G3 - Colin Occupants 9 Skope 8

[rayge]

A Gong – Master Builder



B The Gentlemen - It’s a Cry’n Shame

[Sneelock]

I fuggin' LOVE Gong but I'm going B by virtue of it swinging just so & that "fingers almost got stuck" guitar solo!!

[toomanyhatz]

Gong has always been a band that has caused me to wonder why I don't like them more. I tend to like the Canterbury stuff more the more eccentric it is, and this is sure plenty eccentric. But it's also a bit meandery

B is yet another in the long line of generic garage tracks, but this one does seem to have a touch of uniqueness to it at least in the way the fuzztone and vocal wildness is contrasted by the pureness and upfrontness of the vocal harmonies. It makes up for a pretty standard song.

Best pure garage track of the whole cup (not that the standards have been that high so far).

[Deleted]

I've never got on with Gong - too formless, too much hippies pissing about, flirting with jazz without having the courage to go there. But I really got into this one. Liked the vaguely malevolent percussion and the ritualistic atmosphere it created and then the wild sax solo came in..sort of Pharaoh Sanders meets Alex Sanders (cheers Ray). This part of the track was a gas and had it stopped with the bird noises it would've got my vote. Unfortunately the last couple of minutes were redundant and reminded me of why I disliked them in the first place.

The sheer pulverising fever of the performance of A transcends the run of the mill song. Really good garage can do that.

B

[bungo the mungo]

i don't get the point of gong. carol was a big fan. i suppose she first heard them at uni after having her first spliff.

i'm surprised that B is picking up kudos as being the best garage pick of the cup, as i think there have been better.

B

[osgood]

I have not heard much of Gong records, only familiar with Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy of which You is the best album, and this one of the finest tracks. I like them but never felt the need to check more.

And I also think that B is the best garage track of this cup. But I am inclined to vote for

A

[DarknessFish]

Never really investigated Gog much myself, there's a stench of prog hanging over the cheesy keys in the intro, though I'm hoping the drums cut up a tribal rug soon enough. I reckon this could well have strongly influenced 90s Legendary Pink Dots, and there's a hint of Hawkwind in the grinding of the bass and synth. Good sax work, this is much freer and better-produced than that jazz-rock thing that was here earlier. Already forgot who that was. Not sure why there's a bridsong break, but the guitar is just as nicely handled as the sax. Brave pick, and surprisingly good. Not sure I'm convinced enough to seek out more Gong, but I am slightly intrigued. Not often there's a 6 minute track which actually utilises its full length (birdsong excepted).

Well, the generic failed 60s rock song is upon us again, and it's no better or worse than most generic failed 60s rock songs.

A

[Deleted]

Aug 28, 2021 17:17:26 GMT bungo the mungo said:

i don't get the point of gong. carol was a big fan. i suppose she first heard them at uni after having her first spliff.

Difference between going to a posh school and the kind of school we went to. No one listened to Gong in my school, no one had even heard of them, but within posh circles prog was still a big thing. I remember sharing a flat with this very posh kid about the same age as me - he had Jethro Tull, all the Canterbury bands, all of it. I was amazed at the time, I didn't think anyone our age listened to that stuff!

[DayoRemix]

Gong is a bit Proggy and the second track a bit run of the mill..Unenthusiastic Vote A

[fange]

Oh hello, another FINE match! Tres bon, merci mates.

I wish i could, etc. If i gotta pick one i will go with A; we haven't had enough eggcelent jazz rock here and this fits the bill nicely.

[Mr. FOLLARD]

Not keen on Gong. Hawkwind with added jazz. Ugly wanking sounds.

I'm expecting the usual dismissal of B because it's "just another Nuggets track" - but it ISN'T! It's one of the best things on Pebbles vol. 5, which is one of the best in that series

B

[osgood]

Aug 28, 2021 19:51:46 GMT DarknessFish said:

 generic failed 60s rock song

Loved that

[DarknessFish]

It's not failed though. It's from Not Even Interesting Enough for Nuggets Volume 5. This is the benchmark for quality, apparently.

[Half Machine Lipschitz]

More laboratory-created garage rock. Yawn.

Those Nucleus guys from the previous round would've done well to listen to a bit more Gong. This is how you do it! (although, to be fair, the guitar wankery is a bit much)...

A

[fearlessfreap]

B is great -- I've put it on mix tapes back when I used to have a cassette player. A is decent, but not as good.