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

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

2. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

3. Rush - Moving Pictures

4. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

5. Yes – Close to the Edge

6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

7. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

8. Can - Future Days

9. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

10. Yes - Fragile

11. Rush - Hemispheres

12. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

13. Pink Floyd - Animals

14. Genesis - Foxtrot

15. King Crimson - Red

16. Gentle Giant - Octopus

17. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

18. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

19. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

20. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

21. Camel - Mirage

22. Rush - 2112

23. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

24. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

25. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

26. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

27. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

28. Opeth - Blackwater Park

29. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

30. U.K. - U.K.

31. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

32. Kansas - Leftoverture

33. TOOL - Lateralus

34. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

35. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

36. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

37. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

38. Gong - You

ASK Rankings

1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

2. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

3. Genesis - Foxtrot

4. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

5. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

6. Camel - Mirage

7. Yes – Close to the Edge

8. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

9. King Crimson - Red

10. Gentle Giant - Octopus

11. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

12. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

13. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

14. Rush - 2112

15. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

16. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

17. U.K. - U.K

18. Rush - Moving Pictures

19. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

20. Kansas - Leftoverture

21. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

22. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

23. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

24. Gong - You

25. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

26. Pink Floyd - Animals

27. TOOL - Lateralus

28. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

29. Yes - Fragile

30. Rush - Hemispheres

31. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

32. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

33. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

34. Can - Future Days

35. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

36. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

37. Opeth - Blackwater Park

38. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here