LIVE IN SHERWOOD FOREST '75

This is an excellent live document from a period where GONG was in transition. Steve Hillage was playing on his last tour with the band, in fact this concert from this mini 13 date UK tour was the very last date. Steve would come back for re-union concerts but it's cool to think this was his last official gig with the band. Daevid Allen, Gili Smyth, Tim Blake were all gone at this point in 1975. Daevid fo course encouraged the band to continue because he felt this was more than a band and it was a band with no official leader. It was inique. Steve had already released in April of that year his solo album "Fish Rising" in fact we even get 2 tracks from that album here. "Shamal" would be released the following year and we get 3 tracks from that future release. One track played here was never released on a studio album leaving just 2 tracks (both from "You") that the audience would have been familiar with.Yet the audience is very into this concert. Only one song from the concert was left off due to the confined space of a cd. As it is we get 78 minutes from the concert held in Sherwood Forest. Steve Hillage talks a fair bit about Robin Hood even suggesting that they had the ability to time travel back then. I'm not sure how many in the spaced out audience belived him but it's all in good fun. By the way the sound quality is excellent as it was actually being professionally recorded for a radio broadcast that apparently never happened. Thankfully the tape was preserved. Some great pictures of the band especially of Hillage. Interesting that CLEARLIGHT was opening for them on this tour and their violinist for the first time on the tour came out and played with GONG on this final date. He would later join GONG. Hillage on vocals and guitar, Howlett on vocals and bass, Lemoine on keyboards, Malherbe on Sax and flutes, Moerlen on drums, Giraudy on vocals, Pinchevvesky on violin and Bauer on marimba, percussion and glockenspiel.

This is a solid 4 star album that reminds me of a cross between solo Hillage music and the Ozric Tentacles jamming style. It's simply an interesting listen because of who was in the band and the time it was recorded. It's just before the Jazz / Fusion period yet we get a taste of that too. Highly recommended to GONG fans and Steve Hillage fans alike.