“You” is Gong Wringing Out New Sounds: Prog Review #38
Gong is another compete gap in my prog database. I’d heard of them, and that’s about it.
Allow us to Introduce You
Coming into Gong’s most acclaimed album, You, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and what I got initially was a lot of strangeness. The first 3 tracks are all under two minutes, and each is off-putting in its own way. “Thoughts for Naught” is a pleasant flute-led number, or it would be if not for the vocals—a comically operatic male voice and a spaced-out female voice sing some vague pseudo-transcendental nonsense: “But if you prefer that old silly number zero / You'll become a master of doing nothing, being nothing.”
This gives way to the more overt funhouse stylings of “A P.H.P.s’ Advice,” which also hits the psychedelic nail more firmly on the head: “Let a pothead pixie show you what to do… Remember, you are me. I am you. All of us together. Now go.”
The last of these introductory tunes is “Magick Mother Invocation.” Here, the album moves beyond trolling into firmer prog territory (or is there a difference). A dull electronic drone with synth-horn accents signals a major shift in tone.
All this leads into the next track, “Master Builder,” which develops these atmospheric elements, slowly building as the synths meander into a sort of melody and a rhythm is picked up on toms. Soon, flute and drums coalesce into a sax solo over roiling bass and the album truly begins. I was ready to dismiss Gong on the first listen right until this moment. It’s a strange move and a bold one to kick off an album with about 7 minutes of dullish experiments, but then I’ve also been listening to Sonic Youth’s early albums this week, and maybe there is something to atonal noise. The conceit is repeated on the second side of the album when a 4th silly track leads into two longer and stronger tracks that close the album. These shorter introductions, though seemingly superfluous on the first listen, actually do some work to lay out the musical range that the longer tracks explore, a kind of series of thesis statements.
A Masterful Build
In any case, I would have guessed that Gong’s oeuvre would be jazzy psychedelia in the vein of CAN, and I was only partly right. The sequence of intro songs and then the dynamism of “Master Builder” indicate a whole lot more, with bursts of energy reminiscent of the best King Crimson, and then there’s this big proto-hair metal guitar solo near the end of “Master Builder.” Later, the band’s going full-on funk with the bassline on “The Isle of Everywhere,” which also features some jazzy sax soloing.
Gong builds layer upon layer, infusing a lot of depth into their sprawling soundscapes, all with a theatrical sensibility and an ear for exciting, yet subtle, shifts in tone across the longer tracks and the album as a whole. Psychedelia and jazz are the obvious starting points on Gong’s You. There’s also a not-at-all subtle fascination with drug culture, culminating in the excellent closer “You Never Blow Your Trip Forever.” And while I typically find all these sounds and subjects uninteresting, there’s still lots for me to love here.
Rolling Stone Rankings
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Rush - Moving Pictures
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Yes – Close to the Edge
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Can - Future Days
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Yes - Fragile
Rush - Hemispheres
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
Pink Floyd - Animals
Genesis - Foxtrot
King Crimson - Red
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico
King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic
Camel - Mirage
Rush - 2112
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
U.K. - U.K.
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning
Kansas - Leftoverture
TOOL - Lateralus
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero
Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison
Marillion - Clutching at Straws
Gong - You
ASK Rankings
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Genesis - Foxtrot
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Marillion - Clutching at Straws
Camel - Mirage
Yes – Close to the Edge
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning
King Crimson - Red
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison
Rush - 2112
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
U.K. - U.K
Rush - Moving Pictures
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Kansas - Leftoverture
Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico
Gong - You
King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic
Pink Floyd - Animals
TOOL - Lateralus
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Yes - Fragile
Rush - Hemispheres
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Can - Future Days
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here