Gong Every Album, Every Song (On Track )

Every now and then a band comes along that defies convention, refuses to be pigeon-holed, thumbs its nose at comfy predictability and blows raspberries at commercial wisdom. That band is Gong. From 1970 to the present day, Gong have ploughed a unique musical furrow - part progressive rock, part spacey psychedelia, part proto-punk, ambient trance, drum 'n' bass and absurdist political performance art. With a cup of tea in hand (and a revolving propellor on his head) long-time fan Kevan Furbank examines all the Gong albums from Magick Brother in 1970 to 2019's The Universe Also Collapses, chronicles the stories behind each recording and examines the songwriting, arrangements and mythology that inspired each track - with new insights from Gong bassist Mike Howlett and synth wizard Tim Blake. In doing so, he also looks at the contributions made by the many great musicians who have passed through Gong in the last 50-odd years, including guitar hero Steve Hillage, mercurial drummer Pierre Moerlen, flute and sax maestro Didier Malherbe and, of course, hippy foole, whimsical visionary and Gong founder Daevid Allen. He also attempts to gather together the branches and off-shoots of the Gong family tree - including Mother Gong, Gongmaison and Pierre Moerlen's Gong - and the important solo recordings. If you have never heard any Gong, this book is the perfect introduction. If you have, you will want to go back and revisit the glorious music this band has made. In the words of the Pot Head Pixies, why don't you try....