The History & the Mystery of Gong

The History & the Mystery of Gong Artist: Gong
Label: Pilot
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2


UPC: 800945006729
EAN: 0800945006729
ASIN: B00005ASNB


Release Date: 2001-03-27

The History & the Mystery of Gong


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Tracks:

  1. Intro (From Christmas Party 1973)
  2. Captain Shaw And Mr. Gilbert (Recorded By Daevid In 1964)
  3. Love Makes Sweet Music (Daevid Allen & Soft Machine Radio Broadcast 1968)
  4. Riot 1969 (With Soft Machine In France Plus DLT Interview)
  5. Dreaming It (Earlist Live Recording Of Gong 1969)
  6. I Feel So Lazy (Live In Los Angeles 1972)
  7. And I Tried So Hard (Live In Los Angeles 1972)
  8. Radio Gnome Pre-mix (Studio Out Take 1973)
  9. Pot Head Pixies (Live 1973)
  10. Clarence In Wonderland (Radio Session With Kevin Ayers)
  11. Where Have All The Flowers Gone (Recorded In Deva Spain 1976)
  12. Gong Poem (Recorded With Clive Williamson 1976)
  13. Deya Goddess (Recorded In Deva Spain 1976)
  14. Opium For The People (Studio Version Sung In French)
  15. Red Alert (Recorded In Wales 1980 With Mother Gong)
  16. 13-8 (Studio Session 1981)
  17. Gliss U-Well (Studio Session 1981 With Didier From The Tape 'Words Fail Me')
  18. Future (Taken From Australian Take Only Release 'Living On The Brink')
  19. The Dream (Australia 1985)
  20. Chernobyl Rain (Kansas Mix Invisible Opera Co.)
  21. Let Me Be The One (Recorded Live In Glastonbury 1988)

Tracks:

  1. I Am A Tree
  2. Lament For The Future Of The Forest
  3. Hands
  4. Unseen Ally
  5. La Dea Madri
  6. The Owly Song
  7. I Am My Own Lover
  8. Tudor Love Poem

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Gong - 'The History&The Mystery Of Gong' (Pilot).......2005-12-28

A decent compilation 2-CD release,SPECIALLY for the price.Disc one has a total of twenty-one Gong odds and ends.It's been put out as a one-disc pressing before.However,this reissue changes the cover,plus adds a second CD,which appears to be the Mother Gong-'Owl And The Tree' live disc.Nothing to write home about,but it's okay.For all Gong die-hards and completists.

3 out of 5 stars The rest will flow.......2001-04-05

For a group whose reputation is based on a couple of early-'70s albums ("Camembert electrique", "Radio Gnome Trilogy") and whose life-span is pretty convoluted -- not to mention numerous breakups and temporary disbandments as well as drummer Pierre Moerlen's own jazz-rock project -- Daevid Allen's Gong have managed to put forth enough products and activities to keep their devotees satisfied. In other words, they have sold their souls to the record companies in the late-'90s, deciding to release so many Gong compilations and live albums that anyone but the most dedicated fan has got to be hopelessly confused. And now, we've been treated to "History..", a double-disc set which features previously unavailable Gong recordings from three decades (1964-1988) and the album "The owl and the tree" by Mother Gong, a side-project of Daevid's wife, 'space poet' Gilli Smyth. With a simple listen one knows that the first disc of this package should be labelled 'for collectors' only: The first few tracks are of such a poor audio quality that it's difficult to work out what's going on, and it also should be noted that these pieces with a running time of little more than one minute are musically immediately forgettable. The next few songs are taken from Soft Machine's and Gong's earlier output, giving the listener the opportunity to hear some cuts from the famous "Radio Gnome Trilogy" in studio outtakes and live performances. However, these tracks sound weak without the intricate production and musicianship that made Gong's best-known records like "You" so interesting. The best moments of "History.." come late in the album, such as the exceptionally beautiful and inspired guitar/bass/flute combination of "13-8" and the crystalline guitar sounds of the 8 1/2-minute "Deva Goddess", a track which is somewhat reminiscent of Steve Hillage's more esoteric solo output. "Opium for the people", "Red alert", and "Chernobyl rain" provide some of the band's most rocking and contemporary songs, but the most gripping and atmospheric tune is "The dream", a spoken-word performance by Gilli and "Tom The Poet" (whose voice sounds exactly like that of Lou Reed!) with subtle piano accompaniment. Despite the nice artwork, the 12-page booklet falls a bit flat since it contains a sketchy, pedestrian Gong biography but no comments on the individual tracks and not the slightest hint of information about the enclosed Mother Gong disc.

Music Album:

  1. Green Spock Ears ~ Stillsuit
  2. The Last One Back ~ The Stockholm Monsters
  3. Red Carpet Sindrome ~ Bolt Upright
  4. Lay the Hip ~ Trunk Federation
  5. Hip Hop Tribute to Led Zeppelin ~ Various Artists
  6. The Collection ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd
  7. Feedback to the Future ~ Various Artists
  8. Vol. 1-2-First Songs
  9. Just Like in the Old Country ~ Ten Ton Chicken
  10. Original Memphis Rock N Roll ~ Various Artists

Music Album

Music Album

Music

2Gether ~ Bill Charlap, Warren Vache

Walking in Space ~ Quincy Jones

Suite for Jazz Band ~ Danish Radio Jazz Band

Music Spoken Here ~ Mahavishnu John McLaughlin

Plus Grandes Chansons ~ Juliette Gr%C3%A9co

The Secret Museum Of Mankind, Vol. 4 ~ Various Artists

Wenn der Senator Erzahlt ~ Franz Josef Degenhardt

Premieres Chansons ~ Roche Aznavour

River Can Cry

The Golden Collection ~ Domenico Modugno