RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 2 - ANGEL'S EGG

This is what happens when you give some freaks who happen to incredibly musically talented some instruments and a studio, along with too much creative freedom. What you get is this, Gong and their most insane, Angels Egg. It's so spacey your head will be in the clouds and beyond, and it's so wacky that you'll question the sanity of yourself and the musicians. But Gong are more than just some hippies goofing off. There are some serious musical ideas here, like jazz and pioneering electronics.

This is the wackiest of the Gong trilogy albums. The lyrics are just plain crazy at times. "These guys are out of their minds!" you'll think. And it's very fun at the same time. Catchy and lovable are these lyrics, just as much are they a product of lysergic madness. And the great thing is they strive to tell a story, and a screwed one at that.

This album is part two in the Gong trilogy, which starts where Zero the Hero, having been seduced by the evil witch, is floating in outer space. The story actually strives to have meaning though. Many philosophical ideas like anarchy and such are expressed here. I can see why some punks liked this band.

Under all the lysergic lunacy is some incredible musicianship. All kinds of tasty ethnic percussion, acid tinged guitars, jazzy drumming, wailing sax, and cosmic synths never fail to entertain. The sax plays most of the riffs and melodies while the Steve Hillage plays in the background with Tim Blake to produce cosmic atmosphere's, with Hillage coming in for a solo every once and a while. Hillage doesnt do much to show off his talent, but that's for the better. The musician ship isn't at Gongs best, which is found in You. The focus of this album is more in the songs and the psychedelic atmosphere.

And this album sure is trippy. The melodies here seem to come strait from outer space. Lush passages layered in flute, bubbling synths, atmospheric guitars, ethnic percussion, and space whispered make this album a psychedelic treat. As far as melodies go, this album is the strongest. The melodies are the best in this album of the three in the trilogy.

I'll reward this album 4 stars. It's an amazing effort full of cosmic delights for proggers to indulge in. I don't give it five because I don't think of any of the trilogy albums as a masterpiece. I thinks Gong's masterpiece is the entire Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy, not an individual album. All three of the albums go together as one. Highly recommended, along with Flying Teapot and You.