Gong OK Friends! AGASCD017 || 03.06.2002 || £10.64  $ € ¥  + p+p +tax Click for big pic Live CD from 2001 How exactly do you capture the essence of a Gong gig on tape? Well, hoping for the best, you can plonk a whole gig or selection of tracks onto CD trusting that some of the indefinably unique ambience that so often suffuses a Gong concert makes it through the ruthless digital mesh. Or... if you want to try something different...for a little bit of magic...you can give the tapes to a Witch. Let her peruse and contemplate, distill and concentrate, until...she 'horse whispers' a vibe, a glimpse, a 'rustle in the undergrowth' of something usually unfelt onto a medium that by all rights is really too coarse to carry it. So... here are the juiciest bits of the 2001 autumn tour as selected by Gilli who was the only band member with the stamina to trawl through every recorded gig immediately after the tour, and listen with the ears of everybody...She has edited together and produced a collection of the most scintillating solos, the most atmospheric passages, and all those unexpected jams from the recordings she brought back....the parts of concerts that remain with you long after it's all over...not serving up yet more versions of much too well known songs. However the recording quality of the gigs was definitely variable and it required the masterly mastering skills and attuned sensibilities of Orlando Allen to clarify the sound and enhance the magic buried in the music. And he has succeeded admirably...it certainly made these somewhat overgonged ears sit-up, take notice and smile.....if you would like smiling ears as well, then look no further. All the musicians involved are well-represented and show just how each one of them sparkled on the tour. A beautiful photo rich booklet for this release has been put together by Daevid and Gong Dreaming Book I designer David Gregson in Australia. As Daevid says... “Welcome my friends to the very best moments, the organic gmo free deranged juice of the longest & most intense Gong tour of recent years.” Track Listing: Total Runtime 55.26 OK My Friends! 0.18 Arabie Soja Scatsop 3.25 - mp3 1'05" / 1012KB Wise Man 8.03 Zeroid Interiors 3.27 Doudouk Bloomdido 3.18 6/8 Confiture 1.40 Do You Believe in Magick? 4.24 Three Questions 3.51 Cycles 9.40 - mp3 1'07" / 1MB Violin Titties 1.20 - mp3 1'20" / 1.2MB Virtual Lover 1.43 - mp3 1'45" / 1.5MB Deep Fjord Restaurant 0.47 Can't Kill Me Sax 2.44 Es que je suis 1.51 Invisible Temple 3.33 Selene 5.22 Musicians: Daevid Allen: Vocal locum & lewd & gliss guitar Gilli Smyth: Vocal freesong & words Didier Malherbe: Saxes, Doudouk Theo Travis: Saxes, Flute Mike Howlett: Bass Chris Taylor: Drums, Vocals Gwyo Zepix: Keyboards, Synths, Vocals Guest on 'Violin Titties' Graham Clark: Violin