Flying Teapot [Import]

Gong | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Snapper UK
• ASIN: B00005REQR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,891 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #47 in Music > Jazz > Avant Garde & Free Jazz

Editorial Reviews

1973's Flying Teapot is a Gong milestone. It's the first installment in their legendary "Radio Gnome Trilogy" and a transitional point between the underground psychedelia of Camembert Electrique and the artier, more ethereal sound they later developed. Teapot is more visceral, less cerebral than its successors, and the catchy ensemble riffs of Camembert are still present. The arrival of virtuoso guitarist Steve Hillage and synth wizard Tim Blake represented a great leap forward, though. Blake concentrated exclusively on ambient electronic effects and soundscapes a la early Hawkind, leaving harmonic development to the other band members. Hillage's fleet-fingered jazz-rock solos and arsenal of effects upped the musicianship a notch and reinforced the spacy jazz elements already in place. Whether you're able to follow the willfully confusing storyline or not, the elaborate mythological world created by Daevid Allen is loads of fun when wrapped around music as inspired as this psychedelic art-jazz-space rock amalgam. The key players are a group of gnomes from another planet who arrive in a flying teapot (stoner imagery plays heavily in hippie Allen's vision) to save the world (or something). Actually, some surprisingly intellectual/philosophical messages were contained in the trilogy, leavened heartily by the irrepressible Allen's healthy sense of humor. Charly. 2004.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent album that was apparently remastered in a back alley, May 13, 2006

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flying Teapot (Audio CD)

Gong's first release for Virgin Records was released in 1973 and marks Pt. I of Daevid Allen's masterwork, the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy. The other albums in the trilogy include Pt. II Angels Egg (1973), and my personal favorite, Pt. III You (1974). Sadly, Daevid Allen left Gong after the You album, taking his hilarious and seemingly magical world of protagonist Zero the Hero, Pot head pixies, octave doctors, crystal machines, and the like with him.

The six tracks on this great album range in length from 1'51" to 11'52" and feature an excellent blend of synth heavy space rock, space whispers, really silly (and fun) absurdist humor, prog rock rave-ups, jazz rock, and all around excellent individual and ensemble playing. Speaking of which, although this lineup is not the classic Gong lineup featured on Angels Egg and You, all of the band members are excellent and a few of the elements that made those later albums incredible are in place. Specifically, newly acquired guitarist extraordinaire Steve Hillage and synthesizer player Tim Blake had signed on. In fact, Tim Blake's spacey VCS3 and mini moog synthesizer work really makes this album work for me and he is highlighted on the short synth piece The Octave Doctors and the Crystal Machine. In addition to bandleader Daevid Allen (guitars, vocals) and space whisperer/Welsh poet Gilli Smyth, former Magma bassist Fancis Moze, Didier Maherlbe (saxophone, flute), and excellent drummer Laurie Allen played on this album.

OK, now for the bad stuff. Although the music on this album is incredible, the 2005 remastering effort by Charly is simply atrocious and it appears that Flying Teapot may have in fact been remastered in a back alley. The cover art is "pixelly" and grainy and it appears that the cover art may have been simply scanned from "Joe's copy" and then edited by someone who did not have a clue as to what they were doing. Even the inner photos appear to have been scanned and are also grainy and "pixelly". In fact, one of the images appears to have been borrowed from the remastered version of Angel's Egg issued by EMI. The sound quality is also terrible, and has all of the texture and dynamic range you might expect from a beat up cassette tape (made in 1973) being played on a cheap, portable tape recorder at a distance of 300 meters. Specifically, the overall sound is low and muffled, and there are points where there is severe distortion.

I will not however, let the clowns over at Charly ruin this fantastic album for me and I will still give this album a five star rating in spite of it all. For those of you that are not as forgiving and cannot overlook these problems, I would strongly urge you to look around and track down another version.

All in all, this album is highly recommended along with Camembert Electrique (1971), Angel's Egg (1973), and You (1974). Just avoid any of the lousy versions issued by Charly.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daevid Allen is the George Clinton of Jazz Rock part 1, November 25, 2004

By 

Alastair McLean "Alvis" (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flying Teapot (Audio CD)

Strong statement to start a review I know, but here are the reasons. Both Daevid and George held large groups of disparate and talented musicians together for several years, gave them alternative names, and got them to buy into their own unique vision of the world. Both visions included fictitous characters acting out complex plots using a unique language and imagery. Both created music that broke down barriers between established musical forms and molded the pieces into something new and undefinable. Both are very funny men (in more ways than one you could say).

Flying Teapot is part one of the Radio Gnome trilogy of albums (Angel's Egg and You are the others).This is the album that introduces us to Zero the Hero and the Pothead Pixies and includes stories of inner/outer space travel in flying teapots and encounters with wicked witches. With only a handful of very long tracks you need to sit down and get involved for the first couple of runs through, but after a while Steve Hillage's guitar and Blomdido Bad de Grasse's sax will hook you into the hypnotic mantras of "Zero the Hero", "The Pothead Pixies" and "Flying Teapot". After that all resistance will be futile and you'll find yourself chanting "I am, you are, we are crazy" along with everyone else. There are only a couple of weaknesses with the whole thing, but of the trilogy, this is the most straight ahead and rock based. Start here and work through Angel's Egg in to You. It could change the way you look at, well, everything really.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Formal Start of the Tea Ceremony - Hymns Disguised as Whimsy, August 14, 2005

By 

Asphalt "an_old_head" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flying Teapot (Audio CD)

This is the start of the "Radio Gnome Trilogy" in which Daevid Allen and Gong lay out the full mythology of the Planet Gong and the Pothead Pixies. Calling this "jazz-rock" is completely misleading though it certainly has elements of both. It is the first fully formed expression of the unique sound developed by Gong and used by Daevid and the band to convey profound thoughts in a very silly and beautiful manner. Profoundly psychedelic, this is music intended to be listened to in an altered state, and it is designed to fit together with the following two parts of the trilogy ("Angel's Egg" and "You"...both equally essential). Buy all three albums - program them into a CD changer - prepare your head and don headphones - then get ready for a journey you will never regret. This IS "Lafta Yoga" - Electric Dharma. Hare hare London Bus!!!"