like it), but I guess I know what's going on with them. Recommendations would be appreciated.

Edited by moshkito - September 27 2023 at 12:57

moshkito wrote: I would say, usually, to start at the beginning, and MAKE YOUR OWN IDEA AND JUDGEMENT. You might find a lot of excellent musicianship along the way, with uncanny timing ... but expecting/hoping that someone tell you which album is better? Good luck!

sydbarrett2010 wrote: I actually didn't mean to say that I didn't like radio gnome, I might have been looking for the album in which they proved to be a defining part of the early prog scene, something like King Crimson's In The Court, for example.

They're not that kind of band. And they don't really define anything but themselves.

Your username suits you, grumpyprogfan. I didn't mean to devalue their work, i just wanted to find an album in which they prove their worth in the progressive music circle. Because there have been great bands who have released albums that are not worthy of mentioning. I just didn't want it to leave a bad first impression on me.

The band is very worthwhile to me, it doesn't need to prove its worth to me, it just is. And Gong is quite unique so I would not want to readily compare it to most other ones in the prog circle. If you are big on plenty of Canterbury Scene, Space Rock/ psych, various hippy-dippy stuff, and classic jazz-rock then that likely would help. I do think it's best to judge on its own merits and just if it connects with you and try not to worry about what others think of it or how it fits into Prog. Reviews can be a good guide, but ultimately you are the arbiter of your own tastes and it is about personal taste and what connects with one personally. Sometimes people do come in with the wrong expectations, hoping for something else, and that leads to disappointment. I would not phrase it as proving their worth, it should about your tastes and finding something you like. I looked through your ratings, but it does not give a strong impression of what to suggest that you might enjoy for what it is.

What is worth mentioning commonly depends on the individual. What is worthy to you might not be to me and in fact looking at your ratings, there's a lot you love that I don't and a lot I love that you do.

"Don't ask what worth the music can prove to you, ask what worth you can prove to the music." Sometimes it is not the music that is unworthy, it is the listener that is unworthy of the music -- at least that's one way to consider things.

Edited by Logan - September 27 2023 at 16:54