Customer Reviews

Shapeshifter

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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This CD comes from 1992. The group consists of all of the original members from Radio Gnome days, except Steve Hillage and Pierre Moerlen. Even the troubled Mike Howlett is here. This is the first time this group has gotten together since 1974 and recorded a studio album. There were reunion tours in the eighties, but only the main trio was involved. This CD is about 74 minutes long.

This is not your typical inept reunion album. Gong has taken the original sound and evolved it and mixed it with several different styles. The result is more interesting, rich and varied than anything else Gong has done. All kinds of styles are mixed together, including, Eastern, Indian, Space and straight ahead rock.

To compensate for Hillage being gone, Graham Clarke on violin has been added. This adds a whole new dimension to the music.

There are only a few minor flaws to this CD. The tracks are ordered so the musical style radically changes from track to track. It gives the CD a jumpy quality. It may have been better to group the tracks by style. The last 14 minutes are a live version of an old song. But, that still leaves 60 minutes of new and very fresh music.

Hard to believe this 21-track CD by Gong is of mostly new/er material with the exception of "OM Riff",which is a live remix.I was somewhat stunned to hear just how fresh and lively these veteran cosmic rockers STILL sound.I truly believe that the formula for a good Gong album requires the combined efforts of vocalist/guitarist/founder/zany frontman Daevid Allen and woodwind instrumentalist Didier Malherbe.Tunes that I liked best were the title track "Shape Shifter","Dog-O-Matic","Give My Mother A Soul Call","Elephant La Tete" and the live snippet performance of Malberbe's "Can You:You Can".On the previously mentioned "OM Riff",there's a twelve-minute jam with the entire 'classic' Gong line-up of Allen,Gilli Smyth,Malherbe,Tim Blake,Mike Howlett and long-missed guitarist Steve Hillage.Trippin'!!A great reunion effort.

A really nice piece of work, and proof that Daevid Allen and Gong have continued to evolve and grow while remaining true to their musical vision. As others have said, it does have a somewhat inconsistent quality, but this is partly because it utilizes so many diverse musical idioms. Let's face it: some albums we approach as if to a meal, and others we approach as if it were the appetizer table. This album is the latter. And appetizers abound here! Gong shifts shape from one song to the other, and as far as I'm concerned, that's its main strength.

But what really strikes me about the album is its sense of whimsy , and its lighthearted --yet serious-- outlook on life. And there are space jams a-plenty to satisfy fans of Teapot-era Gong, like myself. And I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to Gong newcomers as a first taste of this great, always-evolving band.

Gong had eventually turned in to a big mess. You (1974) was the last of their great space rock albums. Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, and Tim Blake left after that masterpiece. Shamal (1976) was still quite good because it still had heavy ethnic overtones, but after that, the band had not one original member (Didier Malherbe left by 1977), they just turn in to a rather mediocre fusion band without much charm to it. But in 1992 something happened to Gong that's for the better: Daevid Allen, Didier Malherbe, and Pip Pyle had returned, and the result is Shapeshifter. I am rather amazed to see the band return to their space rock roots. In fact it sounds like the Radio Gnome trilogy with even more of an ethnic bent, and perhaps a few more modern elements. Shapeshifter isn't perfect. There are three acoustic pieces that I can't stomach at all: "Spirit With Me", "Loli", and "White Doves" (a cheesy sounding violin on those cuts sure don't help either). Also I can't stand "Dog-O-Matic" because it's that generic techno I can't stand, it just seems so out of place on that album. But the rest is what Gong should have been doing all along, but hadn't since 1974! So if you love Gong's best material from 1971-1974, you will be mostly happy with Shapeshifter.

Loved it, but who on earth wouldn't! Daevid is back with Didier :-) Pip Pyle, Keith da Missile, Steffi, Gilli, Shyamal, Mark Robson, Graham Clark and Loy. Nice to see them back in fine form with their usual eclectic mix of all music types and some silly notions :-) Gong returns with not much sign of having been gone. Buy it says PHP 46

Long-time fans had to wait almost 20 years for new studio material (the last album by Daevid Allen's Gong, "You", was released in 1974, then drummer Pierre Moerlen took over for his jazz-rock project), and although the idea of a hippie-band reunion my raise some eyebrows, the results are amazing and quite listenable even for younger people. The PHP's voice in the 7-second snip "Gnomerique" tells us that we are on 'Planet Gong' again, but musically, "Shapeshifter" is more akin to Gong's debut "Camembert electrique" than to "You". The songs are more dynamic and accessible than those of Gong's legendary "Radio Gnome Trilogy", incorporating numerous elements from French chanson, space-rock, ambient, and even electronica. The rocking title cut, the meandering "Hymnalayas" with a great saxophone solo, and the driving techno rhythms of "Dog-o-matic" are incredible. It becomes a bit uneven and unfocused in the album's second half, but there are a couple of decent tracks, "Elephant la tete", "Mother's gone", and "White doves", which make this record worthwhile. U.S. releases include the bonus title "Goddess invocation..". All in all, a very diverse and funny listening experience which shows that the band still has some gas left in its tank.

This is a relatively new release from the "Pot Head Pixies" and the line-up contains original founder and space-poet Daevid Allen! Musically, this album is a multidimensional affair, mixing jazz-rock with acoustic guitars, techno-rhythms and squeaky saxophones. As a consequence, this album is too uncohesive and too long to make it one of their legendary and best-known works such as "Flying Teapot" or "Angel's Egg". But "Shapeshifter" sounds amazingly fresh and delightful, and you get a lot of tracks for your money. So if you want to know, how these old hippies could survive 30 years on the music scene, you should purchase "Shapeshifter"!

Except for track 4 (which is a techno based track...I HATE TECHNO) this is actually a very good rock 'n' psychedelic styled Gong album. The songs (mostly written by Daevid Allen) are excellent and still have that gong aura from 25 years ago. Great listen and recommended to fans of the band and prog rock fans in general.

It's so great to hear an album by a 70's group recorded in the 90's which is not an embarrassment. Whenever I play tracks from this album to anybody that loves music they immediately like it. Too bad most of the world will never hear this stuff. (I'm sorry fellow PHP's but I must admit that it's a relief to not hear Gillie Smyth popping in with her space whispers and screams throughout the album. She's given space to strut her stuff on the live bonus track.) What a great album. As to contents, read the review just below - it's spot on!

Not to mention sublime.
I truly don't understand why you can see this used for [X] in some stores. It's become one of my Desert Island 10 and my favorite Gong album. And by the way, "Gongmaison" should be rereleased (sort of barely was). Or is that the "New York Gong" album?