Tuesday, February 15, 2011

ROY BUCHANAN live in Japan 1978



I was wondering if this would ever be released on cd. "Live In Japan" was released by Polydor only in Japan in 1978. "Live In Japan" documents Buchanan's tour of Japan in 1977 and was his gift to his Japanese fans. This disk was supposed to be Roy's favorite among all of his releases. Buchanan's live disks tend to be much more explosive than his studio albums. The standout cut is a great live rendition of "Hey Joe" with "Foxy Lady" as a coda. The disk begins with an excellent cover of Booker T. & the MGs instrumental "Soul Dressing". The disk also includes the upbeat "Sweet Honey Dew" a cover of Larry Williams' "Slow Down" and an inspired version of "My Baby Says She's Gonna Leave Me". "Sweet Dreams" one of Roy's personal favorites is also included. Roy's playing shines throughout and if you are a fan this release along with the new "American Axe" another live set from 1974 are essential. My only regret is that the disk is only about 46 minutes long. A number of other songs were played during Roy's tour of Japan including a smokin' cover of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love". Maybe at some point this will be released stateside in an expanded edition with some of the outtakes from this tour! Until then enjoy the master of the Telecaster!


Live in Japan 1978

LINK: Live in Japan

Bit rate: 320 kps

PASSWORD: 2000mustangs

I got this link from the blog 2000 mustangs.Thank you, i was looking for Roy Buchanan for long time.


01 Soul Dressing 7:18

02 Sweet Honey Dew 3:28

03 Hey Joe 9:23

04 Slow Down 2:53

05 Lonely Days Lonely Nights 4:13

06 Blues Otani 7:51

07 My Baby Says She's Gonna Leave Me 3:24

08 Sweet Dreams 3:58

Roy Buchanan

Roy Buchanan

Buchanan performing at the Pinecrest Country Club in Shelton, Connecticut
Background information
Birth name Leroy Buchanan
Born September 23, 1939, Ozark, Arkansas, US(1939-09-23)
Died August 14, 1988 (aged 48), Fairfax, Virginia, US(1988-08-14)
Genres Blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, country, country rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1958–1988
Labels Polydor, Atlantic, Alligator
Associated acts Robbie Robertson, Danny Gatton, Dale Hawkins, Danny Deever, The Snakestretchers, The British Walkers
Notable instruments
1953 Fender Telecaster "Nancy"

Roy Buchanan (September 23, 1939 - August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and bluesmusician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums charting on the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still considered a highly influential guitar player. Ranked #57 on the Rolling Stone list "100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time," Guitar Player praised him as having one of the "50 Greatest Tones of all Time."


Early career

Roy Buchanan was born in Ozark, Arkansas, and was raised both there and in Pixley, California, a farming area near Bakersfield. His father was a sharecropper in Arkansas and a farm laborer in California. Buchanan told interviewers that his father was also a Pentecostal preacher, a note repeated in Guitar Player magazine but refuted by his older brother J.D. Buchanan told how his first musical memories were of racially mixed revival meetings he attended with his mother Minnie. "Gospel," he recalled, "that's how I first got into black music." He in fact drew upon many disparate influences while learning to play his instrument (although he later claimed his aptitude was derived from being "half-wolf"). He initially showed talent on the steel guitar before switching to the standard instrument in the early 50s, and started his professional career at age 15, in Johnny Otis's rhythm and blues revue.

In 1958, Buchanan made his recording debut with Dale Hawkins, including playing the solo on "My Babe" for Chicago's Chess Records Two years later, during a tour through Toronto, Buchanan left Dale Hawkins to play for his cousin Ronnie Hawkins and tutor Ronnie's guitar player, Robbie Robertson. Buchanan plays bass on the Ronnie Hawkins's single "Who Do You Love?"[citation needed]. Buchanan soon returned to the U.S. and Ronnie Hawkins' group later gained fame as The Band. The early 60s found Buchanan performing numerous gigs as a sideman with multiple rock bands, and cutting a number of sessions as guitarist with musicians such as Freddy Cannon and Merle Kilgore. At the end of the 1960s, with a growing family, Buchanan left the music industry for a while to learn a trade, and trained for a while as a hairdresser. In the early 70's, Roy Buchanan gigged extensively in the Washington D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area with the Danny Denver Band, who had a large following in the area.

Recording career

Buchanan's 1962 recording with drummer Bobby Gregg, nicknamed "Potato Peeler," first introduced the trademark Buchanan pinch harmonics. An effort to cash in on the British Invasion caught Buchanan with The British Walkers. In the mid-'60s, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, D.C., area, playing for Danny Denver's band for many years, while acquiring the reputation as "one of the very finest rock guitarists around. Jimi Hendrix wouldn't take up the challenge of a 'pick-off' with Roy" In D.C., Buchanan played with his own band, The Snakestretchers, with whom he made his first recording as a front man, on Polydor.

Buchanan's life changed in 1971, when he gained national notoriety as the result of an hour-long PBS television documentary. Entitled The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, it earned a record deal with Polydor and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard, besides an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones (which he turned down).

He recorded five albums for Polydor, one of which, Second Album, went gold, and after that another three for Atlantic Records, one of which, 1977's Loading Zone, also went gold. Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.

Four years later, Buchanan was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records. His first album for Alligator, When a Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time he was given total artistic freedom in the studio. His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge (with vocals on three tracks by Delbert McClinton), was released in the fall of 1986.

He released the twelfth and last album of his career, Hot Wires, in 1987. According to his agent and others, Buchanan was doing well, having gained control of his drinking habit and playing again, when he was arrested for public intoxication after a domestic dispute, and was found hanged from his own shirt in a jail cell on 14 August 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia Jail. According to Jerry Hentman, who was in a cell nearby Buchanan's, the Deputy Sheriff opened the door early in the morning and found Buchanan with the shirt around his neck.

His cause of death was officially recorded as suicide, a finding disputed by Buchanan's friends and family. One of his friends, Marc Fisher, reported seeing Roy's body with bruises on the head.

After his death, compilation and other albums continue to be released, including in 2004 the never-released first album he recorded for Polydor, The Prophet.

Guitars, tone, and technique

Guitars

Buchanan used a number of guitars throughout his career, although he was most often associated with a 1953 Fender Telecaster, serial number 2324, nicknamed "Nancy." There are two very different stories explaining how Buchanan got the guitar. He himself said that, while enrolled in 1969 in a school to learn to be a hairdresser, he ran after a guy walking down the street with that guitar, and bought him a purple Telecaster to trade. A friend of Buchanan's, however, said that Buchanan was playing a Gibson Les Paul at the time, and traded it for the 1953 Telecaster. One of Buchanan's Telecasters was later owned by Danny Gatton and Mike Stern, who lost it in a robbery.

Tone

The Buchanan sound is, essentially, achieved with minimum means: the Telecaster through a Fender Vibrolux with the volume and tone "full out," with the volume and tone controls on the guitar used to control volume and sound (he achieved a wah wah effect using the tone control).distorted sounds Buchanan would occasionally use a razorblade to cut open the speakers or even pour water over the tubes in his amplifers. Buchanan rarely used effects pedals, though he started using an Echoplex on A Street Called Straight (1976), and much later in his career he played with a Boss DD-2 delay. To achieve his desired Technique

Buchanan taught himself many guitar styles, including the "chicken pickin" style. He sometimes used his thumb nail rather than a plectrum and also employed it to augment his index finger and plectrum. Holding his thumb at a certain angle, Buchanan was able to hit the string and then partially mute it, suppressing lower overtones and exposing the harmonics, a technique now known as pinch harmonics, though Buchanan himself called it an "overtone." Buchanan had the ability to execute pinch harmonics on command, and could mute individual strings with free right-hand fingers while picking or pinching others; he was famous as well for his oblique bends.

Having first trained as a lap steel guitarist, Buchanan often imitated its effect and bent strings to the required pitch, rather than starting on the desired note. This was particularly notable in his approach to using double and triple stops.

Legacy

He has influenced many guitarists, including Gary Moore, Danny Gatton, and Jeff Beck;Beck dedicated his version of "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" from Blow by Blow to him. His work is said to "stretch the limits of the electric guitar," and he is praised for "his subtlety of tone and the breadth of his knowledge, from the blackest of blues to moaning R&B and clean, concise, bone-deep rock 'n' roll."

In 2004, Guitar Player listed his version of "Sweet Dreams," from his debut album on Polydor, Roy Buchanan, as having one of the "50 Greatest Tones of All Time." In the same year, the readers of Guitar Player voted Buchanan #46 in a top 50 readers' poll.

Roy Buchanan is interred at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia

Discography

  • Buch and the Snakestretchers, 1971, BIOYA
  • Roy Buchanan and the Snakestretchers, 1972, BIOYA
  • Roy Buchanan, 1972, Polydor
  • Second Album, 1973, Polydor
  • That's What I Am Here For, 1974, Polydor
  • Rescue Me, 1974, Polydor
  • In the Beginning, 1974, Polydor
  • Live Stock, 1975, Polydor
  • A Street Called Straight, 1976, Atlantic
  • Loading Zone, 1977, Atlantic
  • Live in U.S.A. & Holland 77-85 - Silver Shadow CD 9104
  • You're Not Alone, 1978, Atlantic
  • Live in Japan - 1977, 1978, Polydor MPF 1105
  • My Babe, 1981, AJK
  • When a Guitar Plays the Blues, 1985, Alligator
  • Live - Charly Blues Legend vol. 9 85-87, Charly Schallplatten GMBH, CBL 758*
  • Dancing on the Edge, 1986, Alligator
  • Hot Wires, 1987, Alligator
  • Early Years, 1989, Krazy Kat
  • Sweet Dreams: The Anthology, 1992, Polydor
  • Guitar on Fire: The Atlantic Sessions, 1993, Rhino
  • Charly Blues Masterworks: Roy Buchanan Live, 1999, RedX entertainment
  • Deluxe Edition: Roy Buchanan, 2001, Alligator
  • 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Roy Buchanan, 2002, Polydor
  • American Axe: Live In 1974, 2003, Powerhouse Records
  • The Prophet - The Unreleased First Polydor Album, 2004, Hip-O Select/Polydor
  • Live, 2006, Charly Records
  • The Definitive Collection , 2006, Polydor
  • Rhino Hi-Five : Roy Buchanan, 2007, Rhino Atlantic

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

GONG gaseuze

I heard of Gong and although I thought they were o.k., I gave up on them. I then heard that this second or third period of Gong is fusion mixed, I heard it and immediately bought it. Gong up to the mid-'70s were spacey, trippy, strange vocals and I enjoyed that but was not crazy over them. The Gazeuse period is fantastic fusiony jazz featuring Holdsworth at his best, all instrumental as well as a focus on the vibes. This album was originally called Expresso in the U.K. and in the States titled Gazeuse. The next album is also killer, titled Expresso II which feautures more of the same but with a heavier emphasis on the glock/vibes. Gazeuse is a classic on par with Bruford's solos. If you have not heard this side of Gong, you better hear this one!!!


Gaseuze

Bit rate: 320 kps

LINK: gaseuze


01. Expresso

02. Night illusion

03. Percolations

04. Shadows of

05. Esnuria

06. Mireille


Gong

Gong

Gong live in Tel Aviv, 31 October 2009
Steve Hillage, Gilli Smyth, Chris Taylor, Dave Sturt, Daevid Allen (from left to right)
Background information
Origin France
Genres Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, space rock, jazz fusion
Years active 1967–present
Associated acts Pierre Moerlen's Gong
Website Official Website
Members
Daevid Allen
Gilli Smyth
Steve Hillage
Miquette Giraudy
Theo Travis
Chris Taylor
Dave Sturt
Past members
Mark Hewins
Didier Malherbe
Pip Pyle
Laurie Allan
Christian Tritsch
Tim Blake
Pierre Moerlen
Mireille Bauer
Shyamal Maitra
Bill Bruford
Graham Clark
Gwyo Zepix
Kawabata Makoto
Josh Pollock
Gabe Rogasner
Cotton Casino
Orlando Allen
Fred Barley
Fabio Golfetti
Gabriel Costa
Mike Howlett
Ian East
Gong are a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. Others who have, albeit briefly, played in Gong include Bill Bruford, Brian Davison and Chris Cutler.

History


Overview of personnel changes

Early years

Gong was formed in 1967, after Allen—then a member of Soft Machine—was denied re-entry to the United Kingdom because of a visa complication. Allen remained in France where he and a London-born Sorbonne professor, Gilli Smyth, established the first incarnation of the band. This line-up, including Ziska Baum on vocals and Loren Standlee on flute, fragmented during the 1968 student revolution, with Allen and Smyth forced to flee France for Deià in Majorca.
They allegedly found saxophonist Didier Malherbe living in a cave in Deià, before film director Jérôme Laperrousaz invited the band back to France to record the soundtrack of his movie Continental Circus. They were subsequently approached by Jean Karakos of the newly formed independent label BYG and signed a multi-album deal with them (Magick Brother/Mystic Sister, Camembert Electrique and Allen's solo album Bananamoon were all released on BYG).
Gong played at the second Glastonbury Festival in June 1971 (the performance being issued as a side-long track on the 3-LP vinyl festival record release, later re-mixed and re-edited and released by GAS in 2001), followed by a UK tour in Autumn. In late 1972 they were one of the first acts to sign to Virgin Records, getting first pick of the Manor Studio's time ahead of Mike Oldfield.[citation needed] By that time, a regular line-up had been established, and Gong released their Flying Teapot album in May 1973. The following year, Camembert Electrique was given a belated UK release, priced at 59p which was the price of a typical single, a promotional gimmick Virgin had done before in 1973 on an album by Faust, and would do again for a reggae compilation in 1976. These ultra-budget albums sold in large quantities because of the low price, but this pricing made them ineligible for placement on album charts. The intention was that purchasers would be encouraged to buy the groups' other albums at full price.

Radio Gnome

Between 1973 and 1974, Gong, now augmented by guitarist Steve Hillage, released their best-known work, the "Radio Gnome Trilogy", three records that expounded upon the (previously only hinted at) Gong mythology, Flying Teapot, Angel's Egg, and You. For about two months at the end of 1974, Bill Bruford played drums with Gong. At a gig in Cheltenham, in 1975, Allen refused to go on stage, claiming that a "wall of force" was preventing him, and left the band. With both Smyth, who wanted to spend more time with her two children, and synth player Tim Blake having jumped off in previous months, this marked the end of the 'classic' line-up. The band continued, touring the UK in November 1975 (as documented on the 2005 release Live in Sherwood Forest '75) and working on their next album Shamal with Jorge Pinchevsky on violin, but Hillage, who had been the band's de facto leader since Allen's exit, and his partner Miquette Giraudy, who had taken over from Smyth in late 1974, left before Shamal was released in early 1976. They re-joined the band briefly for a 1977 live reunion in Paris.

Pierre Moerlen's Gong and other off-shoots

Drummer Pierre Moerlen, who had been persuaded by Virgin to rejoin Gong as a co-leader with Malherbe (after his spell with the French contemporary ensemble Les Percussions De Strasbourg) in 1975, gradually took over the band's leadership. When Malherbe, the only remaining founding member, finally left in 1977, Moerlen formed a new percussion-based line-up with American bassist Hansford Rowe and percussionists Mireille Bauer and Benoit Moerlen. To avoid confusion, it became known as Gong-Expresso, and from 1978 on, as Pierre Moerlen's Gong.
Allen, however, continued to develop the Gong mythology from the late seventies up until the nineties in his solo work, and with bands such as Euterpe, Planet Gong (which comprised Allen and Smyth playing with the British festival band Here & Now), and New York Gong (comprising Allen and the musicians who would later become known as Material), while Smyth formed a separate band with Jean-Paul Vivini: Mother Gong, playing in Spain and England. Allen delighted in this proliferation of groups and considered his role at this time to be that of an instigator, travelling around the world leaving active Gong-related bands in his wake.

Reunions and Acid Mothers Gong

After spending most of the eighties in his native Australia, Allen returned to the UK in 1988 with a new project, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, whose revolving cast included the likes of Harry Williamson, violinist Graham Clark and Didier Malherbe. This morphed into GongMaison and by 1992, the name Gong was again in use, by which time early drummer Pip Pyle had also rejoined. The band released the album Shapeshifter (subsequently dubbed Radio Gnome part 4), followed by extensive touring. In 1994, Gong celebrated its 25th birthday in London, including a performance by most of the 'classic' line-up, including the returning Gilli Smyth and Mike Howlett. This formed the basis of the "Classic Gong" band which toured worldwide from 1996 to 2001 and released Zero to Infinity in 2000 (by Allen, Smyth, Howlett and Malherbe plus new recruits Theo Travis and Chris Taylor).
However, 2003 saw a radical new line-up called Acid Mothers Gong, including Acid Mothers Temple member Kawabata Makoto and University Of Errors guitarist Josh Pollock. Allen and Smyth's son Orlando Allen drummed on the album Acid Motherhood, but the drummer on most of the band's live dates was Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida.
The "Classic Gong" line-up retired from regular touring in 2001, but there were one-off reunions subsequently, most notably at the "Gong Family Unconvention" (Uncon), the first of which was held in 2004 in the Glastonbury Assembly rooms as a one day event. The 2005 Uncon was a 2-day affair featuring several Gong-related bands such as Here & Now, System 7, House of Thandoy and Kangaroo Moon. The most recent Uncon was a 3-day event held at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on 3–5 November 2006, with practically all Gong-related bands present: classic Gong (with Allen, Smyth, Malherbe, Hillage, Blake and Howlett, plus Miquette Giraudy, Chris Taylor and Theo Travis), System 7, Steve Hillage Band, Hadouk, Tim Blake & Jean-Philippe Rykiel, University of Errors, Here & Now, Mother Gong, Zorch, Eat Static, Acid Mothers Gong, Slack Baba, Kangaroo Moon and many others. These events have all been compèred by "Thom the Poet (now Thom Moon 10)".
In November 2007, Daevid Allen held a series of concerts in Brazil, with a branch of Gong, which was called Daevid Allen and Gong Global Family (Daevid Allen on vocals and guitar, Josh Pollock on guitar, megaphone and percussion; Fred Barley on drums and percussion; Fabio Golfetti on guitar, bass Gabriel Costa, Marcelo Ringel on flute and tenor saxophone), along with his other band University of Errors (Allen, Josh Pollock, Michael Clare, Fred Barley). The presentations took place in Sao Paulo on 21 and 22 November and San Carlos on November 24. These musicians - less Marcelo - recorded some new songs in the studio Mosh, in Sao Paulo. The Sao Paulo concert - 21 november - was then released only in England as DVD and CD by Voiceprint Records.
More recently in June 2008, Gong played two concerts in London: Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank (opening Massive Attack's Meltdown festival) and the Forum, with Allen, Smyth, Hillage, Giraudy, Howlett, Taylor and Travis among the lineup. This line-up then released new album 2032 in 2009 and toured in support. They played the Glade stage at Glastonbury Festival with Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy. Gong played at the Big Chill festival in the UK between on 9 August 2009 with Allen, Smyth, Hillage, Giraudy, Sturt, Taylor and Travis in the line up, at the Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, 23 August 2009, and at the Lounge on the Farm festival near Canterbury in the summer of 2009.
Gong played four UK live shows in September 2010 with Allen, Smyth, Hillage, Giraudy, Sturt, Taylor and Ian East: O2 ABC Glasgow (9th), Manchester Academy (10th), HMV Forum London (11th) and HMV Institute Birmingham (20th). Support for these shows was provided by Nik Turner's Space Ritual.

Mythology


The Gong mythology has been published on the Planet Gong website.

Flying Teapot (1973): Radio Gnome Trilogy, Part 1


Gong playing Hyde Park, 29 June 1974
Gong mythology is a collection of recurring characters, themes, and ideas that permeate the rock albums of Daevid Allen and Gong and to a lesser extent the early works of Steve Hillage. The story is based on a vision Allen had during the full moon of Easter, 1966 in which he claims he could see his future laid out before him. The mythology is hinted at through all of Gong's earlier albums but is not the central theme until the "Radio Gnome Trilogy" (1973–1974).
The story begins on the album Flying Teapot (1973) when a pig-farming Egyptologist called Mista T Being is sold a "magick ear ring" by an "antique teapot street vendor & tea label collector" called Fred the Fish. The ear ring is capable of receiving messages from the Planet Gong via a pirate radio station called Radio Gnome Invisible. Being and Fish head off to the hymnalayas of Tibet (sic) where they meet the "great beer yogi" Banana Ananda in a cave. Ananda tends to chant "Banana Nirvana Mañana" a lot and gets drunk on Foster's Australian Lager.
This latter development mirrors the real-life experience of band members Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth who met their saxophonist, Didier Malherbe, in a cave in Majorca.
Meanwhile, the mythology's central character, Zero the Hero, is going about his everyday life when he suddenly has a vision in Charing Cross Road. He is compelled to seek heroes and starts worshipping the Cock Pot Pixie, one of a number of Pot Head Pixies from the Planet Gong. These pixies are green with propellers on their heads, and they fly around in teapots.
Zero is soon distracted by a cat which he offers his fish and chips to. The cat is actually the Good Witch Yoni, who gives Zero a potion. This concludes the first album of the Radio Gnome Trilogy.

Angel's Egg (1973): Radio Gnome Trilogy, Part 2

The second album Angel's Egg (1973) begins with Zero falling to sleep under the influences of the potion and finding himself floating through space. After accidentally scaring a space pilot called Captain Capricorn, Zero locates the Planet Gong, and spends some time with a prostitute who introduces him to the moon goddess Selene.
Zero's (drug-induced) trip to the Planet Gong continues, and the Pot Head Pixies explain to him how their flying teapots fly (a system known as Glidding). He is then taken to the One Invisible Temple of Gong.
Inside the temple, Zero is shown the Angel's Egg—the physical embodiment of the 32 Octave Doctors (descendants of the Great God Cell). The Angel's Egg is the magic-eye mandala that features on much of the band's sleeve-art. It is also a sort of recycling plant for Pot Head Pixies.
A grand plan is revealed to Zero. There will be a Great Melting Feast of Freeks which Zero must organize on Earth. When everyone is enjoying the Feast, a huge global concert, the Switch Doctor will turn everybody's third eye on, ushering in a New Age on Earth. The Switch Doctor is the Earth's resident Octave Doctor, who lives near Banana Ananda's cave, in a "potheadquarters" called the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet (C.O.I.T.) and transmits all the details to the Gong Band via Bananamoon Observatory.

You (1974): Radio Gnome Trilogy, Part 3


In the third instalment You (1974), Zero must first return from his trip. He asks Hiram the Master Builder how to structure his vision and build his own Invisible Temple. Having done this, Zero establishes that he must organize the Great Melting Feast of Freeks on the Isle of Everywhere, Bali.
The event is going well, and the Switch Doctor switches on everyone's third eyes except for Zero's. For Zero is out the back, indulging in Earthly pleasures (fruitcake).
Zero has missed out on the whole third eye revelation experience and is forced to continue his existence spinning around on the wheel of births and deaths and slowly converging on the Angel's Egg in a way which, to a certain extent, resembles Buddhist reincarnation.

Citations

In episode four in the album Shapeshifter (1992), Zero meets an urban shaman who agrees to take Zero to the next level of awareness on the proviso that Zero spends nine months on an aeroplane travelling where he wants but not using money or eating anything other than airline food. Zero eventually dies in Australia under mysterious circumstances.
The last installment in the album Zero to Infinity (2000) sees Zero's spirit enjoying a body-free and virtual existence. During the course of this he becomes an android spheroid Zeroid. With the help of a strange animal called a gongalope, he learns that all the wisdom of the world exists within him and practices Lafta yoga and tea making. At the end he becomes one with an Invisible Temple and has a lot of fun.
Gong's mythology is not universally serious. Great amounts of the story pertain in some way to the production and consumption of tea (perhaps suggesting mushroom tea, although the word tea has also long been a word to describe cannabis, especially in the 1940s and 1950s). The characters of the story are often based on or used as pseudonyms for band members.

Discographies

Studio albums

Mother Gong albums

  • 1979: Fairy Tales
  • 1981: Robot Woman
  • 1982: Robot Woman 2
  • 1986: Robot Woman 3
  • 1988: Fish In The Sky
  • 1990: The Owl And The Tree (with Daevid Allen)
  • 1991: Wild Child
  • 1993: She Made The World Magenta
  • 1994: Eye
  • 1994: Tree In Fish
  • 2005: I Am Your Egg

Pierre Moerlen's Gong albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

  • 1987: Wingful of Eyes
  • 1998: Best Of Mother Gong
  • 2003: The World of Daevid Allen and Gong (3 CD compilation including almost all of the Radio Gnome trilogy & early album tracks)


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BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE rock city, Nottingham 22/04/86

Rock city, Nottingham 22/04/86

Bit rate: 320 kps

LINK: rockcitynottingham


01.Intro : This Is Big Audio Dynamite

02.Medicine Show

03.Stone Thames

04.Bad

05.Sony

06.Beyond The Pale

07.A Party

08.E=MC2

09.The Bottom Line

10.1999

11.Sudden Impact

Big Audio Dynamite

Big Audio Dynamite

Big Audio Dynamite, 1995
Background information
Origin London, England
Genres Post-punk, alternative dance
Years active 1984–1997
2011–present
Labels Columbia
Radioactive/MCA Records
Associated acts London SS, The Clash, General Public, Carbon/Silicon, Dreadzone
Past members
Mick Jones
Don Letts
Dan Donovan
Leo Williams
Greg Roberts
Nick Hawkins
Gary Stonadge
Chris Kavanagh
Andre Shapps
Michael 'Zonka' Custance
Darryl Fulstow
Bob Wond
Ranking Roger

Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) are a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of The Clash, Mick Jones. The group is noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk. BAD's one constant throughout frequent shifts in membership and musical direction are the vocals provided by Mick Jones. After releasing a number of well-received albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Big Audio Dynamite disbanded in 1997, but have announced a reunion as of January 2011.


History

T.R.A.C. (1984)

After being ousted from The Clash in 1983 and following a brief stint with the band General Public, Mick Jones formed a new band called Top Risk Action Company (T.R.A.C.) He recruited bassist Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams, saxophone player John "Boy" Lennard (from Theatre of Hate), and ex-Clash drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon. However, Headon was quickly sacked for his heroin addiction and Lennard either left or was fired and the band folded. Although the band released no material (only demos were recorded which have yet to be officially released), T.R.A.C. can be seen as a forerunner to Big Audio Dynamite in much the same way London SS can be seen as an early incarnation of The Clash.

Big Audio Dynamite (1984–1990)

Jones then formed Big Audio Dynamite with film director Don Letts (maker of The Punk Rock Movie, various Clash music videos, and later The Clash documentary Westway to the World), bassist Leo Williams (from T.R.A.C.), drummer Greg Roberts, and keyboardist Dan Donovan. In 1985 the group's debut, This Is Big Audio Dynamite, was released. The album's cover shows the group as a four-piece (minus Donovan); the full group is pictured on the back cover.

1986's No. 10, Upping St. reunited Jones for one album with former Clash band-mate Joe Strummer, who was a co-producer of the album and co-writer of a number of its songs. BAD supported U2 on their 1987 world tour, then released 1988's Tighten Up, Vol. '88 and 1989's Megatop Phoenix. Tighten Up, Vol. 88 contained "Just Play Music!", which was the second #1 single on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. The band also recorded an unreleased track called "Keep Off the Grass" which was a rock-style instrumental of the theme to the classic western film, The Magnificent Seven. A promo video can be seen on YouTube.

In 1990, the original line-up wrote and recorded the song "Free" for the soundtrack to the movie Flashback. This would be the final song written with the original lineup, as the band would dissolve shortly after. Interesting note... "Bottom Line" from the first lp was remixed and used as the title track for "Flashback." However this track was not included on the soundtrack. It can be found on the 12" or by possible download. Later in 1990, Mick Jones would debut Big Audio Dynamite II and release the UK only album Kool-Aid. Dan Donovan would remain in BAD II for one song, a re-working of the final BAD track "Free" renamed "Kickin' In".

Big Audio Dynamite II (1991–1993)

For 1990's The Globe, only Jones remained from BAD, and the band was now called Big Audio Dynamite II. This new line-up featured two guitarists. The Globe featured the band's most commercially successful single, "Rush" which hit #1 on both the US modern rock chart and the Australian National Aria Chart. "Innocent Child" and "The Globe" were also released as singles. BAD supported U2 on their ZooTV tour and released the live E.P. "On The Road Live '92".

Big Audio (1994)

The band later recruited keyboardist Andre Shapps (co-producer of The Globe) and Michael "DJ Zonka" Custance as DJ and vocalist. Both appeared on the band's 1994 album Higher Power, which was released under the shortened name "Big Audio".

Final years and subsequent activities (1995–2010)

After signing with Gary Kurfirst's Radioactive Records in 1995, the band reverted to the original "Big Audio Dynamite" moniker and released their least successful album to date, F-Punk.

Radioactive Records refused to release the next proposed BAD album, Entering a New Ride.[citation needed] The line-up contained Mc vocals by Joe Attard (Punks Jump Up), Ranking Roger (the Beat, General Public) and drummer Bob Wond (Under Two Flags) In 1998, the band launched a new web site, primarily as a means to distribute songs from the Entering a New Ride album.

As of 2005, Jones is working on a project with Tony James (ex-member of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik) called Carbon/Silicon.

In early 2007, a BAD II live DVD was released.Reunion (2011–present)

In April 2010, Don Letts revealed to Billboard.com that he and Mick Jones broached the idea of a Big Audio Dynamite reunion, which would likely happen in 2011. He explained, "I could lie to you and say 'Not in a million years,' but...if Mick wasn't tied up with Gorillaz it might happen this year. (Jones) has looked at me and said, 'Maybe next year,' but who knows. I've got to admit that in the past I'm not a great one for reformations; I always think if you're lucky in life, you get a window of opportunity, use it to the best of your ability and then fuck off and let someone else have their turn. But here I am 25 years down the line considering the thing." Besides a Big Audio Dynamite reunion, Letts says he's also hopeful for more Legacy Editions of the group's albums after finding more unreleased material—including live recordings—in the vaults. "There's definitely more stuff; whether Sony thinks it's worthwhile, that's another matter. But there seems to be a lot of respect for Big Audio Dynamite. Time has shown that a lot of the things we were dabbling in back then have come to manifest themselves today...so hopefully we'll get to do some more."

Big Audio Dynamite has since been confirmed for the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and has announced nine U.K. tour dates in March and April 1011 on their website.

Personnel

Big Audio Dynamite (1984–1990, 2011–present)

Big Audio Dynamite II (1990–1993)

Big Audio (1994–1995)

Big Audio Dynamite (1996–1998)

Discography

Albums

Year Title Chart Positions
UK [5][6] U.S. AUS
1985 This is Big Audio Dynamite
  • Release Date: October 1985
  • Label: CBS Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'
27 103
1986 No. 10, Upping St.
  • Release Date: October 1986
  • Label: CBS Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'
11 135
1988 Tighten Up Vol. 88
  • Release Date: June 1988
  • Label: CBS Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'
33 102
1989 Megatop Phoenix
  • Release Date: 5 September 1989
  • Label: CBS Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'
26 85
1990 Kool-Aid
  • Release Date: 1 November 1990
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite II', Limited Release
55
1991 The Globe
  • Release Date: 16 June 1991
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite II', RIAA Gold Certified
61 76 10
1994 Higher Power
  • Release Date: 8 November 1994
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio'
1995 F-Punk
  • Release Date: 20 June 1995
  • Label: Radioactive Records
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'
1997 Entering a New Ride
  • Release Date: 1997
  • Label: Released on the Internet independently
  • Notes: Group credited as 'Big Audio Dynamite'

Singles

Year Song Album Chart positions
UK Singles [5][7] AUS Singles [8] [9] U.S.
Hot 100 Club Play Modern Rock
1986 "The Bottom Line" This Is Big Audio Dynamite 97 34 33
"E=MC²" 11 47 37
"Medicine Show" 29 42
"C'Mon Every Beatbox" No 10, Upping Street 51 19
1987 "V. Thirteen" 49 15
"Sightsee M.C.!" 94
1988 "Just Play Music!" Tighten Up, Vol. 88 51 45 1
"Other 99" 81 13
1989 "James Brown" Megatop Phoenix 19 2
"Contact" 86 18 6
1990 "Free" Flashback soundtrack 47 22
1991 "Rush" The Globe 1 32 36 1
"The Globe" 8 72 28 3
1992 "Innocent Child" 67
1994 "Looking for a Song" Higher Power 68 24
1995 "I Turned Out a Punk" F-Punk

Compilation albums

Year Album UK U.S. Additional information
1990 Flashback soundtrack 98 86 One track, 'Free', by "Big Audio Dynamite"
1991 Ally Pally Paradiso - - Live promo album as "Big Audio Dynamite II"
1992 On the Road Live '92 - - Live EP released during their 1992 US tour
1993 The Lost Treasure of Big Audio Dynamite I & II - - Double album compilation of rare 12" cuts and b-sides
1994 Looking for a Song - - 2CD promo, Greatest Hits (Radio Edits) & 'Looking For a Song' EP
1995 Planet B.A.D. - - "Best of" compilation by all B.A.D. variants
1999 Super Hits - - "Best of" compilation by all B.A.D. variants
2000 Big Audio Dynamite I & II - - US only compilation of selected album tracks
2009 The Best of Big Audio Dynamite - - "Best of" compilation by all B.A.D. variants


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