snobb Founded in France in late 60s by Australian beatnik Daevid Allen Gong for decades was possible best known musical hippie commune, based in Europe. They never received a commercial success but after all these years there are still people around discussing their Radio Gnome Trilogy (I'm serious - I can even mention a name or few!).

So, right after the half of a century (serious age for active music collective, isn't it?) we get an offer to listen to the new music recorded by "Gong". What is in a menu?

Band's founder and spiritual/creative leader Daevid Allen passed away in 2015 and the yeasr after there was released an album contained his legacy (unfinished ideas and works and lot of music from his younger collaborators who played beside of him). It was quite a great memorial release if not really a Gong album. Now, three years later (and four years after Allen's death), we have an album of new material,not something from the vaults. I'm far not a person who idolize even a great artists, but in a case with Gong things are not so simple.

Original Gong has always been more then just a band, in fact at their best they were talented counter-couture commune playing for fun and time to time recording their hippie-dada-space tales to dedicated followers. There were lot of line-up changes and there were more then a few Gong versions as well. Even best of them (different then Allen "original" one) was a better-then-average jazz fusion band (I'm speaking about so-called "Pierre Moerlen Gong" and their "Shamal" and "Gazeuse!" albums from mid 70s), but they lost that Allen's childish playful freakiness from very first steps. It was Allen himself who saved this ingredient for any project ,he participated, no-one else.

Returning back to newest album,"The Universe Also Collapses" is surprisingly strong (for second decade of new Millennium) progressive rock release. Skilled musicians who all played on last Gong album with Allen still on board - "I See You"(2014) - do the great job here. From twenty-plus minute long space-rock opener "Forever Reoccurring" ("Hawkwind" fans must to hear it for sure)to short guitars driven well-arranged "If Never I'm And Ever You" (do you still remember American AOR bands from early 80s?)to "My Sawtooth Wake" (I really respect Steve Wilson music too)and finally the closer "The Elemental" (Jethro Tull goes AOR?)they play a high quality progressive rock of sort with enthusiasm and positive energy not so characteristic for the time when progressive rock too often become a form of self parody.

Still is it enough for calling themselves "Gong"?

siLLy puPPy Daevid Allen (aka Dada Ali for this release) comes full circle in his GONG universe and dishes out his brilliant last gift to the musical world in the form of the retro-Canterbury introspective litany and slickly packaged I SEE YOU, sounding like a true throwback to the 70s and the logical conclusion of the Radio Gnome Triology evoking the best psychedelic Canterbury that the classic era of progressive rock had to offer. In a sub genre that seems to have fizzled out somewhere incrementally during the 20th century and waned into a new golden era, Allen has rustled up yet another stellar team of gifted musicians to bring his final musical statement as well as proving that the Canterbury sound can still sound fresh and exciting while evoking the best of his heyday.

Right from the very first glance of the band lined up against a wall in the beautifully packaged gatefold digipak, it is apparent that the whimsical playful spirit of 70s GONG is alive and well with a new cast of characters. Most prominently in the fashionable and stylistic apparel of the Grand Poobah of musical mischief, Mr Daevid Allen with his styling striped spandex pants gracing his 77 year old body and a T-shirt boldly stating that “NOBODY KNOWS I’M A LESBIAN.” Apparently the cancerous tumors and endless surgical operations that had been plaguing his health hadn’t dampened his spirit and his love light shines through on this musical goodbye to the world in his most passionate display of musical mojo since 1974’s “YOU.”

The cast includes a veritable smorgasbord of seasoned musicians including Allen’s own son Orland (aka Flamedog Alien) who kicks, beats and crashes on the percussion but also handled the engineering, mixing and production duties at his Flamedog Records Studios back in the original Allen stomping grounds of Australia. Other musicians called to duty are bassist Dave Sturt (aka Unicorn Strut who has been associated with various artists including Steve Hillage and Jade Warrior), guitarist Fabio Golfetti (aka Fabuloso Golfcart associated with Violeta De Outono, Invisible Opera Country, Zero), saxist and flautist Ian East (aka Eastwinds i.e. Windows) and crunch box and scythe guitarist Kavus Torabi (aka Spiral K. Octoflash associated with a gazillion acts most notably for Knifeworld, Cardiacs, Monsoon Bassoon, Chrome Hoof, Guapo etc.). Torabi is purported to be the successor in the GONG family personally chosen by Allen to carry the torch into the next incarnation of the band after Allen’s musical and Earthly retirement. And i could hardly forget our favorite 70s sprinkled space whisperer Gilli Smyth who rejoins the GONG team to haunt us with her angelic and ethereal vocal talents as well as contributing the final farewell track “Shakti Yoni & Dingo Virgin.”

I SEE YOU is just chock full of classic GONG-isms and relevant contemporary ideas. From the very first words “I SEE YOU” on the opening title track we instantly get that Canterbury jazzy funfest that shows Allen’s playful nature fully unfurl and instantly brings back the Gnome Radio Trilogy days in a good way. The psychedelic rock married with jazz-fusion and satirical whimsy is firing on all cylinders once again and after the initial first spin which had me instantly addicted it was like finally hearing the long lost archival audio files that was supposed to be inserted where “Shamal” appeared in the discography, but the truth be told this was a current band effort where each member channeled the best aspect of the Radio Gnome 70s and added a newly energized take on it. For example, on the second track “Occupy” we get an extremely heavy guitar riff that could possibly qualify as metal accompanied by sizzling sax solos but still with that nary-a-care free spirit nature that Allen always brings to the table.

The tracks vary quite a lot with some like “When God Shakes Hands With The Devil” which brings the rapping vocal antics of Daevid Allen in cahoots with a slap happy bass, sax and flute attack while the hypnotic and totally spaced out “The Eternal Wheel” showcasing Gilli Smyth’s psychedelic siren skills complements it and one of the most classic sounding GONG tracks on board here with “Syllabub” which has all those wonderful musical gymnastic sessions with time signatures flying off of trapezes, stylistic changes, whimsical instrumental exchanges and of course Allen’s spaced out lyrics about wanting to go far away like to the moon or something! “The Revolution” is a veritable spoken word sermon accompanied by spaced out ethereal sounds with Allen elucidating the evolution of the 60s revolution and how it has become an invisible force that guides us on a subliminal level. Other mentionable tracks include my favorite track of the lot “Pixielation” which has one of the coolest hooks ever! The track celebrates the nature of pixies and nature spirits but has the absolute coolest bouncy flute riff with the rest of the band weaving their magic around it as the backbone of the track. Allen’s neo-Pagan lyrics are profound and celebratory with fun time signature changes, spastic bursts of energy and just chock filled with everything that makes progressive rock so much fun!

I have to state firstly that i did not first hear this album until after Allen had passed which occurred just a few months after its release and that obviously changes perspective dramatically regarding the depths and meaning of the lyrics as it is clear now that the album was designed to be a final farewell to the world of GONG and all those involved who jumped on the bandwagon decades earlier. No more is this apparent than on the final two closing tracks. “Thank You” is a heartfelt gesture of musical gratitude where Allen emphatically sends out his love under the guise of a steady rock riff, spaced out effects and interpolated progressive touches. After this nice steady jazzified rocker which gradually disintegrates towards the end into a more chaotic feel we reach the final track “Shakti Yoni & Dingo Virgin” which is a collaboration by Allen and Gilli Smyth creating one of the most haunting of sonic send offs of glissando guitar and vocally eerified pieces of music ever created which is perfect for bidding of farewells to Daevid Allen who would soon not only retire from one of the most famous collaborative band efforts in history but would pass away only a few months later after I SEE YOU’s release thus transitioning from the “Angel’s Egg” and being awarded that magic “Flying Teapot” in the sky. Not only is this album simply brilliant lyrically and musically but i can’t think of a better tribute album to the career of one of the most unique visionaries in the musical world. This one only keeps growing on me upon every listen and am very stunned that this one has gone unnoticed by the larger prog world as it is one of the few contemporary examples of reviving that classic 70s sound and breathing new life into it all the while a legend is on the precipice of his last days as a carbon-based life form. A modern unknown classic here.

siLLy puPPy No this isn’t quite the “Radio Gnome Triology” despite the first short track being titled “Radio Gnome” but despite the lack of Steve Hillage’s spaced out echo guitar trippiness, Daevid Allen in cahoots with Gilli Smyth manages to create a healthy dose of Canterbury psychedelia on his own terms. CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE is the second release by Daevid Allen’s GONG and probably one of the most rockin’ of the entire GONG discography. On this release it is Daevid Allen who plays guitar and bass as well as handling the expected vocal duties. BTW although my remastered copy says the first track is “Radio Gnome” i see it listed as “Radio Gnome Prediction” on the very first vinyl release as well as other subsequent releases. How clever, hmmm?

This is an interesting transition album that feels like it has connections to the heavy psych of the 60s while branching out its tentacles into a new 70s space rock style garnished with all the zaniness and humor that the Canterbury scene was so famous for. If you listen to the old Wilde Flowers and Soft Machine demos with Daevid Allen still in the band, you can trace some of these riffs to those days, only with the addition of Gilli Smyth’s famous space whispering and the excellent addition of Didier Malherbe’s excellent sax and flute to create some really good solid musical madness on this one. This is a great example of how to combine the Canterbury whimsy with space rock, progressive heavy rock and healthy doses of anarchic psychedelia with totally original experimental elements.

This indeed was time of the birth of the space age hippie music and Daevid Allen’s decade long roster of ideas that were suppressed and underdeveloped really were allowed to bloom for the first time on CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE. This is really a fun album! Musically, lyrically, rhythmically etc. Just look at the zany titles of the songs: “Mister Long Shanks, O Mother, I Am Your Fantasy,” “Dynamite: I Am Your Animal,” “Fohat Digs Holes In Space!” This is just wonderful music being melodic, demented, innovative, unique, experimental, daring, sacrilegious, comical, uproarious and above all spaced out, maaaan! While most of GONG’s discography displays complex band interactions, this is the one that screams out that it’s Daevid Allen’s baby and what a cute and adorable little baby it is! Sadly Daevid passed away recently on 13 MARCH 2015. Thank you Daevid for all this excellent music and R.I.P. No doubt this music will entertain for a very long time to come :)

Miler72 I have always felt this album to be seriously underrated. This was a film soundtrack to an Australian motorcycle racer Jack Findlay. So that means it would be very seriously ridiculous to expect Gong to be singing about Pot Head Pixies here and much more sensible to sing about Findlay himself. And that's what you get, you still get that classic Gong sound circa Camembert Electrique. It's still sounds like Gong as you come to know and love. You even get a variant of "Fohat Digs Holes in Space" called "What Do You Want?". This album was apparently recorded before Camembert Electrique, but apparently released after. If the fact the recognizable bass line you hear on "What Do You Want" sounds slower than "Fohat", it's probably because it's an earlier version where Christian Tritsch wasn't fully comfortable playing those bass lines at full speed as you do on "Fohats". I have often ran across albums that don't always receive favorable reviews, and I have a hard time understanding why, and this is one of them. To me, another one to have if you're into Gong!

Miler72 What a huge improvement over Magick Brother! This is actually the beginning of Gong as we all know and love. Tim Blake was actually to join the group at this time, but Pip Pyle didn't like his synth noodling, so it had to wait until Pip left the group. Of course you don't have Steve Hillage here, he was in a Uriel/Egg spinoff called Khan at the time (whose Space Shanty from 1972 is an essential album of Canterbury prog). Aside from Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth you have Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, and Christian Tritsch. This is a more aggressive and rocking than usual Gong, particularly the more polished followups on Virgin (the Radio Gnome trilogy). "You Can't Kill Me" sounds like classic Gong, but they really rock out. Quirkiness as you expect show throughout the album. "I've Bin Stone Before" is a rather obvious imitation of Bob Dylan (I'm thinking "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"), but with added on Hammond organ. They get into space rock like "I Am Your Fantasy" with glissando guitar and Gilli Smyth giving her space whispers. "Fohat Digs Holes in Space" is another great piece of space rock with glissando guitar and repeating bass line. "Tropical Fish: Selene" certainly shows this band was starting to have greater ambitions. Although you might find some Pot Head Pixies on the album artwork, the mythology of Planet Gong had not yet been developed (that obviously would be found on the Radio Gnome trilogy). This album really blew me away and any fan of Gong should own this! It's also one of my favorites off BYG/Actuel (in fact, it was the last release on the Actuel subsidiary). The original LP also came with two inserts that included lyrics to all the songs and that typical quirky Daevid Allen artwork. Highly recommended stuff!

seyo This video contains live performances from 1990 Live on TV album. Four original members of GonG are present: Pip Pyle, Didier Malherbe, Gilli Smyth and an oddball-harlequin persona of the spiritus movens, Daevid Allen.

Performance is focused on their legendary Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, with 3 starters from Camembert Electrique. Since I have no idea what GonG looked like on scene back in the early 1970s (that is, before I took a peek at several Youtube clips recently), I guess this DVD makes up a lot for that, the age of the performers notwithstanding.

In fact, seeing these unique art-performers in their senior age can just assure you how the music and art in general can surpass generations, years and ages if you wish. Musicianship is great, movie direction very good with several cameras shooting from different angles, while only the engagement of the dancers to invoke the mystical gnomey creatures may be seen as too over-stressed.

The finale presents perhaps too long goodbye with the extended "I Am You" jam, but when Daevid jumps down into the audience you can actually see the highly emotional and spiritual connection between the band and the people, done in an almost religious-like chanting. This is excellent video and should be seen by all those who have at least some knowledge of the Planet GonG trilogy repertoire!