Dong Gong Date Selection Method

Live album recorded during the first « Gong reunion » in May 28, 1977 in Hippodrome de Pantin (Paris), organised by Jacques Pasquier. The classic Gong line-up with founder Daevid Allen didn’t exist anymore at this date, but reconvened for this event, which also featured all bands formed by ex or current Gong members : Daevid Allen with Euterpe, Didier Malherbe’s Bloom, the « official » Gong led by Pierre Moerlen, Mike Howlett’s Strontium 90, Tim Blake’s Crystal Machine, Steve Hillage’s band etc…

Gong slowly came together in the late '60s when Australian guitarist Daevid Allen (ex-Soft Machine) began making music with his wife, singer Gilli Smyth, along with a shifting lineup of supporting musicians. Albums from this period include Magick Brother, Mystic Sister (1969) and the impromptu jam session Bananamoon (1971) featuring Robert Wyatt from the Soft Machine, Gary Wright from Spooky Tooth, and Maggie Bell…

Gong are – and were – a completely indefinable and free-thinking outfit. They are still touring and touching minds, even after the death of founder Daevid Allen but this trilogy of albums was the best music that they ever produced…

The essential Live Etc. sports incredible live versions of material from four Gong albums (Camembert Electrique, Flying Teapot, Angel's Egg, You) and one studio track which had been recorded in 1974 as an attempt at a single. The live material, recorded 1973-1975, consists of performances from several different incarnations of the band, making this an excellent starting point for anyone interested in sampling Gong…

Formed in 1969 by Daevid Allen, one of the founding members of Soft Machine, classic albums such as 'Camembert Electrique', 'Flying Teapot' & 'You' established Gong as one of the most unique, innovative & experimental rock groups of the Seventies. Recorded in the middle of their most critically lauded 'Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy' era, 'Live at Longlaville': Salle Elsa Triolet, 27.10.74 is a previously unreleased concert recently discovered in the archives. Despite 1974 being one of the most intensive years in the band's history, with over 150 gigs clocked up, relatively few live recordings from that time exist. We are fortunate to have unearthed such a good one. When it came to squirrelling away recordings for future enjoyment, enlightenment or even possible enrichment, Gong were not the Grateful Dead.

Strictly limited to 1500 deluxe 4CD sets (in 64-page hardback books), the package features all of the original album artwork and inserts, including the 15 page comic book companion to the Robot Woman 2 story.
Gilli Smyth, co-founder of Gong alongside Daevid Allen, formed Mother Gong with Harry Williamson in 1978 and the Robot Woman trilogy is widely accepted as one of the pinnacles of the band's career. Previously only available on 3 vinyl LP releases pressed in small number in the 1980s this long-awaited release heralds the first appearance of Robot Woman 1, 2 and 3 on CD, something devoted Gongsters have been requesting for years. Also included is a fourth disc of fascinating 'Demos and Rarities'; 18 previously un-released unknown and hidden extras, the earliest of which dates from 1976…