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The Gong Family Albums |
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 43213 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: October 02 2021 at 10:08 |
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Gazeuse! Unravelling Gong's complicated discography of 57 varieties of album turned out to be almost as tricky as walking the high-wire at a Continental Circus. Gong have been in existence for over half a century now, so I thought it About Time we paid Tribute to a great band and Rejoiced together in their wonderful music. Gong breezed in like a Shamal with their debut album Magick Brother in 1970, but their real Breakthrough came three years later with the acclaimed Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy. Gong began as a band led by Aussie Daevid Allen, but they then had a Second Wind in the mid-1970's when Pierre Moerlen branched off to form his own jazzy version of Gong. A later third version of the band - known as Mother Gong - emerged in the late-70's, led by Wild Child Gilli Smyth. I don't want to create A Storm in a Teapot, but personally speaking, I wouldn't give a Flying Teapot for any of Mother Gong's albums, although I realise they have a strong following here at PA. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my favourite Gong album by far is Downwind - a precious album to treasure like an Angel's Egg - and I'll now Leave It Open for You to choose your favourite Gong album.
![]() The Gong Family Albums ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 28 2024 at 00:54 |
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Grumpyprogfan ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: July 09 2019 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 12368 |
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Hard to pick a favorite.
Camembert Eletrique - The amazing Pip Pyle on drums. And the album cover art by Daevid is "strong and streaming mate!". All trilogy releases are good, but You is a psychedelic masterpiece. And of course Allan Holdsworth's amazing guitar makes Gazeuse! a killer. |
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Rednight ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 18 2014 Location: Mar Vista, CA Status: Offline Points: 4812 |
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Shamal, baby. And thank you, Nick Mason!
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"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno
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progaardvark ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() ![]() Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams Joined: June 14 2007 Location: Sea of Peas Status: Offline Points: 52496 |
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If I had to pick one, it would You, but I do like quite a few of their albums from the different periods of the band. If I had to rank them, it would roughly go like this:
1. You 2. Rejoice! I'm Dead! 3. The Universe Also Collapses 4. Expresso II 5. Gazeuse! 6. Time is the Key 7. Continental Circus 8. Zero to Infinity 9. Downwind 10. Shamal 11. I See You 12. Flying Teapot 13. Acid Motherhood 14. 2032
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i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
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Logan ![]() Forum & Site Admin Group ![]() ![]() Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 37102 |
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YOU should figure what my favourite is just by this message.
I love the whole Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, but You is my favourite followed by Angel's Egg and then Flying Teapot. Bonus points to Flying Teapot for the Bertrand Russell reference which appeals to my rational scepticism generally -- the burden of proof falls on those making unfalsifiable claims, not to those being told to disprove an assertion.
Shamal is another favourite, well I like the three that followed You and I like the debut.
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Cosmiclawnmower ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: August 09 2010 Location: West Country,UK Status: Offline Points: 3921 |
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Camembert electrique, Flying Teapot, Angels egg and You all share first place. After that, Planet Gong with Here & Now floating Anarchy, Mother Gong Robot Women trilogy, Shamal and 2032 was a fantastic comeback with a great live show. But pretty much anything touched by Daevid Allen, Gilly Smyth and the wider Gong family is Magick!
Also the virtually unknown but mind-blowing lp by Dashiell Hedayat 'Obsolete' from 1969 which is basically Gong backing this French musician/ author/ poet and considered a 'lost' Gong lp..
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Sean Trane ![]() Special Collaborator ![]() Prog Folk Joined: April 29 2004 Location: Heart of Europe Status: Offline Points: 20408 |
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Gong, I'll take everything from Continental Circus until Expresso2 , but clearly the RGI tetralogy is the highpoint. I'm not that big on the side-project and satellites. The best post-70's is 0 to Infinity and I don't appreciate 2032
Obsolete is from 71, but Dashiel's first album (released under Melmoth) called Devanture Des Ivresses was released in 69 and it is just as good, if only a very different beast. . Edited by Sean Trane - October 02 2021 at 15:47 |
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
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Cosmiclawnmower ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: August 09 2010 Location: West Country,UK Status: Offline Points: 3921 |
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Sorry, composed in 1969, recorded 1971. Haven't heard his other lp but will try and track it down, thanks for the tip
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Lewian ![]() Prog Reviewer ![]() ![]() Joined: August 09 2015 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 15139 |
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There's also Gongzilla by the way. Shamal and Gazeuse are best for me, but I love much of both the Daevid Allen and Pierre Moerlen version of the band. Downwind is an excellent album indeed; for me Pierre pretty much turns everything to gold on which he plays. I prefer live versions of most material on the trilogy and You.
Edited by Lewian - October 02 2021 at 17:10 |
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Boojieboy ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: April 02 2016 Location: Earth Status: Offline Points: 664 |
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There's a lot more of Gong for me to explore, but for all the albums through Downwind, favorites are the consecutive albums Angel's Egg, You, Shamal, and Gazeuse / Expresso I
![]() Edited by Boojieboy - October 02 2021 at 18:35 |
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 43213 |
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I've never heard of the Gongzilla album. It's hard for me to pick a favourite by Daevid Allen's Gong, as the only 5-star golden Gong album for me is "Downwind" by Pierre Moerlen's Gong.
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Grumpyprogfan ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: July 09 2019 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 12368 |
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There is also this Gong side project. Instrumental, similar to Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Have recorded the album Decadence.
Edited by Grumpyprogfan - October 03 2021 at 07:34 |
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 43213 |
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A Golden Gong for Daevid Allen's third solo album, which I heard for the first time today.
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Octopus II ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: May 21 2023 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 12268 |
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Camembert Electrique
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David_D ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: October 26 2010 Location: Copenhagen Status: Offline Points: 15550 |
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I guess you've been digging quite a lot to refresh this old thread, Paul, while yesterday I listened to Shamal, my definitely favourite Gong album which I enjoy very much, beginning with the artwork.
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quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 43213 |
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My Canterbury Scene blog led me here, where Daevid Allen is the first artist featured there, so I have a long way to go before I eventually reach Zyma - a German Canterbury Scene band.
![]() Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 22 2023 at 10:29 |
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David_D ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: October 26 2010 Location: Copenhagen Status: Offline Points: 15550 |
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Anyway, looks very good, while I have to admit that the early Gong, even having for me very enjoyable moments, also is a bit too silly.
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quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond
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Psychedelic Paul ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 43213 |
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Daevid Allen takes silliness one step further on some of his solo albums, but when you have Gong album titles such as "The Flying Teapot" and Camembert Electric", then you can expect a bit of silliness along the way.
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BaldJean ![]() Prog Reviewer ![]() ![]() Joined: May 28 2005 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 10387 |
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you left out "Robot Woman 3" from 1986 by Mother Gong. it is not a good album though; it came out at a time when a lot of artists, including Mother Gong, experimented with drum computers (yuk). luckily that fad came to an end quickly. their 1979 album "Fairy Tales" is actually my favorite prog album of all times; it is absolutely brilliant
Edited by BaldJean - July 22 2023 at 11:16 |
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moshkito ![]() Forum Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 18042 |
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Hi,
I don't know if they were released as a CD or not, but there were a series of "conversations" with Daevid that were recorded and sold on their website. They also had the GONG story in a funny sort of way. Other things, not listed, but not sure they were recorded, was Gilly with a band in the SF Prog Festival in 1999, and they were from SF and played a sort of hybrid Celtic/Folk thing ... they were actually interesting, but I'm not sure that she just did it ad-lib, reading from pages and pages of computer paper folded up as a stack that never ended. It might have been just another "beat poet" free form thing that she liked to do, although not much of it was ever recorded. Johnny, at GAS, if he's still around, would know and be able to tell you what is missing in this list.
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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