=-> Quoting Mike Taylor to Martin Ridgley:
 MT> Daevid Allen, the founder of Gong left in after _You_.  _Shamal_ is
 MT> the first album under Moerlen's direction and it shows.
 MT> ...although they didn't take on the "Pierre Moerlen's Gong" name
 MT> until _Downwind_ in 1979.
 MT> The style of music that Gong played under Allen's influence is quite
 MT> different from that played under Moerlen's direction.  Moerlen played
 MT> a straight fusion that was often bland and had a high noodle factor.
   Yeah, I've always liked _Expresso_.  But the albums seemed to go
 downhill after that.  _Expresso II_ is okay, but I didn't like _Downwind_
 at all.  _Time is the Key_ makes nice background music.  ;-)
 MT> Early Gong is psychedelic more akin to early Pink Floyd and was
 MT> occasionally silly.  By the time of the Planet Gong trilogy (_Flying
 MT> Teapot_, _Angel's Egg_ and _You_), Gong were perfected into a great
 MT> space fusion band with a sort of hippie whimsey.  For my money, this
 MT> band was head and shoulders above PM's Gong, although _Shamal_ is a
 MT> good album.  If you are curious, I suggest you listen to _You_
 MT> (prefered) or _Angel's Egg_.  If you like, work your way backwards
 MT> chronologically until you either have them all or don't like it any 
re.
   Yeah, I'm very interested.  I'll take your suggestion and try to track
 down _You_ and _Angel's Egg_ for starters.
 MR> I've only ever heard Hillage's _L_ and _Green_, but not for a
 MR> long time.
 MT> I like _L_ a lot.  If you get a chance, give it another listen.  It's
 MT> produced by Todd Rundgren and has most of his band playing on it.
   Yeah, I recall liking _L_, but as I said, it's been *years*....
 MT> If you get Gong's _You_ and like it, then go for Hillage's _Fish
 MT> Rising_ which is very similar in nature.
   Okay.  That's great.  It sure helps to have the input of someone who
 is more familiar with this material.  :-)
 MT> Below is an edited discography culled from a massive Canterbury
 MT> discog. Hope you find it useful.
   
   Wow!  This is superb, Mike!  I had no idea they had done so much prior
 to the Moerlen era.  The dates and labels are extremely helpful, too.
   Thanks again, very much!  I've got some exploring to do!  :-)
     Cheers,
              Martin
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