"A Sprinkling of Clouds" made my first RIO/Canterbury/Zeuhl mix (vol.1) that I made years ago and have given to a shitload of people, most of whom probably never made it even halfway through. Another track on that mix is "Squarer for Maud". Its a pretty killer mix and I still spin it once in a while
Probably Master BuilderOriginally Posted by Digital_Man
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
I bought my copy in Jan 75 heh heh
Steve Hillage's contributions are often praised on this album and I am not saying he over rated at all but You is really a group effort - Didier's solos are astonishing The rhythm burns BUT Daevid and Gilli the Glissando the Space Whisper together with the incredible synth of Tim Blake provide that extra dimension that makes this such a mind altering trip without them this would have been a excellent jazz rock album but we all know well this is so much more then that
Some musing on Sprinkling
I first heard it on a radio show late 74 and it totally blew my young mind
I bought the album thinking this is a instrumental band
Should have seen my face hearing weird Bloomdidoo's vocals on thought for naught then immediately Daevid's voice in PHP's advice heh heh
As the years go by and I have become more "knowledgeable" () in regards to records and particularly in production and sound I still find new details to discover but still there is so much magic and enigma In Sprinkling
The haunting way it starts with those wonderful Moonweed delayed drones that evolve into this rhythmic maze later developing a groove and introducing those spacey Glissando guitar lines ,then the the udu clay percussion enters reinforcing the groove until the high register bass solo starts (meanwhile the moonweed drone morphs and changes timbre in ways I find hard to discribe ) at the 04:11 mark there is a major shift the drums and guitar and bass start playing rhythmically while Moonweed just soars and soars with a nice solo and then at 05:26 another major transition were Hillage starts his scorching solo ( in the background you can hear some Daevid tape loops ) at 06:43 Hillage plays a theme and Bloomdidoo enters on Soprano sax and then gives a way to tenor sax interplay then metallic flute then bansuri ( bamboo flute )you can hear some light touches of mellotron and then pan pipe gradually the rhythm dissolves and we are left with a striking of a bell ( like a wake up call from a dream ) some slide whistle and the final notes are a unison of the pan pipe and (I think) soprano sax both reverberating into oblivion
I don't care that much for Bette Midler, but I still don't worship this album. If there is one Gong album I love, it's Downwind. I don't worship anything, or anyone, not even Pekka Pohjola.
Such amazing dynamics and intensity. "Sprinkling Of Clouds" is space rock perfection, IMO.
It also grooves like crazy.
No jazzrock wanker stuff here. This is the real deal.
^ThisSome musing on Sprinkling
I first heard it on a radio show late 74 and it totally blew my young mind
I bought the album thinking this is a instrumental band
Should have seen my face hearing weird Bloomdidoo's vocals on thought for naught then immediately Daevid's voice in PHP's advice heh heh
As the years go by and I have become more "knowledgeable" (
The haunting way it starts with those wonderful Moonweed delayed drones that evolve into this rhythmic maze later developing a groove and introducing those spacey Glissando guitar lines ,then the the udu clay percussion enters reinforcing the groove until the high register bass solo starts (meanwhile the moonweed drone morphs and changes timbre in ways I find hard to discribe ) at the 04:11 mark there is a major shift the drums and guitar and bass start playing rhythmically while Moonweed just soars and soars with a nice solo and then at 05:26 another major transition were Hillage starts his scorching solo ( in the background you can hear some Daevid tape loops ) at 06:43 Hillage plays a theme and Bloomdidoo enters on Soprano sax and then gives a way to tenor sax interplay then metallic flute then bansuri ( bamboo flute )you can hear some light touches of mellotron and then pan pipe gradually the rhythm dissolves and we are left with a striking of a bell ( like a wake up call from a dream ) some slide whistle and the final notes are a unison of the pan pipe and (I think) soprano sax both reverberating into oblivion
The individual musicianship is absolutely amazing, but at times, this album is far beyond the sum of it's parts. "I am you, you are me, we are all together" ... that's not just a Gong lyric, I can hear it !
Crazy as it may seem, the Pixie philosophy has deep roots......
Last edited by tom unbound; 10-05-2014 at 10:49 AM. Reason: kant spel rite
I bought this at a used record store that stocked a lot of promos (Still have You with a promo sticker). That was during a period where I bought records if their cover looked interesting. That was the start of my obsession with Gong, Steve Hillage, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Daevid Allen's many moods, Mother Gong, Robot Woman, et al.
"You" led me to order all the import catalog available of everything Gong-related and buy used copies of everything I couldn't order from JEM. I've got two copies of Obsolete and an Actuel "Magick Brother".
I'm still looking for a "Camembert Electrique" that has the scratch and sniff cheese smell.
Last edited by Blah_Blah_Woof_Woof; 10-05-2014 at 05:00 PM.
This is a very good music album.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Camembert smells so good.
Hey, I'm originally from Orange County.Fellow NY'ers man
Yep, I think that's the one I had in mind.
I was an Angel's Egg --- so I was one when this came out a year later in '74. I didnt hear it until I think around 1988 though... I was riding in a car to the Cleveland Music Hall to see Zappa when I heard it the first time. Talk about a night! I still dont recall how the hell I got to see Frank at all... other than a cool uncle. Anyway - This is an album I can play any time - never gets old. Just so much awesome in it.
So to what extent were these guys trippin' when playing this stuff - live or in the studio? Anyone know if they were high at all... because some of the footage I've seen online surely points to acid of something else while they're playing and it's just ridiculous how they can still manage to do it. Unless I'm just seeing Daevid wrecked and not the band? Either way - the quality of the music if they are trippin - blows my mind!
Daevid dedicates a chapter in his book on how the music for You was created
they took a acid trip on easter full moon and jammed for a few days
Count me in as another who discovered this first in the mid 70's. It is pure space-rocking bliss, but there's something idiosyncratic about Angels Egg that makes me count that as number 1 in my personal Gong chart, but then again on certain days Camembert Electrique is up there too. There's not much to split any of these really, and this is a wondrous record from start to finish, and still sounds fresh.
Me too...now proudly framed and hanging on my studio wall.
Same sentiments exactly about Angels Egg - it is still my favourite album.
Though I note one listening experience to You that blew my head-
I was sitting stoned innocently in a restaurant in Dharamsala, India, when suddenly familiar sounds come to my ear -
and this is in the pre-mp3 days,
when all I had to listen for more than half a year was 4 cassettes which I played to death (incidently one side was Gong Live
Suffice it to say my mind was blown away, it was almost 15 years ago and I remember it vividly
This can happen only in India... (if you know of any other restaurants that play this album, please tell)
You turns 50 years today! Shamal is my favourite of all Gong's albums, but You is a good runner-up. Here's my extended review of the album: https://pienemmatpurot.com/review-gong-you-1974/
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
Sooo good. I shall partake today.
Artist formerly known as Phlakaton
Oh my, these years are flying past, it seems no time since we were celebrating the 40th anniversary. Still a favourite record, still one that gets a spin every now and again. Interesting to see Shamal noted as your number one, not a view you see often, I must pull the out again as it has been a while. Thank you for the review link.
Yeah I really love Shamal. One of my all time favourites.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
Big Gong fan and You is my favourite of their albums. Look forward to reading the review. Interesting to hear you rate Shamal higher.
'I would advise stilts for the quagmires"
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