LIVE FLOATING ANARCHY 1977

Gilli Smyth and Daevid Allen teamed up with the band who would become Here and Now to put out this album, which matches up some old Allen pieces from the likes of Camembert Electrique and Bananamoon with new pieces making their first appearance here. Here and Now play in a psychedelic style which would put them in good stead on the festival circuit which in a few years would spawn the likes of Ozric Tentacles, and indeed the overall impression is a lot like "Allen and Smyth meet the Ozrics". G-avin Da Blitz' keyboard skills are easily on a par with Tim Blake's, whilst the mysterious "Professor Sharpstrings" has a guitar style that is more aggressive and direct than Steve Hillage, but no less psychedelic - it's rather reminiscent of Hendrix in fact.

The new energy and directness brought to the table by Here and Now adds a new dimension to the usual Gong tomfoolery, and whilst it is expressed best (as usual for Gong) in the extended ten minute plus compositions, the shorter pieces also benefit from this added hippy- punk vibrancy. A short-lived subfaction of the Gong family, but arguably an important one, Planet Gong would prove to be Daevid Allen's jumping off point to incorporate the sounds of the New Wave into his music, which arguably came to a culmination in the startlingly different New York Gong album.