Angel's Egg (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 2) by Gong

Angel's Egg (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 2) by Gong, released in 1973, is the second album in the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy.

The album explores the Gong mythology, with a succession of musical inventions that have made Gong a cult band for lovers of psychedelia and progressive rock.

Speaking of Gong, I can't help but mention the great  Daevid Allen,, also a member of  Soft Machine, and the space rock that distinguishes them, strongly linked to the Canterbury scene. Also featured are the great Steve Hillage (Uriel, Egg, Khan), and Tim Blake (Steve Hillage, Hawkwind), to name a few. Every member of the band is brilliant, especially on this album, without exception.

This is the Trilogy
- Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 1)
- Angel's Egg (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 2)
- You

The second chapter, Angel's Egg, from 1973, tells the story of the same protagonists, one of whom, Zero, falls asleep due to a potion and finds himself floating in space. He meets the space pilot Captain Capricorn and finds the planet Gong, where a prostitute introduces him to the moon goddess, Selene. During the journey, he meets the Teapot-Head elves, who explain flying with teapots, mentioning the technique called gliding (which is also a guitar technique—borrowed from Barrett—that Allen adopts with his guitar). He is then taken to Gong's Invisible Temple. The journey continues with apparitions of the Angel's Egg, which is the large mandala eye that appears on many of Gong's album covers and on my logo! There's also talk of a recycling plant for the Teapot-Head elves and many other exciting adventures.

All this is told in the lyrics but, above all, in the sound that atmospherically transports us into this invented world, through superb Canterbury-style jazz-rock but with an absolutely recognizable and distinctive style, the Gong style. The sequence "Flute Salad - Inner/Outer Temple" is superb, followed by "Oily Way" with a great flute and cosmic atmospheres. Vibraphone appears on one of the final tracks. The accompanying booklet explaining the story and lyrics is very nice.

A simply magnificent album that (I know I say this often, but these are just my personal opinions...) is a MUST!!!

The Tracks

1. Other Side of the Sky (7:40)
2. Sold on the Highest Buddha (4:25)
3. Castle in the Clouds (1:09)
4. Prostitute Poem (4:52)
5. Givin' My Love to You (0:43)
6. Selene (2:09)
7A. Flute Salad (2:09)
7B. Oily Way (3:37)
8. Outer Temple (1:09)
9. Inner Temple (2:34)
10. Percolations (0:46)
11. Love is How You Make It (3:27)
12. I Never Glid Before (5:36)
13. Eat that Phonebook Coda (3:12)
Running Time 43:28

Line-Up
- Daevid Allen - vocals, guitar
- Gilli Smyth - vocals
- Steve Hillage - guitars
- Tim Blake - VCS3 synthesizer, vocals
- Didier Malherbe - tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, backing vocals
- Mike Howlett - bass
- Pierre Moerlen - drums, vibraphone, marimba
- Mireille Bauer - glockenspiel