Gong You 40 years ago today

[Udi Koomran]

Gong You - Released Today 40 years ago

Never has my mind being blown to pieces or have I ever experienced music in such a transcending way like that day in late 1974
Sitting there in my room with my little Koss headphones in the dark I let the magic take me away - this happened by intuitively started to slow down my breathing cycles to match Moonweed's drones on Magick Mother Invocation and Sprinkling of Clouds ( I was 13 and no idea of meditation as such but hey that is the power of music to alter your state and take you far far away right ?
So here I am 40 years later what can I say or write ?
Despite everything all my experience all my "knowledge" despite the many other wondrous works I know and love - The Magic still works
A nice little review by Paul Minot :
"The most amazing album I can think of..., I say so because I can't think of any other album in which this quality of musicianship is submitted to the task of such inspired lunacy.
It's a once-in-a-millenium musical mix that would be noteworthy in and of itself, but shoots into the stratosphere because of the spiritual depth of Daevid Allen's psychedelic whimsy. Allen has written many provocative and beautiful songs, but this album is in my opinion his magnum opus, or the whole tamale if you prefer--the climactic story of everyman Zero the Hero "going round the circle of births and deaths" struggling, and failing, and struggling again to attain/maintain spiritual awakening--it's the story of everybody who ever tried. Accompanied by the musical equivalent of nirvana. (Most succinctly demonstrated by "A Sprinkling of Clouds", which is my favorite instrumental rock piece of all time--a piece of terrifying beauty, like looking into the face of God him/herself...really.)
Steve Hillage rocketing into space on guitar; Pierre Moerlen's frantic jazz pummeling on drums, and magical tuned percussion; Mike Howlett's funky-smooth pursuit of the cosmic groove; and Didier Malherbe's tasty soprano sax and flute musings--a crack band as good as any that EVER played rock music--accompanied by Tim Blake's divinely inspired ambient synthesizer landscapes, Daevid Allen's equally ambient glissando guitar, and the space whispers and instrumental contributions of various women named Yoni.
Many albums of the psychedelic and prog eras came from the stance of presumed enlightenment, with variable musical and lyrical success. However, "You" manages to make the leap from merely inspired to INSPIRING--an actual album-length primer for the pursuit of enlightenment. It's no wonder the band as it was broke up after this album, when Daevid Allen walked away. There was really nowhere else to go but down, after achieving this dizzying height.
If I had to pick one obscure album that I wish that others could hear for their own sake, this would be it. It is, as I said, amazing--and if you have ever wanted to hear how great space-rock could be, you should take a chance on this marvelous disc.

[zravkapt]

One of the best albums evah!

[Trane]

mmmmhhh!!!....

Though Angel's Egg was the first album of theirs that I owned, You was my real gateway into the band.

[happytheman]

A friend bought Expresso and You the same day.. You got plenty of hours of listening before I ended up buying Camembert Electrique.. then Continental Circus.. then.. well the whole catalog.. You will always be my favorite..

[NogbadTheBad]

Certainly their best ahead of Angels Egg

[Rarebird]

I still prefer Downwind.

[chalkpie]

Yeah Udester! This record is an amazing journey from soup to nuts - the bubbling gurgle gurgle burp bubble keyboards with Hillage's slinky spacey lines, and the monstrous cymbal work of Moerlen, blah blah, ...

If you don't worship this record, then get off the ride and go spin some Bette Midler! I might crank this today - its been too long.

[Shadow]

I still have my original album from 74.

[chalkpie]

I still have my original album from 74.

In 74 I was only two....most likely still soiling my diapers and possibly drinking milk from the tap.

[rael74]

An outstanding record.
Reminds me of what Floyd may have founded like had Syd stayed with them.

[Scrotum Scissor]

In 74 I was only two....most likely still soiling my diapers and possibly drinking milk from the tap.

I was nearly three and already heavily into this album. In fact, I got the promo.

Still one of the five-or-so defining space rock albums, and progressive as hell. Also one of *THE* classic early Virgin and Manor recordings. Hillage and Moerlen outdid themselves here, but almost even topped it the following year with Fish Rising, which I actually think pairs up with You a bit better than the previous two titles in the Radio Gnome trilogy.

[chalkpie]

I was nearly three and already heavily into this album. In fact, I got the promo.

Still one of the five-or-so defining space rock albums, and progressive as hell. Also one of *THE* classic early Virgin and Manor recordings. Hillage and Moerlen outdid themselves here, but almost even topped it the following year with Fish Rising, which I actually think pairs up with You a bit better than the previous two titles in the Radio Gnome trilogy.

You crazy Norwegian bastards.

I too wish that Fish Rising was a proper Gong album, not sure why exactly, but didn't matter anyway.

[arturs]

Yeah, this record was one of those transcendent works of art where everything just came together, and there was just the right amount of everything. Just enough goofiness, but not too much; just enough song structure, but again not too much. Just enough virtuousity, and so on. How many records have single-handedly founded a genre? This is one of the very very few in that regard.

[Trane]

In 74 I was only two....most likely still soiling my diapers and possibly drinking milk from the tap.

I bought my first albums in the autumn of that year: Crime of the Century, Dark Side.... Gong was on import-only at the time in Canada, way too expensive for this kid's newspaper delivery route money

[chalkpie]

I bought my first albums in the autumn of that year: Crime of the Century, Dark Side.... Gong was on import-only at the time in Canada, way too expensive for this kid's newspaper delivery route money

You guys are olde fucking bastards!

[chalkpie]

Yeah, this record was one of those transcendent works of art where everything just came together, and there was just the right amount of everything. Just enough goofiness, but not too much; just enough song structure, but again not too much. Just enough virtuousity, and so on. How many records have single-handedly founded a genre? This is one of the very very few in that regard.

Great post and so true.

[Trane]

You guys are olde fucking bastards!

I feel that about these dudes here that had Spirit playing at their high school

[chalkpie]

I feel that about these dudes here that had Spirit playing at their high school

Or made out for the first time with their girlfriends in junior high while "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller was no. 1

[Shadow]

In 74 I was only two....most likely still soiling my diapers and possibly drinking milk from the tap.

I was 19, we had a lot in common.

[markwoll]

It makes up for the whimsey of Angel's Egg with basic mind blowing riffs.
It was essential middle/late 70's "meditation music"
This was a gateway album for a bunch of my friends to explore more interesting music.

[arturs]

Great post and so true.

Thanks! Very nice thing to say.

[tom unbound]

You was my gateway into Gong. It was a while before I embraced all the whimsy and fun, and grew to love all the others.
It was quite the album at the time, My musician friends were all - "These guys are amazing ! Why are they playing this pixie 'stuff' ??"
40 years ago ? <does the math quick-and cheats> Gee, I was 18 at the time.....

[Rand Kelly]

If ever there were a perfect album for Steven Wilson's 5.1 Surround Sound magic it is Gong-You.

[Digital_Man]

I had this album a long time ago. I can't remember much about it but I know there was one track that seemed to be the basis for the entire career of Ozric Tentacles.

[chalkpie]

Thanks! Very nice thing to say.

Fellow NY'ers man (Ulster County)