Gong - Rejoice! I'm Dead
by Paul Waller
published: 23 / 8 / 2016
Label:
Madfish Music
Format: CD
intro
Fantastic latest album from prog rock outfit Gong and their first without their co-founder Daevid Allen who died last year
Last year Daevid Allen,the co-founder of Gong passed away...I had no idea how or what state Gong would continue to exist in or even if they would or should but with the release of ‘Rejoice, I’m Dead’ it’s clear that they have and I must say that Allen would be proud with the results on this album. It makes no sense that after so long a band can still equal and in some cases surpass their early work. For this album, track by track there is little in the way of filler. Sure, Gong borrows here and there. One of my favourite moments, ‘Model Village’, wouldn’t sound out of place amongst Pink Floyd’s best work and as for ‘The Unspeakable Stands Revealed’, it’s twelve minute running length takes a splash of prog, blends it with some jazz and the entire Gong back catalogue then sticks it in a blender with some breathtaking results. You can feel the life running through the track listing. They sound hungry, which is mad when you think of how long this group, which first formed in 1967, in all its guises has been producing music. So yeah, simply put 'Rejoice! I’m Dead' is fantastic. Will it gain the band new fans? Probably not. Will this go down as an all-time classic? Again, probably not. But right now I want to listen to nothing else. Sometimes that is enough.
Track Listing:-
1 The Thing That Should Be2 Rejoice!
3 Kapital
4 Model Village
5 Beatrix
6 Visions
7 The Unspeakable Stands Revealed
8 Through Restless Seas I Come
9 Insert Yr Own Prophecy
Band Links:-
http://www.planetgong.co.uk/http://planetgong.altervista.org/
http://www.macgraphic.co.jp/ich/gong/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gong-Band/214206458788242
Label Links:-
http://www.madfishmusic.com/https://www.facebook.com/madfishlabel
https://www.youtube.com/user/madfishmusic
https://twitter.com/madfishmusic
profiles |
|
Live at the Gong Family Unconvention (2008) |
|
| Over forty years from first forming, Chris O' Toole finds psychedelic rockers Gong remaining a vital and mercurial presence on a live DVD filmed at the three day third Cong Family Unconvention at the Melkweg in Amsterdam |
favourite album |
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Camembert Electrique (2015) |
|
| The late Daevid Allen’s legacy is enough to fire up the most jaded amongst us. This latest reissue of Gong’s ‘Camembert Electrique’, which comes with stunning packaging, does just that |
reviews |
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I See You (2015) |
|
| Appealing blend of psychedelia, jazz, folk and prog-rock on latest album from 60’s survivors, Gong |
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