GONG Arista Years

From page 52 of Classic Rock Magazine September 2008



Cover of September 2008 issue.
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Acocuo No gongs, guys.

With mainmen Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage and Tim Blake long-since departed, along with Gong's delightful hippie eccentricity, this incarnation of the band was led by Pierre Moerlen, who became their chief songwriter.

Since Moerlen plays drums, vibes, percussion and synth, it's unsurprising that the three G • 07NrG • RAI.Z. •

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albums collected in this twoCD set are heavy on rhythm and decoration. Time Is The Key (1979) alternates chiming, Tubular Bells-type instrumentals with voyages into funk, jazz rock and (with Arabesque) the Middle East, while Mike Oldfield (an appropriate guest) plays guitar on Downwind, a saxy jam on 1980's Live. The following year's Leave It Open has a fuller sound that, similarly, isn't unpleasant but is certainly unremarkable.

Carol Clerk

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