Shamal
The first Gong album without Allen, a bridge to the Moerlen jazz-rock band.
Gong, 1976
- Released
- 13 February 1976
- Recorded
- December 1975
- Label
- Virgin
- Producer
- Nick Mason
Shamal was released by Virgin on 13 February 1976, produced by Nick Mason and recorded in December 1975 by a line-up later called Shamal-Gong. It is usually regarded as a transitional album between Daevid Allen's band and the fusion line-up led by Pierre Moerlen. Mike Howlett sang and played bass, Patrice Lemoine played keyboards, and Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy appeared on Bambooji and, for Hillage, on Wingful of Eyes. The violinist Jorge Pinchevsky and the singer Sandy Colley were guests.
Pitchfork's Erlewine called it an impressive work, but wrote that neither it nor the 1975 live concert in the 2019 box quite felt like Gong without Allen. UMC issued a two-CD remaster in 2018 with a disc of 1975 live material and unreleased bonus tracks.
Track listing
- Wingful Of Eyes8:19
- Chandra7:16
- Bambooji5:21
- Cat In Clark's Shoes7:45
- Mandrake5:07
- Shamal8:58
Personnel
- Mike Howlett bass guitar, vocals
- Didier Malherbe tenor and soprano saxophone, flute, bansuri, gongs
- Mireille Bauer marimba, glockenspiel, xylophone, percussion, gongs
- Pierre Moerlen drums, vibraphone, tubular bells
- Patrice Lemoine organ, piano, synthesizer
- Steve Hillage guitar
- Miquette Giraudy vocals
- Jorge Pinchevsky violin
- Sandy Colley vocals
- Nick Mason producer
More from Gong
Magick Brother (1970), Camembert Electrique (1971), Continental Circus (1972), Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 1) (1973), Angel's Egg (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 2) (1973), You (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 3) (1974), Gazeuse! (1976), Shapeshifter (1992)
Sources
- Shamal (album), Wikipedia
- Shamal, Discogs
- Love From the Planet Gong: The Virgin Years 1973-75, Pitchfork (2019-10-03)