where is the love for GONG?

The Daevid Allen/Euterpe album (Good Morning) is a thing of great loveliness. Recorded in Deya, Majorca with a local band, as I recall. Some acoustic pastoral/whimsical stuff, some trippy glissando-guitar psych-out stuff, but generally a light, amiable, playful, contented feel. The title track's my favourite: episodic, seemingly unconnected fragments, but it all works as a whole in the oddest way.

thanks! i'll probably buy it... couple of tracks on history & mystery of them that are really good.

Been playing it this morning, following a happy Googling accident. Utterly charmed, all over again. It's an ideal indolent summer morning album.

The 11:30 space-rock/space-whisper "Wise Man In Your Heart" is at odds with the rest (and the only track to feature drums) but I mind that less now than I did then.

you dudes must've been weird at 13.

Agree. Was Gong the band of choice for the school intellectual elite at this time?

I think I'm a close contempoarary of m t-d, so this would have been smack in the middle of punk?

French TV appearance + interview, January 1971

Not as good as the 1972 clip linked above, this is the Allen/Smyth/Malherbe/Tritsch/Rachid Hourai line-up. Interesting for two reasons: they play "Perfect Mystery" from You, over 3 years before its release, and - quite a major shock, this - one of Malherbe's comments in the interview will be VERY familiar to anyone who knows Camembert Electrique.

No, Bob - Gong were my fave raves in 1974/75, and I came to them quite alone, via a re-issued Camembert being on sale with a rrp of 50p.

Ok thx - that makes more sense. 74/75 were desolate years at my school; I remember Genesis and Status Quo were big then, with the inner circle of alleged hip kids like myself into David Bowie.

The hip kids at my school were aware of Gong but more into Hawkwind, with a significant SAHB sub-faction. The lumpen masses were into Yes, Genesis, ELP (or "Yelpesis" as Peel dubbed them), Santana, Floyd, Oldfield and Deep Purple. Led Zep not so much. Bowie and Roxy were neither here nor there, really. Sha Na Na were oddly popular for some reason, and Tangerine Dream had a certain intellectual cachet.

like m-t-d i was intrigued by a very cheap 'camembert' in the record shop though this was a few years later for me (circa 1980) when it was on sale for £1.99 (still very cheap for the time). i didn't meet anyone else who had heard of them for another 5 or so years.

That sounds like me - lumpen mass or at best inconsequentially neither here nor there, thinking I'm a hip kid.

It's making me nostalgic...In those days you used to take an album into school to show people (there was no means of playing it), and there'd always be a crowd of interested people to handle it as a significant object d'art.

And music was one of the rare and acceptable ways in which you could cross the otherise rigidly observed age divide.

Daevid Allen played a free show with his new band (can't remember name) at this tiny bar in my neighborhood a few years ago and they played Soft Machine's "Hope For Happiness"! It was great, and he seems like a nice guy.

Bob, good point about the music/age divide thing. When I was 18 I hooked up with a local radio station and became friends with people twice my age.

I listened to Yes and King Crimson in 1980, but it took me a long time for Gong.

In those days you used to take an album into school to show people (there was no means of playing it), and there'd always be a crowd of interested people to handle it as a significant object d'art.

flashback!

Sleeve, that was probably University Of Errors; they do tend to play some of the very early Soft Machine material, and I've seen them cover solo Ayers and Wyatt stuff as well.

Rejoice, for they are back!

Two Gong Concerts in London this June and the release of the special
Gong UNcon Limited Edition Double DVD.

THE CONCERTS

For the latest transmission from the luminous green planet Gong
dada 'hymn-self', Daevid Allen, is joined by co-founder Gilli Smyth,
the motherbeat bass of Mike Howlett, master drummer Chris Taylor,
incomparable jazz saxophonist Theo Travis - and for the first time in
the UK since 1975 - Steve Hillage & Miquette Giraudy!

New energies are in the air – new recording plans are being
discussed – a new DVD from the legendary 2006 Amsterdam Uncon event
is being released – and these two June 2008 London shows are an
important step along a new pathway.

Saturday 14th June 7.30pm – GONG at Massive Attack's Meltdown
Queen Elizabeth Hall (Seated Venue)
South Bank Centre, London, SE1 8XX

Sunday 15th June 7.30pm – GONG
The Forum (Standing Venue)
Kentish Town, London, NW5 1JY
(supported by Slackbaba)

There was a song I really liked by these guys and of course I don't remember what it was. I know what tape I put it on roughly, but I'm not sure if I have that tape anymore. In fact, I don't think I do.

They were fantastic at The Forum on Sunday. Steve & Miquette slotted back into the line-up as if they had never been away, and there was much tangible warmth/mutual respect (and oh joy, GLISSANDO GUITAR DUETS!) between Steve & Daevid. A brand new Allen/Hillage composition "Digital Girl" was aired ("we only wrote it last Thursday") - it was one of their quirky whimsical staccato numbers, and would have fitted well onto RGI Pt.1: FT. Nicest surprise was "Wise Man In Your Heart" from Allen's Good Morning (as covered by latter-day Gong on Zero To Infinity), which sounded just sublime. Old age suits Allen well - he's rocking that mystic Merlin look - but Gilli Smyth markedly less so (she looked frail, dithery, nervous, unsure of herself). The first half of Side Two of Angels Egg was played in sequence and sounded great, and the trancier/more intense You material was left until the latter part of the set, which was where they *really* went into orbit. Lovely atmosphere, never seen so many unreconstructed hippies in one place, every freelance scented candle maker in the country must have been there, bless 'em all!

so jealous. sounds wonderful.

Oh, man. Would kill to see Gong with Hillfish.

They're back! Allen, Smyth, Hillage, Giraudy, Howlett and Malherbe are all on this track. New album in September.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=Pw8ZESzpL3M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw8ZESzpL3M

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed that.

surprisingly great. surprisingly groovy. thanks for posting!

in fact, i officially love this.

Yes, the Hillage/Giraudy/System 7 re-injection seems to be working out rather well for them....

More info here: http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/gong/gong2032_album.htm

Preview clips of the new album here (45 seconds of each track): http://www.planetgong.co.uk/bazaar/cd/2032.shtml

early gong slays fuiud

more a fan of later gong tbh

Daevid Allen's Magick Brothers are playing a free gig 20 seconds walk from my workplace on Saturday night, I suspect I'll last 10 minutes then go home but we'll see.

xpost. well, 1979 to be exact. Pierre Moerlen's "Time Is The Key" and "Expresso II" are amazing. imagine steve reich minimalism with heavy, funky drums and proggy guitar solos

my friend warren (also of citay, 3 leafs, ex-tussle) plays drums in daevid allen's band, go see him!

warren's a bro

Haha, had never seen that "How To Stay Alive" vid til just now. So trippy.

that new gong was terrible! wtf. stop rapping and stop sounding like Phish

they sound just like they've always sounded in it.

Ermmm, well... the rapping wasn't floating my boat either. Backing track was pretty much like I remember them sounding last I checked.

Magick Brother rules.

i think it was more the rapping than the music that i hated. but also, like i said upthread, i don't love earlier "silly" gong. i like "you" but i think they dropped most of the silly stuff by then, no? been a minute since i've heard it.

I think Magick Brother only occasionally gets "silly." And I have a much lower tolerance for silly than most. Magick Brother is more whimsical, and occasionally even breaks out into some harsh free-jazz shit. The other ones are indeed silly.

apart from the very short skits, there's very little silliness on "camembert electrique" either.

Compiling a Gong Spotify playlist for that other thread project thingy: harder than I thought it would be! Need to revisit Magick Brother in more detail. It's a drag that Shamal ain't there. Have found quite a decent live version of "Blues For Findlay", though. It might make the final cut.

Was all set to see Daevid Allen's Magick Brothers in Leicester last week, then got sick, BAH.

There's a big article in the new Record Collector mag.

Oooh, ta for the tip!

np

Gilli Smyth is 77!

so, went to see them tonight. they were good. ok in parts, great in others. infinitely better than the shambles they were when i saw them in the early 90s. the "silly" bits annoyed me a bit but "selene", "dynamite", "you can't kill me", "i've bin stone before", "iao chant" and "master builder" were wonderful. the drummer was no pierre moerlen but the didier malherbe stand in was great and miquette giraudy and steve hillage ruled. but really, it's the daevid allen (and gilli smyth) show all the way. if i live to that age, i hope i have 50% of their energy.

well, tbh gilli smyth didn't have much energy but daevid allen is still a wild man.

Just back from seeing them tonight and I thought it was all out incredible for 2 hours! Awesome!

Not attending this tour, alas, but I've seen them three times since 2001 (including twice with the current line-up in 2008 & 2009) and to be honest, they've got better each time. The Hillage/Giraudy injection has definitely re-focused and re-energised them, and Hillage's presence seems to bring out the best in Allen - there was a tangible warmth and connection there. Gilli seemed frail and doddery in the extreme at the Forum in 2008, but was in much better shape in Sheffield last year. I thought the You and Camembert material worked best of all, and "Master Builder" was transcendent...

Whilst contemplating "What is the most stoned album of all time" thread, I came across this clip of Gong I had never seen before. I think more than cannabis was fueling the pothead pixies in this one. Amazing performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiy5K81qvbg

when i dropped out of the hardcore scene in 1984, THIS was what i gravitated to next. i was too young to pick up on this kind of stuff as a teen as it was all out of print and it was just not popular listening amongst my peer group. thank g-d for friends with older brothers! i dropped a lot of acid to this record. and can. and hawkwind. and amon duul.

easylistening77 2 weeks ago

back when i was a straight-edge hardcore kid i wld always sneer at gong albs while searching for gregg ginn's gone albs in the virgin megastore - of course the joke is on me cos in fact both groups are functionally THE SAME

the wire conducted an entertaining invisible jukebox w/ allen a cpl of years back, where he talked abt terry riley, his love of thelonious monk, prog, punk, psychedelia, releasing an alb on BYG/Acteul etc. and didn't charles hayward play in an incarnation of gong?

― ajl, Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:38 AM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink