Search - Gong :: Gong Est Mort, Vive Gong

Excellent Live Gong with Hillage!

C. Johnson | Saint Petersburg FL | 01/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this on vinyl (double LP) and it turned out to be my favorite Live Gong of the original band members.

From A Sprinkling Of Clouds through to the records end it is just classic, space-cadet Gong!

Wonderful spin!"

The best of the "Classic Gong" live albums

greyhoundude | Corvallis, OR | 03/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was a reunion album of sorts, recorded live in Paris in 1977 at some sort of Gong Festival with the "classic Gong" headlining (and closing) the festivities. It's interesting to note that this recording was made after Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage and Tim Blake had officially left the band, after the SHAMAL album and during the EXPRESSO/GAZEUSE sessions. Allen, Gilli Smyth, Hillage, Blake, Mike Howlett, Pierre Moerlen and Didier Malherbe played this one-off concert before, once again, going their separate ways. I'm glad it was recorded for posterity and finally re-issued. By this time, these folks were a professional-sounding unit, blending the hippy-dippy Daevid Allen material with a jazzier fusion sound that Pierre Moerlen had taken them into. Moerlen sounds a bit tired here, but can be forgiven as this was apparently his THIRD performance of the day! And none of Gong's live recording from this era (1973-1975) sound as good as this. This show was extremely well-recorded.



Interestingly, on the original 2-LP set anyway, Steve Hillage is not credited in any way, though his photo (with his face "whited-out") is included. Legal issues, I'm guessing.

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