Steve Hillage,Gong/Osaka,Japan 2018

Continuing the wishes of founder David Allen, GONG came to Japan with Steve Hillage, who became the keystone of the “RADIO GNOME trilogy”. A live series that completely records the whole story is now available. The tour to Japan, which took place at the end of October last year, included a total of four performances. All of them will be released in two sets of the best audience recordings, vacuum-packed by the same recording artist. The first part of this work includes the performance “October 30, 2018: Osaka (evening part/night part)”. First, let’s organize the series structure by schedule.・October 30: Osaka (evening section) [this work CD1-2] ・October 30: Osaka (evening section) [this work CD 3-4] ・October 31: Tokyo (evening section) “TOKYO 2018” October 31st: Tokyo (night session) “TOKYO 2018″…and this is what it looks like. Two performances will be held in Osaka and Tokyo, one in the evening and one in the evening, for a total of four performances. The Osaka 2 performance of this work is one that summarizes the entire day that is the first half of the visit to Japan. This is truly a definitive double series, but of course it’s not just collectible. The true greatness is its quality. This is the original master of this work that was given to me by the recording artist himself, but the recording artist is also a master who has produced masterpieces one after another. In recent years, he is well known for Paul McCartney’s “ONE ON ONE AT BUDOKAN” and the masterpieces “RYOGOKU KOKUGIKAN 2018” and “NAGOYA 2018” that came to Japan in 2018. Ringo Starr’s 6-disc set “ORCHARD HALL 2016: COMPLETE 3 NIGHTS”, which was given to us as a gift, is also a work of this master. If you have experienced even one of these, I think you will understand, but the sound of this work is even better than that. Perhaps because of the small club-sized space, there is no sense of distance, and the core is even more focused and the details are fine. Of course, since this was GONG’s audience, there was no way there was going to be any fuss, and only the performance was extremely loud. It has an overwhelmingly vivid tone, so you can’t mistake it for a sound board, but it’s a super close-up sound that won’t be a problem even if it’s a moderate FM recording. The show drawn with that sound is truly wonderful. “You Can’t Kill Me” from the night before the trilogy jumped out from the opening, and the venue instantly went into a 70’s mood. After that, 70’s numbers such as “I Never Glid Before” and “Master Builder” from the trilogy and Hillage’s solo song “Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish” will continue to be the focus. Even with “You Never Blow Yr Trip”, the medley arrangement that leads to “Tropical Fish / Selene” from “CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE” is wonderful. Of course, not everything is from the 1970s, and there are songs such as “Kapital” and “Rejoice” from “REJOICE! I’M DEAD!” dedicated to the leader Allen, and “The Eternal Wheel Spins” from the previous album “I SEE YOU”. Interwoven. Although the band has a long and complicated history, this set focuses on “70s + modern times.” There are also (slight) changes in the evening section (discs 1-2) and night section (discs 3-4). Basically, the flow is the same, but in the night part, Hillage’s “Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish” has been moved to the second half of the show, and “Insert Your Own Prophecy” is inserted before that. And the performance that plays out such a set is overwhelming. The basic members are the same five members of the multinational army as “REJOICE! I’M DEAD!”, and they performed the opening two songs. And finally, Odai Hill from the trilogy “I Never Glid Before” appears! What’s great about that solo. Although the delay is not as wide open as before, the performance in which the phrases are spun out without stopping is truly elegant. Even more overwhelming is the famous song “Master Builder” from “YOU”. The beat heats up as if fueled by the magical “IAO ZA-I ZA-O…”, and the catharsis of the band falling into an avalanche is truly GONG! Then, a sharp saxophone solo that sounds similar to the original Didier Malherbe roars out, and Hillage adds a spacey guitar to it. Their intertwining is truly organic, and even just by listening to the sound, you can imagine the members’ attention to detail. Although the company has lost its founder, its vision lives on. It is a wonderful show that definitely makes you realize that it is GONG. GONG is a famous band that stands out even in the progressive/Canterbury scene with its strong individuality. This is a two-part archive series that can complete all four of the latest performances in Japan with the best sound. Although it is a definitive collection of the same recording artist, each performance is the best and special. This work is the first edition in Osaka. Osaka, Japan 30th October 2018 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) 1st show Disc 1(52:54) 1. Intro. 2. You Can’t Kill Me 3. Kapital 4. I Never Glid Before Gong 5. Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish (Solar Musick Suite) 6. Rejoice 7. Master Builder Disc 2(29:54) 1. You Never Blow Yr Trip / Tropical Fish / Selene (encore) 2. Insert Your Own Prophecy 2nd show Disc 3(49:22 ) 1. Intro. 2. You Can’t Kill Me 3. Kapital 4. I Never Glid Before Gong 5. Rejoice 6. Master Builder Disc 4(45:53) 1. The Eternal Wheel Spins 2. Hiram Afterglid Meets The Dervish (Solar Musick Suite) 3. You Never Blow Yr Trip / Tropical Fish / Selene (encore) 4. Insert Your Own Prophecy Kavus Torabi – Guitar, Vocal Fabio Golfetti – Guitar Dave Sturt – Bass Ian East – Saxophone, Flute Cheb Nettles – Drums Special Guest Steve Hillage – Guitar