CENSUS OF HALLUCINATIONS: 7th Heaven CD
You have to admire this band - they are the New Millennium version of seventies Gong, right down to the fact that Terri & Tim are the new Gilli & Daevid, certainly on the evidence of this brand new studio CD. Yet, with the real Gong still going strong, this group makes original material that probably has some of its roots in that band's work, but largely is creatively highly original, so that while you can see the past showing through, you tend to operate more in a parallel universe, so that while the real Gong fly high above the clouds, this lot tend to be far more down-to-earth. That said, the tracks here are full of layers, intricate and flowing vocal harmonies, sensitive lead vocals, lyrically aware songs and plenty of sparkling lead guitar work throughout. The tracks themselves are very varied but that, too, is a cause for celebration rather than criticism, as you feel you are really listening to something worth-while and engaging. The arrangements throughout tend more towards folky than spacey, with the middle ground on the Gong hinterland. The production is excellent and the overall sound is very full with plenty of electric, electronic and acoustic layers to feed your head. Another gem.

HERE AND NOW: Give And Take CD
Remastered, the long-awaited definitive version of the album from the band that took the lyrical attitude of the late seventies 'new wave' ethos, mixed it with peace concepts, and introduced it to a musical world that was essentially a mix of classic Gong and Steve Hillage, a result that so impressed Gong's Daevid Allen that he used them as his band for the classic "Floating Anarchy" album under the name of Planet Gong. I must admit that I'd forgotten just how like classic Gong/Hillage, this album was, having not heard it for a long, long time, but it's got glissandos, sparkling lead guitar work, plenty of Tim Blake style synths plus a good, solid rhythm section, the remastering clearly bringing the whole lot to life with a sharpness and clarity that simply were not there originally. The tracks themselves are all excellent with songs and instrumental passages, the track 'Grate Fire Of London' in particular being right out of the early seventies Gong scrapbook. As a bonus, you also get a previously unreleased eleven minute instrumental track at the end of the album, with fantastic work from all of the musicians. For anyone into vintage Gong/Hillage, this really is an essential purchase, and one thing that's guaranteed is that, no matter how you remember it, this is a whole lot more improved than that. Highly recommended.

HERE & NOW: Gospel Of Free CD
Absolutely amazing........this album contains some of the best performances by this band that have eve been committed to the recorded medium, and way better than anything they have previously released. Played by the classic line-up, this features all previously unreleased songs and jams (with six lengthy tracks from 6 to 16 minutes long) and the sound is superb. In a great many places, this could almost be a lost live Steve Hillage or Gong album from the early-mid '70's, with trademark electric guitar and swooping space synths dominating the lead instrumental framework, as well as plenty of that gorgeous glissando guitar sound too. The electric guitar solos are just fantastic, in best Hillage vein, while the inclusion of sax player and Gong's Gilli Smyth on the final 16 minute track leads you to close your eyes and think of Gong. As the sleevenotes say, this really does reflect the feel and spirit of the mid-'70's free festival era and every track is a gem - anyone into this whole side of things cannot fail to fall, immediately in love with this incredible album. All this plus an excellent 32 page booklet and a stunning pic disc, make this a total package worth every penny.

HERE & NOW: Ici Maintenants CD
OH WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A seventy-eight minute CD recorded in 2001 and subtitled "jammin' the chilled out and psychedelic vibes of a balmy midsummer new moon". But - it's just one INCREDIBLE album. It's like every vintage early seventies sax-free Gong/Hillage/Blake-style jam you could ever have wished to hear. The three original band members Steffe, KifKif & Twink are joined by bassist Tim to provide one of the finest Gong-Ozrics-Hillage influenced slices of largely instrumental music that you'll hear this year. Steffe's guitar work is utterly mind-blowing, some of the finest, most expressive, from passionate and chilled out to powerful and spiralling, guitar work around. Seven tracks between eight and thirteen minutes long are unimaginably brilliant, and this is one album that, once you start to hear and enjoy it, will keep you absolutely spellbound for the whole seventy-eight minutes running time, as electric guitar, synths, bass and drums play as one organic unit, with some soaring solo work from Steffe along the way. I cannot recommend this album highly enough - massive!

HOUSE OF THANDOY: S/T CD
A new trio on the block with a half hour debut CD featuring Steve Higgins on guitar, voice and synth, Gong's Mike Howlett on bass and switch doctoring, plus drummer Eddy Sayer. Musically we're talking 'Shamal'-era Gong with a headier atmosphere as rhythms from funk to dub pass by, one minute a touch of Talking Heads, the next a hint of Here & Now, then some seriously neat jazzy touches, all with that feel of mid-seventies Gong as the main musical seam running through the heart of the magic, especially on the first three tracks where Theo Travis adds flute and sax. It's 95% instrumental, synth and keyboard-free, there's some fantastic guitar work throughout, while the rhythm section play a blinder with some incredibly fluid, upfront electric bass, tasty drums and just fantastic music from start to finish, mainly seventies influenced but sounding so vibrant and fresh at the same time. A superb debut that delivers and also promises more heady delights for the future.

INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET:Glissando Spirit CD
Imagine that Daevid Allen and Steve Hillage had made a guitar-based duo album with Allen on glissando and Hillage on lead guitar, together with rhythmic support and the occasional extra textural modifications from synth. Quite frankly, this would be the result as it is a nearly all instrumental album featuring some fantastic compositions and the lead work based entirely around tasty electric guitar work and some soaring glissando guitar work, absolutely heavenly throughout the length of the CD. The playing as a whole is solid, enhanced by the presence of a non-dance related rhythmic base through a lot of the CD. Overall, an absolutely brilliant album guaranteed to please all fans of Gong, Allen, Hillage and even Orb fans as well.

INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET:Jewel In The Lotus CD
Featuring Daevid Allen on guitar, glissando and vocals as guest artist on one lengthy live track, this is a surprisingly excellent CD from the trio featuring some great work on glissando, guitars, percussion, keyboards and flute as well as some exquisite vocal sections.

INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET: The Eternal Voice CD
The new studio album which is actually an old studio album, originally recorded in 1990/91, and here we venture into classic Daevid Allen/Steve Hillage worlds of largely instrumental music (some wordless chants on occasion) that mixes the gorgeous flowing glissando guitars with synths in the same way that Hillage did on 'Rainbow Dome Music' but then also follows the Allen path of injecting a percussive flavour to it on certain titles that gives the complete spacey whole more movement and structure. Generally more wide-ranging than anything Allen/Hillage did, this has more obvious a melodic content and uses more instrumental textures and Eastern ideals to produce eight exotic tracks, half "early morning" and half "late night" listening (suggested) full of guitars, glissandos, synth, synth bass, drones and occcasional light percussion in form of Tibetan bowls/bells. Altogether stronger and more powerful than its predecessors this is a fresh new take on the formula.

INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET: Live At The Britannia Cafe CD
The concert alter-ego of the project as the three of them do a more than passable Gong style set which consists of sixteen, mostly self-penned tracks (nods to Gong on 'Flying Teapot' and 'Iao Mantra') forming a continuous, unbroken set where the trio come across as a sextet, the sound of glissandos, percussion, drums, guitars, keyboards and sax sounding for all the world like vintage Gong throughout most of the CD, the sound quality being crystal clear, while the performances are spot on throughout a largely instrumental set. If you're a Gong fan, it's an essential purchase, and if a passing Gong fan more intot he instrumental side of things, then it's also an essential purchase - oh, just get the thing - you won't regret it.

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