OFF: Shapeshifter (was: I'm waiting for my Hawks: recent acquisitions)

[Christian Mumford]

At 14:20 21.11.97 +0300, Yuri Elik wrote:

>Christian Mumford wrote:
>> Gong - "Shapeshifter+" - Looks like the reconstructed Aellen line up are
>>                 groping for something as good as the Radio Gnome stuff,
>>                 and are not even coming near. Ok, IMO better than the
>>                 Aellen-less (cold?) fusion stuff, but a far cry from
>>                 old glories... ok listen, though disposable enough.
>
>First, I think it make no sence to compare classical Gong to Pierre
>Moerlen's Gong - in fact, it is absolutely different band despite of
>their relations and the same name.

I agree! However, I was thinking of people (and there are many, as I was
one) who when first buying Gong have no idea what's what in the confusing
Gong universe. I also felt the music lacked the spontanaety of the Allen
era 70s Gong. Hence my somewhat misguided comparisons....


>Second, I think Shapeshifter is a
>quite decent album; of course it can't be near (if you mean by this
>SIMILAR to)

NO, I did NOT mean SIMILAR... I meant NEAR as in as GOOD :)

>their old stuff because times has changed as well as Allen -
>and other guys - themselves, however I found it no less fresh and
>creative than their old stuff (and it was definitely much more
>interesting to me than another live album with the same RG-era stuff).

Agreed here too, on the live album bit. On the first few listens, Shapeshifter
didn't spark much in me. It seemed a little forced or lacked spontanaety...
maybe I will go over it again :) The early Gong stuff grabs me right away from
the first spin.

>Shapeshifter has showed to me that 'ole Gong is not dead!

Definetly true, and that in itself is praiseworthy if nothing else
(a quick nod Hawkwards......)

> It's a pity
>they haven't made anything new since then. And, by the way, I was very
>impressed with a Shapeshifter book (that I have ordered from GAS after
>listening to an album); the story is absolutely amazing.

The story seemed quirky enough from what I gathered off the CD, and definetly
a potential there... I just don't think much about "story" when I listen to
the music... the whole Radio Gnome trilogy, is well, uh, a salad of spontanety
being sucked in somewhere and spat out elsewhere.... :) YOU certainly don't
need the liner notes or a book for it to eventually stick...

Can't comment on the Shapeshifter book though, but will give the CD another
chance!

Christian