Composer Reacts to Gong - I Never Glid Before (REACTION & ANALYSIS) 

I'm a fan of Gong and just encountered your post here. Really enjoyed your analysis of 'Never Glid Before.' Lyrically, I take the opening not to be quite as random as you may : "The light gets stronger and all our eyes look yonder to see what's going on..." I believe this simply refers to a sunrise. "The moon wheel's turning the waves" again, simply about the effect the moon has on our oceans. "Learning you're Zero at the centre of the whirlpool" is a bit more metaphorical, a mystical concept that we are all at point 'zero' in our multi-centered (whirlpool universe -- and so on. I'll be checking out your other posts !

Gong are a fun band. By the later 70’s they had morphed into a full on jazz fusion ensemble. They were good at that, too.

So.. Steve Hillage, the guitarist, is in one ear with vocals, Daevid Allen is in the other. The main bar during the vocals is interesting because it's in 9 5/4 with the main riff in 4/4 Check out Steve Hillage "Solar Musick Suite". It's all of Gong minus Daevid and Didier

I am seeing Gong play in Brighton in November. They are playing with Ozric Tentacles. Should be a good gig. Kavus from Cardiacs seems to now be the main member of Gong. I should try and meet him there and talk with him..

One of the best rhythm sections ever they know each other so well and play off each other in really clever ways so head bending. I was lucky to see Mike and Pierre play together in a small club in England mid to late 90s after they had toured America. Best gig ive ever seen they were super tight it was pretty much the classic line up so tight after a long tour. Steffi made a Great replacement for Steve Hillage on guitar.

I think the lyrics have meaning in the context of an acid trip, gliding, waves, reassurance, adventure it's all kind of in there. At the time there were people who still thought that LSD was a serious therapeutic discovery, "storming heaven, LSD and the american dream" was a very interesting book about the impact of LSD and the story of the characters involved. The recurring themes of Gong would have been quite freaky and fascinating for the tripping listener (I imagine, i'm not actually speaking from experience). I saw gong in London 35 years ago and just remember an absolutely amazing projected light show all over the walls and ceiling of the tiny venue, I've never seen anything as impressive since. Then I saw them again about 10 years ago at what must have been one of Daevid Allen's last gigs it was a fun night, amusing and enjoyable.

You’re definitely supposed to feel the fun, but with an eye on the serious. Life, eh?

You know... It's a trilogy, so you need to do the track " Master Builder " from the album YOU. The final album of the radio gnome trilogy, and the Proto- Metal Doom riff that hypnotically repeats most of the song. Even Kavus of Cardiacs calls it " The greatest Heavy Metal Riff of all Time. Also, Sherman Hemsley LOVED Gong and flew them to his House to try to do Acid with them. Look it up . A great read ( Yes, that Sherman from The Jeffersons tv show

This is trilogy with interconnected lore. Check their third album cool song "You will never blow your trip forever".

I could see how much you were enjoying yourself during the reaction! Love it! Your comparison to Zappa makes a lot of sense. I think you did mention him last time. Zappa got his start several years before Gong. The brief mention of Cardiacs also makes sense. These songs predate Cardiacs by quite a few years though. Interesting note relevant for next Gong Tuesday, the current Gong frontman Kavus Torabi had a brief stint in Cardiacs in the early 2000s. The Dr. Seuss comparison in the lyrics… okay, that also makes a bit of sense haha. Never thought about that. From a quick comparison online, it seems the hard panning on the vocals is not new to the 2018 remaster. I always love the sax playing in Gong, very glad to see you call it out! That’s Didier Malherbe here, killing it. The lyrics are a bit hard to decipher, yes. Like I said in the last video’s comments, it makes a bit more sense with more context from other songs, though overall the story is still quite wacky. From what I can tell, it seems like protagonist Zero the Hero is trying to get back to earth from the planet Gong in some sort of glider, or… something like that. I would’ve recommended a look at a plot summary for next time, but, next time is not Daevid Allen’s Gong. Still though, might be useful if you decide to explore the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy a bit on your own. That analysis was really fantastic. I am forever amazed how well you’re able to do it after only one listen. See you for the next and final Gong Tuesday, at least, final one for now. Who knows what the future holds.

Maybe you wanna check out this cool German Prog Rock Band "Eloy" with their song "Illuminations". Also "Renaissance - Song For All Seasons" Isa good one.

I like the way all the professional musicical reviewers end up laughing after listening to Gong. As one should!!!!! (and they are fantastic musicians - Pierre Moerlen, phew!)

That guitar solo is just sublime.

Great stuff, I really enjoyed this!

This is freaking good! I'm gonna check them out.

Excellent choice sir.

Cardiacs were much later, though they did support Here and Now (one-time Daevid Allen backing band) in 1979, about the time of their earliest recordings. Gong are a great leaping off point for so many groups and musicians.

Jazz - tastic !

I think I said most of my piece on the last Gong track we heard, but like most Gong I did find this enjoyable and fun without being super wowed by it. I will say there are definitely some tongue-in-cheek mythologies. Probably the best English-language epic poem of the 20th century is James Merrill's The Changing Light at Sandover, written by Merrill and his partner, David Jackson, over a period of 20 years of "consulting" a Quija board. While it does have some serious elements it's also frequently very tongue-in-cheek.

Was there another non sax wind instrument in there?: Didier Malherbe is a master saxist. You appeared not to notice the synthesizer, or were you referring to this as the piano?

There's a few songs from a different genres, that features sax, that I can remember at the moment Rivers Of Nihil - The Silent Life Cephalic Carnage - Repangaea Minsk - Ceremony Ek Stasis Soundgarden - Room A Thousand Years Wide Ex Eye - Opposition / Perihelicon In Vain - Floating On The Murmuring Tide

we will never top the 70s

It would be great if you could cast your ears over a track by Robert Wyatt (ex Soft Machine). I'm thinking 'Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road' from the album 'Rock Bottom'. It's kind of a free-jazz kind of thing though very difficult to compartmentalize as such. Cheers 😁

There is definitely playfulness in the delivery and writing, but the jazzy fusion of space rock is solid musicality. The repetition of phrases and words, kind of turns them into mantras.

Gong is great, I’ve heard daevid saying he’s talking about deep themes but it’s so ridiculous to pretend to know what you’re talking about in that stuff you have to be tongue in cheek with it and it’s all bizarre on purpose to be light hearted about usual heavy topics, also glidding is the word for flying in a teapot ;)

You must react to Tenhi. It's really enjoyable

Gong is a little later than the others

Sorry, but there's no piano in the mix, it's saxophone.

Jeez man, glad you finally got away from the panning. It’s called a tenor saxophone. Very tedious presentation.