GONG — Flying Teapot: Radio Gnome Invisible, Part 1 (review)

GONG — Flying Teapot: Radio Gnome Invisible, Part 1 album cover Album · 1973 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
With this opening chapter of the Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy , we find that the Flying Teapot is actually a spaceship emiting Radio Gnome waves to expand the minds and awareness of the Planet GonG whose inhabitants are Pot Head Pixies. Quite a programme as you can see. Gong was always subject to personel changes and comes in Tim Blake and Steve Hillage , both will influence the music to a point that they are much instrumental in the success of YOU.

Side 1 has only two tracks and Radio Gnome Invisible takes you back at the Camembert days but with all the subtleties of the musical progress of the group. One of my favorite track is the title track and its 12 min filled with spacey noises over an infectious rythm. With this track on can listen on how YOU will be such a success. This is easily the highlight of the album.

Side 2 starts with two shorter track , one allowing Tim Blake to expand on his universe of early synths. But clearly the last two tracks are another highpoint of this album: Zero The Hero is another central piece of this album but also of the whole trilogy as well as it introduces the Frodo equivalent of LOTRing trilogy. It is filled with absolutely mirific ambiances and previews some of the beautyful athmospheres of Angel's Egg. Malherbe is again top notch here. The last track Witches Song/I Am Your Pussy is dedicated to Gilly Smyth's charater and is schizophrenic in musical style and provide a great end to this chapter.

Again for years , so many different reissues (both on vinyl and Cd ) of this album have not done justice to the great sleeve artwork which is absolutely necessary to understand (is that possible?) the story . Recently Charly Records released a mini sleeve Lp restauring the full original artwork complete with the innerfold (but strangely enough not the lyrics) on the Victor label, cat. # VICP 61172.

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