A Large Chonker of Daevid Allen's Legacy

Linking guru srecko ujka has been busy adding links for a bunch of obscuro releases from Gong kingpin Daevid Allen in the comments section for Pierre Moerlin's Gong - 1979 - Downwind. I guess it's an inside joke that he put the links on the post for a Gong release that doesn't feature Mr. Allen - the fellow is definitely up on his Gong history (more than myself, really). Thanks for all the links!

Daevid Allen - 1976 - Good Morning

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

This solo album from Gong luminary Daevid Allen date from about the time that he originally left that band. Unlike the earlier solo album Banana Moon, this album has more of a stylistic consistency, focusing on a kind of pastoral space folk-rock. Granted that description has enough adjectives to make listening to this worth anyone's attention, and as usual Allen does make a few detours. Gillie Smyth of course contributes some vocals, and I'm pretty sure percussion whiz Pierre Moerlin is artfully banging around on the vibraphone at a few spots.

The opening duo of tracks does a phenomenal job of establishing the space folk groove. Allen does sound a little reigned in here, and the atmosphere reminds me a bit of the quieter tracks from Pink Floyd's Meddle. "Spirit" starts out sounding like an outtake from the Beach Boys' Smile before shifting into another section that features some entertainingly menacing vocals from Allen. "Have You Seen My Friend" and "French Garden" return to more pastoral fields, but this time with a healthy dose of freaky 70's analog synthesis. "Wise Man In Your Heart" goes for the epic vibe of the more relaxed extended tracks on Gong's You. It's not as good as those classic tracks, but very few psychedelic prog songs are. After a brief slough through music hall kitsch on "She Doesn't She...," we get CD bonus track "Euterpe Gratitude Piece." It's a foray into Berlin School electronics that doesn't quite fit with the rest of the album, but I like it and it does provide a nice sonic mindbath to close things out on.

Although Gong's early to mid 70's albums are the main event for fans of Caterbury psych-prog, Daevid Allen did a fine job of staking out a little patch of personal sonic space on his solo albums. Good Morning is no exception. There's no doubt that this is the same man that fronted Gong during their golden years, but it's definitely not the same thing.

Daevid Allen - 1971 - Banana Moon

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

Daevid Allen is best known as the ringmaster of Gong's more psychedelic periods (as opposed to Pierre Moerlin's jazz-rock version of the band), although this LP dates to a period before Gong had really coalesced as a band. As such, the sound is very much in transition between Allen's involvement with the psychedelic ballroom sounds of the early Soft Machine and the prog freakout of Radio Gnome-era Gong. In fact, Robert Wyatt of the Soft Machine makes a few appearances here as does Canterbury scene standby, Pip Pyle and Allen's special ladyfriend and Gong fixture, Gillie Smyth.

Side one of the album seems to reflect some of the more 60's forms of psychedelia, while the second side anticipates what Gong would be doing in a few years. "Time of Your Life" is an awesome, full-tilt acid rocker, propelled by what is some of the best drumming I've heard out of Robert Wyatt (who also sings lead on "Memories"). "All I Want Is Out Of Here" makes me think of the Muppets' Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem after Animal made them all take the brown acid, an "Fred the Fish" is the only track on this album that I'd like to take out back and execute. I can't find anything saying that Kevin Ayers is taking on the vocal for "White Neck Blooze," but if that's not him, then Daevid Allen must have a Kevin Ayers aping superpower or something. It would have fit seamlessly on Ayers' similarly titled album, Bananamour. The end of this song also engages in some entertaining, stoned-out absurdity. "Stoned Innocent Frankenstein" and "I Am A Bowl" would not have been out of place as poppy highlights on a Gong album - although 'pop' is a relative term here as the songs are still pretty far out there. For the total freakout mirror of Gong, we get the twelve minute long "& His Adventure in the Land of Flip," complete with Gillie Smyth's cosmic bellowing and Allen speaking gibberish. I think it comes close to the deranged level of Frank Zappa's "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet."

This is every bit as essential as Gong's early albums such as Magick Brother and Camembert Electrique. Actually, I prefer this album to the latter - it also gets bonus points due to Robert Wyatt's drumming contributions. So yeah, stick this one in your ear.