GONG – CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1974 DAEVID ALLEN

Gong – Camembert Electrique
(Virgin Records  1974  VC502)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some wear to edges & some ringwear and rubbing

Gong is an international psychedelic rock band known for incorporating elements of jazz and space rock into its musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Notable band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida.

Gong released its debut album, Magick Brother, in 1970, which featured a psychedelic pop sound. By the following year, the second album, Camembert Electrique, featured the more psychedelic rock/space rock sound with which they would be most associated. Between 1973 and 1974, Gong released their best known work, the allegorical Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, describing the adventures of Zero the Hero, the Good Witch Yoni and the Pot Head Pixies from the Planet Gong.

In 1975, Daevid Allen & Gilli Smyth left the band, which continued without them, releasing a series of jazz rock albums under the leadership of drummer Pierre Moerlen. This incarnation of the band became known as Pierre Moerlen’s Gong. Meanwhile, Smyth formed Mother Gong while Allen initiated a series of spin-off groups, including Planet Gong, New York Gong and Gongmaison, before returning to lead Gong once again in 1990 until his death in 2015. With Allen’s encouragement, the band decided to continue and released the album Rejoice! I’m Dead! on 16 September 2016.

Camembert Electrique is an album by Gong, recorded and originally released in 1971. The album was recorded at Château d’Hérouville near Paris, France, produced by Pierre Lattès and engineered by Gilles Salle. Jean Karakos (credited in Daevid Allen’s liner notes as “Byg Jean Kastro Kornflakes”) was executive producer.

Track listing

Side one

1. “Radio Gnome Invisible” (Daevid Allen) – 0:26
2. “You Can’t Kill Me” (Allen) – 6:23
3. “I’ve Bin Stone Before” (Allen) / “Mister Long Shanks” (Allen) / “O Mother” (Allen) – 4:53
4. “I Am Your Fantasy” (Gilli Smyth, Christian Tritsch) – 3:41
5. “Dynamite” / “I Am Your Animal” (Smyth, Tritsch) – 4:32
6. “Wet Cheese Delirium” (Allen) – 0:29

Side two

1. “Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen’s Heads” (Allen) – 0:13
2. “Fohat Digs Holes in Space” (Allen, Smyth) – 6:24
3. “And You Tried So Hard” (Tritsch, Allen) – 4:39
4. “Tropical Fish” (Allen) / “Selene” (Allen) – 7:36
5. “Gnome the Second” (Allen) – 0:26

Personnel

• Daevid Allen (“Bert Camembert”) – guitar, vocals, bass guitar on “Tried So Hard”
• Gilli Smyth (“Shakti Yoni”) – space whisper
• Didier Malherbe (“Bloomdido Bad De Grass”) – saxophones and flute
• Christian Tritsch (“Submarine Captain”) – bass, lead guitar on “Tried So Hard”
• Pip Pyle – drums
• Eddy Luiss – Hammond organ and Piano

Also listed among the personnel are “Venux De Luxe” (Francis Linon), the band’s live sound engineer, as “switch doctor and mix master”, and Robert Wyatt’s son Sam.