Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Gong
Label: BYG Actuel
Released: 1971
Length: 39:36
Rating: 4/5
With the space-rock classic »Camembert Electrique«, Australian psychedelic wizard Daevid Allen finally sailed into the gravitational field of planet Gong and shaped the musical style he’s still best known for today. Gong, his international band based in Paris, developed a far more ‘wacky’ musical approach than Caravan and Soft Machine, the other leading pioneers of the so-called Canterbury scene of English progressive rock. In their early days it was marked mostly by elements of avant-garde rock, uncompromising psychedelia and free jazz, and to all that the unbridled singing, guitar-slinging prankster added lyrics soaked in the kind of wild imagination that can only be born under the influence of certain psychedelic substances and cannabis.
‘Bert Camembert’, as Allen called himself in this period, kicked off his intergalactic journey among radio gnomes and flying teapots together with his partner Gilli Smyth, who went by the name ‘Shakti Yoni’, or ‘good witch Yoni’, at the time, spicing up the lyrics with humor and biting social critique. Throughout most of his career Daevid was above all a great joker, and he knew how to use his psychedelically camouflaged lyrics to cleverly poke fun at the social zeitgeist at every opportunity.
In this period Allen, Smyth, reed player Didier Malherbe and bassist Christian Tristch were joined by English drummer Pip Pyle (later of Hatfield and the North, National Health, Soft Heap), who came into the band on the recommendation of Allen’s friend Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine, Matching Mole). Pyle forged a powerful rhythm section with Tristch, while Malherbe, with his jazzy arrangements on sax and flute, kept up the general mischievous vibe of the individual »Camembert Electrique« tracks.
Besides his distinctive vocal qualities, which ranged from druidic chanting to the cynical, mocking proclamations of ‘Bert Camembert’, Allen also grew as a guitarist, serving up some very interesting riffs on this record. Even so, he probably already realized back then that it wouldn’t hurt to invite a technically more refined guitarist into the band, which he soon made happen. ‘Good witch Yoni’, meanwhile, made sure the laughter never ran out, with dissonant voices and squealing through which Allen, a perfect example of the halfway point between genius and madman, depicted the calls of the typical inhabitants of planet Gong: green little gnomes in cannabis caps.
After hanging out with the whistling gnomes on the opener »Radio Gnome«, the space-rock catalyst »You Can’t Kill Me« kicks in, a chaotic ride through ‘new galaxies’ ruled by muffled guitar passages, psychedelic vocal chanting and rowdy jazzy woodwind inserts. Here we can already talk about classic Gong, even though this wasn’t yet the ultimate, classic incarnation of the cult band. »I’ve Bin Stone Before« sounds like a send-up of the sacred trappings of solemn Anglican church rites. »Fohat Dig Holes in the Space«, with its gloomy character, murky improvisations and weird sounds, is one of the most interesting experiments on the album. It then, thanks to its bewitching guitar passages and joyful whooping, plus plenty of crazy sound effects, turns into a veritable space-rock party.
Among the rare, somewhat more compact and melodic moments on the album is »Tried So Hard«, which, compared with the rest of the tracks on »Camembert Electrique«, sounds almost like psychedelic pop rock with a seriously catchy chorus. The album is rounded off by the brilliantly mad experiment »Tropical Fish: Selene««, one of the highlights of »Camembert Electrique«, where a wild psychedelic-jazz dance and sharp guitar passages bring together the strengths of every musician in perfect space-rock cohesion. The structure of the song is chopped up by countless wild improvisations and the squealing calls of the crazed ‘witch’, which make sure this psychedelic wandering around planet Gong never gets boring.
On »Camembert Electrique«, still a treat today for any fan of space rock and avant-garde psychedelia, Daevid Allen and his cosmic family of green-capped gnomes finally unveiled, from the window of a flying teapot, the view of the galaxy where planet Gong lives. »Camembert Electrique« (still) didn’t reach the colorfulness and mythological scope of the famous »Radio Gnome« trilogy, but it still counts among the key moments of classic Gong under the leadership of the cosmic captain Allen. To enjoy this kind of highly experimental space-rock music to the fullest, much like with Hawkind, you don’t need any psychedelic substances at all, just an open mind and heart for unbridled sonic experimentation, where every new listen uncovers some new sonic detail.
Line-up
Daevid Allen (“Bert Camembert”) – guitar, vocals, bass guitar (9)
Gilli Smyth (“Shakti Yoni”) – space whisper
Didier Malherbe (“Bloomdido Bad De Grass”) – saxophone, flute
Christian Tristch (“Submarine Captain”) – bass guitar, guitar (9)
Pip Pyle – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Edouard Louise (“Eddy Louiss”) – Hammond organ and piano (3)
Constantin Simonovitch – piano (5)
Production
Pierre Lattès
Track list
1. Radio Gnome Prediction (0:27)
2. You Can’t Kill Me (6:18)
3. I’ve Bin Stone Before (2:36)
4. Mister Long Shanks/O Mother/I Am Your Fantasy (5:57)
5. Dynamite/I Am Your Animal (4:32)
6. Wet Cheese Delirium (0:31)
7. Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen’s Heads (0:12)
8. Fohat Digs Holes In Space (6:22)
9. And You Tried So Hard (4:38)
10. Tropical Fish/Selene (7:36)
11. Gnome The Second (0:27)
