Search - Gong :: Zero to Infinity

Radio Gnome Invisible Pt5

PHP 46 | Taj Mahal | 03/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gong is back---with a new, funkier sound. Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mike Howlett, Didier Malherbe and new members Theo Travis on sax, flute and other things, with Chris Taylor filling out the percussion. The cd starts with Foolefare, an instrumental shorty leading to Magdalene and a brilliant sax intro, very energetic. Invisible Temple is next, classic Gong with the gliss guitar background, saxes and space whispers...11 minutes long, prolly my fave here. Zeroid is next, staccatto, terse vocals, off beat, blistering guitar solo.Wise Man in Your Heart, an old tune from Daevid--luvly bass. Mad Monk shows us Lafta Yoga. Yoni on Mars is a Gilli spacewhisper classic. Damaged Man, sad, plaintive with haunting piano, morphs into Softs territory. Bodilingus is happy reggae, funny too. Tali's Song, cool flute, Middle Eastern sounding. Infinitea, the last cut is anutha gliss trip with rolling sax, space whispers, just how a Gong album should end, 7 minutes long. Nice album, different angle sorta for Gong, not so guitar oriented, more melodic like. Wot a long trip it's been, 5 RGI albums in almost 30 yrs. Great work guys. Highly recommended...Aum....4tea6........."

Gnomerique

PHP 46 | 03/25/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is Gong's first studio album since 1992's "Shapeshifter". While "Zero to infinity" is a good album, it's not entirely satisfying. I think Daevid Allen wants to sell a nostalgic feeling. This album doesn't point Gong into a new direction, and in my opinion it's pretty much outdated and not very original. The "Radio Gnome" trilogy is almost 30 years old now, and Gong still draw from these legendary albums.However, I guess 2000 will be a really busy year in Gong's history. A lot of albums and new compilations were re-released in Europe recently. "Camembert electrique", "Flying teapot", "Angel's egg" and "You" were reissued with the original cover artworks and digital remastering. "Best Of" and "Other side of the sky" pay attention to Gong's early years, featuring tracks from Gong's first four, aforementioned albums. And finally, Pierre Moerlen's new age rock album "Breakthrough" (1986) and Daevid Allen's "New York Gong" were re-released, too."

Get From Here to Eterntea instead

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 09/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a studio album from 2000. It features Gong trio of David Allen, Gilli Smyth and Dedier Malherbe plus long time on and off again member, Mike Howlett. It is about 65 minutes long. It continues the Radio Gnome and Zero the Hero saga.Don't buy this. Get From Here to Eternetea instead. From Here to Eternetea is a two disk set that contains Zero to Infinity plus the live album Live 2 Infinitea and it is cheaper than either of the single CD's.This album is definitly Gong, but the group continues to evolve and experiment. With the lack of a powerful lead guitar player (like Steve Hillage or Steffi Sharpstrings) or a violin player, as on Shapeshifter, this is a heavily sax oriented album. This album is also more jazz oriented than previous Gong rock albums. But it not a jazz album, like when Gong was in its jazz phase. The addition of tenor sax makes this album sound like Sunday Brunch jazz at times. But it doesn't last long. There will be a tenor sax solo and then Gilli Smyth will jump into her space whisper. There are some great songs on the CD, but there are a few clunkers. There is also a repeating theme that is sometimes annoying. I prefer Gong's previous album, Shapeshifter to this one. But this is still a pretty good CD.Gong and King Crimson are about the only two progressive bands that have continued to prosper artistically. They continue to experiement and push the boundaries of music, while remaining true to their roots. Yes has went pop at one time and now is just repeating what they did in the seventies. Emeerson, Lake and Palmer's new stuff is just boring. Caravan is just plain bad. Camel has turned into new age jazz. And let's not even talke about Genesis."