Gong- Angels Egg (SIDE 2) (REACTION & REVIEW) 

"YOU" - killer album!

That background ambience is the Gong trademark glissando guitar rubbing the strings with a metal object played through effects. Inner Temple is such a joy. Next should probably be Camembert Electrque or You or Flaoting Anarchy live (for something a bit but not entirely different or the much later Zero to Infinty. However go for one track - Magdalane from the latter album live version as available on RU-vid which is fantastic stuff and you get see Daevid glissing out and Didier mesmerising on the douduok.

The ambient background on Inner temple is created by glissando guitars, it's wonderful watching them create it

I've been advocating for "You" for about 3 years now. It's the next logical step from here, although a brief foray into the CD bonus track from this album, Ooby-Scooby Doomsday, might be worthwhile. It's got the funniest ending ever. I See You is the last one before Daevid passed, and features almost everyone from the current band, who have already finished a new one for this year. It's very heavy Gong, and really good. You can't go wrong with 2032 or Zero to Infinity either, featuring most of the classic era members, but with a whole lot of groove. Camembert Electrique and Continental Circus are both worthwhile, with the rawer, earlier version of the band developing. The glissando guitar sound is found throughout all of Gong's albums with Daevid, as well as the newest stuff after Kavus Torabi became Gong's voice. He developed the technique with his old friend Syd Barrett during the UFO club days in 66-67 when he was still in Soft Machine. You can hear it sometimes in early Floyd. The current band is well worth it, particularly The Universe Also Collapses. For more of the marimba sound, check out the percussive jazz fusion of Pierre Moerlen's Gong from the late 70's. Expresso II is a good example. There's also a bit of that on You. You need to see these folks do their thing at some point, especially Daevid. The 25th anniversary reunion has everyone but Pierre, who passed in 2005, and it's on youtube. I was fortunate enough to spend a whole evening hanging out with Pierre the one time he came to DC.

The original recording ended with "Eat That phonebook Coda", hence the use of the word coda (end). The last track is a bonus added to the second pressing on CD. I guess it's because they were trying to extend the play time for CD usage. Sort of value for money. I have two versions of this album neither have the bonus track. One is the original "scent of a woman" cover with the naughty picture and the other is the same track listing but with a slightly less naughty cover. I have never owned a CD with the added bonus track. I do have a download of the album with the added bonus track.

JP... complete the Trilogy... YOU! Love the way you have entered the world of Gong...brill.analysis that you bring to us.👍

Percolations is Zero the Hero waking up and finding a bunch of pothead pixies playfully smacking each other on the head making fun of stupid human violence.

Gong = Bong......if you get my drift!!!

I would move forward to You. Great album. Very spacy.

"Camembert" is a great album but more raw. I recommend listening to "You" first. "You" is their best album. It's more instrumental but retains Daevid Allen's humor and philosophy.

"i´ve never glid before" is something AI could never compose, There are so much slow down and rush up that I beleive a computer could never get a reason to come up with. In constrast to other 2000 on artists that may lose their career to the AI

Shroom tea.

Personally, I'd say go forward to You, for the same reason that you like Angels Egg more than Flying Teapot. It's more 'together' and considered, while still retaining elements of whimsy. Camembert (pronounced kam-om-bare) is more self-indulgent. As for I See You, it was the last album which Daevid Allen performed on before his death. It has its moments, but I think the following album, Rejoice! I'm Dead!, is better (a statement which will probably get shot down in flames by the Gong purists) and is the start of the next (and current) era of Gong.

Next- a gummy- and Fish Rising By Steve Hillage with support from some gong floks, some henry cow folks and some Hatlfield and the North folks.

Future Gong - you need to check out 'Gong Live Etc.' - one of the very best live albums you'll ever hear.

this was the best Gong group and this is their best album. YOU is a VERY CLOSE second. But the drums on this album are almost the best on ANY record EVER. And I'm a Zappa fan. So... Angel's Egg beats You. But you should listen to You next.

Sooo looking forward to the next part, "You". They really kick it up a notch on that one. Blessings.

Go forward with You and then go backward with Camembert. Also you don’t pronounce the T in Camembert, its pronounce like air, ca-man-bair

Do "you" next. Then move backwards to camembert electrique

The album "You" is probably the next best choice ,and is generally consider their best. I also love it,- but "Angel Egg " is still my favorite, because it was my first. "You" is a little more complex instrumentally and have less singing. The last song of "You" is really a complex coda to everything - but Gong has returned to planet Gong with 3 or 4 more albuns in the 90s, 2000 that are also return to form . "Shapeshifter", "Zero to Infinity" ans "2032". If one enjoy the style, will enjoy all of them because the musicianship is always great, inventive and funny. Actually from the 6 albuns on the planet Gong, I believe the first is the weakest.

You have got to listen to 'You' by Gong. It's the best one of the trilogy and is a mindblowing experience !

There's a colab between gong and oldfield, called downwind i think. Best of both worlds.

The obvious next stop is 'You' to complete the trilogy but there's at least five other albums which will repay investment - Camembert Electrique (the album before the trilogy - an ideal introduction) Shamal or Gazeuse (post-trilogy and post-Allen - more jazzy but plenty of Pierre Moerlin) Shapeshifter (dancey...and it works!) I See You (Allen's last but still as mad as ever) and The Universe Also Collapses (modern Gong - mostly the guitar soundscapes which I love) If you think I Never Glid Before is the best Gong track, I humbly suggest that You has 3 better - A Sprinkling of Clouds, Master Builder and Isle of Everywhere. See if I'm wrong.

The first time I heard Gong I wasn’t sure if I would like it enough to be a repeat listen until I heard the trio, Oily Way, Outer, Inner Temple, and that was it! There was no turning back, I had to buy the album, and I’ve been a big Gong fan since then 😂 I couldn’t wait to see your reaction to it and I didn’t disappoint 😉

Id' like to suggest also at some point to have a listen to the excellent "Planet Gong - Live Floating Anarchy 1977".

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head in wonder.

Best band ever!

The sound that you were not sure what it is but assumed keys is actually guitar; Gong calls it "glissando guitar". The sound is made by rubbing some kind of tool (if I remember right it is a surgical tool) over a guitar string in the guitar neck area. Depending on where you rub you get a different note. Gong uses this in various tracks. We suggest you go on with the trilogy and move to "You". That trilogy, by the way, was later expanded into a hexalogy with the albums "Shapeshifter" (1992), "Zero to Infinity" (2000) and "2032" (2009). The year 2032, by the way, is the year Daevid Allen, who died in 2015, believed he will be reborn. Since Friederike and I will both be 63 in 2032 we will probably be around then still. "Camembert Electrique" is to the Gong trilogy what "The Hobbit" is to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy ("The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien or "Rheingold" is to "Der Ring der Nibelungen" ("Walküre", "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung"; listening to all 4 operas takes up about 16 hours of time) by Richard Wagner.

Camembert Electrique is more like a prelude. You could probably do it after You.

I'm a massive Yes fan and I love Yessongs but Gong Live, Etc is my all time favorite live album. I've probably heard it at least a couple hundred times over the last 45 years or so and it just never gets old. This album is also pretty damn special though.

Waterpipe, anyone?🤩😍 the post -Aellen albums are far less trippy, but great jazzrock fusion. Warmly Recommended for a next episode. 👌

Beefheart , Gong... That's the way!

You. You. You. You. You. Not C.E. A part of what is conceived of here, which you so loved, is fully birthed in You, of this, I assure you. You will both be joyous, and amazed throughout. Love the reaction JP!

Ok..just wondering... how many people here are flashing back... (and I DO mean flashback) to somewhere in the world at 5.30 in the morning in 1976 , high on some form of L.S.D. listening to this?

Long live Gong 💚🙏 thanks for the vid, I really enjoyed it.. ‘You’ next?

The picture on the cover of Camembert Electrique looks just like a stinky, runny French cheese's box, because it's a French Gong album, it's Electrique, and somehow concerns what I've been told is called "Cammim-BEAR" a slippery, stinky, strangely tasty cheese. (It ends with the BEAR - the large carnivorous mammal of the genus Ursus that lives off what in can find in garbage cans in America, from what I've seen in the wildlife films - sound because the French forgot why some words had a "T" on the end of them at some stage. So they just pretend the "t" isn't there.) As far as the humour of Daevid Allen goes (and actually of Monty Python, too) I think you'll find that *The Goon Show* has a lot to answer for. Here's a not so chaotic example of that ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZdRBGiAKols.html

you should do jimi hendrix's band of gypsys album!!! and galactic zoo dosier by arthur brown's kingdom come!!!

I think the best, is to go forward with "You". The album has (almost) the same line-up than in this one (Allen, ,Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbes, Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlet, ) so it 'll have some coherence. And you will also complete the "Planet Gong Trilogy". You is also an incredible album. Camembert électrique is also a good one, but a liltte bit different (more weird, more rocky, more "punky", less jazzy and less "Space-ambiant").

you're right Justin !!.. GReatest transition ! I've been saying this for 50 years ! 💗☕

I second everything sammarsh3671 said. Angel's Egg is undeniably great and I'm glad you were open to it. That particular group is widely considered to be the classic Gong lineup. You is definitely the way to go for your next Gong review. It's further into the space/rock/fusion bag and the stepping off point for Daevid Allen. He continued with many projects after leaving the band he created and the band carried on in interesting directions as well under the leadership of Pierre Moerlen. Allen later restarted Gong and continued that strange and wonderful project until his death. It's funny how much milage he got out of the Radio Gnome mythology. Allen has said that he intentionally brought in a lot of silliness to keep the band from being too popular. The whole cosmology was based on visions he had while tripping in a taxi in Hyde Park back in 1966 while he was a member of Soft Machine.

Justin. YOU next, obvs, but don't sleep on Camembert Electrique, the album that immediately preceded and foreshadowed the Trilogy. It is ESSENTIAL Gong listening, and is the album through which many people discovered the band. Full of bangers. The characters from the trilogy appear throughout the band's catalog, but the album 2032 is officially part 4 of the story, released about 35 years after part 3, and a brilliant return to classic playful form after many years of serious jazz fusion albums.

‘Camembert Electrique‘ has always been my favourite Gong album but, definitely listen to ’You’ next to finish off the trilogy.

Gong's - "You" needs your ear JP.....

the ambience behind, you talk about is the glissando guitars of daevid and steve!

Oily Way has always been something special for me.

This is a great record. Steve hillage on guitar.

yes 19:00 the transition is just... no words

Afternoon, Justin. Dave from That There London. When it comes to Gong, I prefer to ignore the hippy stuff and Listen To The Music. And there is some great music on this side, especially the instrumental; passages, and Pierre's drumming is just insanely good. Their Shamal album has most of the same musicians on it, but no hippy stuff (no Daevid Allen, that is!) and, not surprisingly, it's my favourite. P.S. my song ref Listen To The Music is by The Doobie Brothers.

In mid 90s, they did a 25th birthday party tour. They played these classic songs with the classic lineup. The band was silly and serious at the same time as you say. Daevid was like a white beard wizzard and brought unreal fantasy atmosphere in the venue. At that time, Gong was rediscovered by younger musicians of Techno, Ambient or other electric dance music. The audience there was a mix of various people from young nightclub kids to middle aged prog dads. That was the one of most fantastic show in my life.

Dam ran out of gong for my bong . Just enjoy the ride.

'So what did you do today?' 'Watch some bloke no the otherside of the planet from a year ago groove out on Angel's Egg' 'So not a wasted day then?' 'Nope.' Cheers, but sadly your life is on the downward slope now, everything else is just a little bit not as good....guess you'll just have to listen to it again sometime!

The best of the trilogy without doubt, You is great too in a different way but angels egg has all the tunes and Pierre at his best!

Covered this on side 1 :)

I just realised how much I actually enjoy this side 2 of Angels Egg. Definitely hope you'll do 'You' next.

i would love to have/smoke some tea with you and listen to cool music. i think we'd had alot of fun!

The whole band were so accomplished, fantastic talent.

🌈💫🌝💫🌈

You=Abbey Road, The Dark Side Of The Moon,Magical Mystery Tour do You get where I’m coming from Justin.? I started with You in 1974 and it’s so much better than the first 2 it’s going to blow YOU and anyone else who has not heard it yet away. It’s my favorite Gong album by far. Camembert (is a French cheese) Electrique is nowhere near as good as the Trilogy and Steve Hillage hasn’t joined yet. Trust everybody who says continue on with YOU please. ❤

It's ALL about love, really.

Camembert is a fun album. But it's a little more raw and although the musician lineup is interesting... it doesn't compare with the Teapot group, so... to finish Gong at their best... you should do YOU next. BUT... you should still listen to Camembert. If for no other reason than the opening track.

Most artists start chaotic (or anarchic) and end - well, I use the word entropic. Think Steve Martin, for example. The crossover point can be very interesting. For Steve, it was L.A. story. For Gong, it was Angel's Egg. Allen's influence was strong with Flying Teapot; Egg is much more of a group affair than any other Gong album. By You, he was no longer as involved - in fact he was on the way out, and when I saw Gong in, I think late '74,, he was gone. Point is, it probably depends on where you are on the chaos/entropy curve as to which you prefer. I like the balance of Angel's Egg. You is musically good, but I find some of it a bit dull; the subsequent albums with Moerlen heading are technically brilliant, but I hate them; for some, that's where the story starts. Incidentally, artists who take th journey in reverse, from entropy to chaos, are usually more interesting later in their careers - think Tom Waits, Talk Talk, Radiohead. They are often artists who resent commercial and critical success. Magma have always been chaotic. Best Gong-related groove after Inner Temple - maybe before - is the 11.5 minute Wise Man in Your Heart, from Allen's solo Good Morning album, 1976. Oh, and I haven't seen anyone point these two things out. a. The circular picture top right of the Egg album cover was deemed pornographic - most albums were sold with an egg-shaped sticker over it, which had 'peel here' printed on the short end. A good quality copy with that still in place is probably worth a fortune. b. The fun names weren't random. Didier Malherbe became Bloomdido Bad de Grass: the 'did' in Bloomdido is from 'Did'ier, and Malherbe can be translated to English as bad grass. Interestingly, despite the endless references to drugs, there was never any indication that the sublime musicianship was affected by drugs.

Well -- I'm so glad you like GonG! Best band ever! Now you've started I think you have no choice but to finish the Trilogy and then go back to Camembert Electrique (Don't tell me you've never eaten Camembert??). After that (lol) I'm a big believer that Gong is best in the live setting - and the first GonG album I ever had was Live Etc. It has THE best versions of some classic Gong tracks - but if not I See You is in fact a very good Gong album. The last recorded with Daevid. 😮‍💨

I agree with everyone who says next to You, then back to Camembert Electrique. You is off the charts, though Angel's Egg has a special place in my heart, and unmatched charm. And Daevid Allen's solo work is really worthwhile, though I'll hold off on specific recommendations until after you get to You.

Justin - in answer to your question as to where to go next with Gong - the logical / chronological and evolutionary thing would be to got to 'You' however, for those of us around at the time following on from the release of Angels Egg we didn't have that luxury. Most of us (pre-internet days obviously) knew very little about Gong and kind of thought they appeared out of nowhere with the Flying Teapot LP but then discovered they actually went way back. So for most of us Camembert Electrique (re-released on Virgin at a budget price along with the Faust Tapes) was our next exposure to Gong followed shortly after by Magic Brother (the first LP), Continental Circus (film soundtrack) and Banamoon (not strictly a Gong LP but wth Robert Wyatt as drummer and various musicians dragged in who happened to be passing by). So not really an answer to your question after all.

Just do..... You. 🌟

THE MAD LAD

YOU next!

I see you is great album. In my opinion last great Gong record

Who would have thought Richard Branson owned the label this was on - Virgin; before he started the Virgin label, he had a record shop in Ladbroke Grove, London; before that he made a living by importing Krautrock records from Germany and selling them in England on mail order. He was fortunate that the first record on the Virgin imprint - Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells sold more than 15 million units . Virgin was home to some pretty far out bands in the early days. There was another imprint called Caroline which featured even more weird stuff than on Virgin - Avant-garde man Tony Conrad for instance

"Camembert" is great fun but "You" builds on this album and is largely instrumental.

Cool album 👍

Gong time, no see! 😄