Magick Brother Magick Sister [Limited Edition, Original recording remastered, Import]

Gong | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 16, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition, Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Jvc Japan
• ASIN: B000056C6M
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,806 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mystic Sister/Magick Brother

2. Change the World

3. Rational Anthem

4. Glad to Sad to Say

5. Chainstore Chant

6. Pretty Miss Titty

7. Fredfish/Hope You Feel OK

8. Ego

9. Gong Song

10. Princess Dreaming

11. 5 and 20 Schoolgirls

12. Cos and Got Green Hair

Editorial Reviews

Japanese reissue of the progressive rock act's 1969 album. Digitally remastered using 20 bit K2 Super Coding. Packaged in a miniature gatefold LP sleeve. 2000 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychedelia the way it should be!, January 28, 2001

By 

"loveweird" (Fairview, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magick Brother Magick Sister (Audio CD)

If you're tired of critics and other so-called "music experts" calling bland San Francisco blues psychedelic, well, pilgrim, take a listen to this amazing, innovative album released in 1969. This is the first record to be released under the GONG moniker, but it was mainly Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth's brainchild, and what a weird and wonderful child it is! Lots of phasing,loose playing and inspired moments make this disc one of my Top 5 favorite albums ever. I love other GONG albums like Flying Teapot and Angels Egg, but this one doesn't sound like any other GONG album or anyone else's album, for that matter. It's a wonderful example of what happens when inspired artists just create and don't worry about what something SHOULD sound like. Now this album was recorded onto the audio part of a 3-track videorecorder, so it is a bit "lo-fi", but I think that just adds to the charm and otherworldliness of it. An amazing sonic trip - psychedelic the way it should be!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The very first Gong album, June 25, 2003

By 

happydogpotatohead "happydogpotatohead" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Magick Brother Magick Sister (Audio CD)

And it all begins with an orgasm. Accompanied by space noises. At least that's what it sounds like. Which is highly appropriate for a band that was intent on ecstasy and its spiritual meanings, without being heavy-handed enough to say so.

At this point the band consisted of Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth with a cast of characters who would disappear by the time of the second album, except for reedman extraordinaire Didier Malherbe. Recorded in a barn on a movie camera, the sound is rough but not too rough. Don't let that stop you; this is one of the most essential psychedelic records, period.

After the orgasm we get Daevid coming in strumming away on an acoustic and telling us that we are the Magick Brothers and Mystick Sisters of the title, which is the basic message throughout. The music matches the message; Allen, Smyth and cohorts flip through folk-jazz, proto-fuzz, tape collages, psych-rock, free jazz and floating whimsy, without once sounding pretentious. There's a loose feeling to the music that shows its improvised origins, but once you listen closer there is a subtle focus and an open sense of fun, just as in all of Daevid Allen's Gong output.

Yes, it is whimsical, but underneath the whimsy is a message. The famous Pothead Pixies make a cameo appearance, by the way, in "Gongsong." At the end it all sort of floats away rather than ending, which is perfectly appropriate for Gong.

"Magick Brother" is really a sketchbook for what later Gong would become, but like any good sketchbook it's filled with a lot of fascinating ideas and great images. It's very psychedelic, very "high," and very loose and free. I find myself returning to this CD over and over again in the years since I originally bought it, and I am rewarded with something new every time. Quite worthwhile for anybody who has an adventurous musical spirit.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stands the test of time, March 1, 2002

By 

Nathan Pease (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magick Brother Magick Sister (Audio CD)

This is a late 60's psychedelic classic, but the feel is proto-punk. It's raw; the songs are mostly three chord progressions; and it's seriously silly. I think of it as a genuine work of art.