b o b

This album is the third and final installment of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy. The first album in the series, Flying Teapot, tended to emphasize the lyrics, setting up the characters and story. The middle album, Angel's Egg, struck a good balance between forwarding the plot (such as it is) and indulging in spacey jams. The shift towards more music and less lyrics continued on the last album, as You is largely instrumental. It isn't really necessary to listen to the trilogy albums in order - they each can stand on their own. So the place to start would depend on your own preferences - lyrical or instrumental. This third album includes what, for me, is probably the highlight of the whole trilogy, "Master Builder". An intensely powerful space fusion jam that really gets the crowd going at concerts. "A Sprinkling of Clouds" is also excellent. The final track sums up the story by making lyrical and musical reference back to songs from the first two albums. Ozric Tentacles fans should definitely check out the band Gong, and particularly this album, to see where the Ozrics got their sound from. Anyone else who has an interest in space rock or fusionish jams is also recommended to give this a try. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

j o e

Recorded in 1974, this is the apex and the crossroads of the band Gong. Founded and led by Australian ex-patriate and ex-Soft Machine guitarist Daevid Allen, this English-French band captured a very original and eclectic sound often called 'space fusion' that continues to inspire today (e.g. Ozric Tentacles). One is struck here by how the band shifts abruptly from harmless, sunny-day pop music a la The Beatles (the opening two tracks) to an ominous, mystical fury a la Mahavishnu Orchestra ("Master Builder," and the band's masterpiece, "A Sprinkling of Clouds") at literally the bang of a gong. Second side is a bit more jam-based and not quite as effective as the first, but is still decent. It's all here: Tim Blake's sea of synthesizers, Didier Malherbe's good cop offset by Steve Hillage's brutal cop, Gilli Smythe's 'space whisper' and the thunderous rhythm section of Howlett and Moerlen. At the helm remains Allen, driving the whole hurricane with a twinkle of the eye and a wholly convoluted, absurdist story of Zero the Hero, Octave Doctors, and Pot-Head Pixies. If you've never heard Gong before, this is usually regarded as their magnum opus, and probably the place with which you should begin. review by Joe McGlinchey — 4-20-00 —