01	Expresso						05:58
	02	Night Illusion						03:42
	03	Percolations Part 1						03:52
	04	Percolations Part 2						06:09
	05	Shadows Of						07:48
	06	Esnuria						08:01
	07	Mireille						04:12

Virgin (Carol 1660-2)
UK/France 1977

Didier Malherbe, tenor sax, flute;
Pierre Moerlen, drums, vibraphone, marimba, timpani, glockenspiel;
Allan Holdsworth, guitars, violin, pedal steel;
Mireille Bauer, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, toms;
Benoit Moerlen, vibraphone;
Mino Cinelou, percussion

Sean McFee:
This release is from the later fusion incarnation of Gong. Personnel includes Pierre Moerlen on drums and percussion (including gong), Allan Holdsworth on guitar and Didier Malherbe on tenor sax and flute. Writing credits are about half-divided between Holdsworth and Moerlen, except the final track which is by early Magma bassist Francis Moze (credited on fretless, gong and piano).
As one would expect from musicians of this pedigree, the material is rather busy in parts, and entirely instrumental. The drumming, especially, is very proficient. Guitar work doesn't tend to overemphasize speed, being closer to the texture-laden stuff Holdsworth was doing with UK. In fact, the band's ability to lay back rather than charging forward all the time with needless chops is appreciated. About half of side one consists of "Percolations", a jam consisting mostly of vibes and drums. Needless to say, it's a Moerlen contribution. The rest is fairly standard fusion, skillful but not necessarily captivating at all times. Fans of the sub-genre shouldn't be disappointed however, even if the material is a departure from the early Gong concept.
Joe McGlinchey:
The strongest of the late 70s, Pierre Moerlen-led Gong albums, Gazeuse! (a.k.a. "Expresso") shows the band fully casting off the tongue-in-cheek, psychedelic domination of the Allen-led period for a new, vibrant fusion style. The all-instrumental album picks up the considerable slack left by the band's previous effort, Shamal. Departed are Mike Howlett and Patrice Lemoine, replaced by, among others, bassist Francis Moze (Magma, Rhesus O) and a lean 'n' hungry Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, U.K., Bruford) on guitar. "Expresso" is a lively and enthusiastic opener, featuring a burning solo by Holdsworth. I've read that nowadays he hates the work he did in Gong; that's too bad. There is also the sparkling wall-of-marimbas sound that characterized the band at this point, and some great sax by "Bloomdido" Malherbe. The two-part "Percolations" features Moerlen at his best, gettin' medieval on his drumkit and a poor, defenseless timpani, while the other tuned percussion players shred away. The album's cool as a mintdrop closer is the jazzy/ambient "Mireille" (named after band member Mireille Bauer), composed by Moze on Rhodes piano (he's an accomplished keyboardist as well) with Holdsworth providing some supportive, delicate acoustic work. If you want to hear the late 70s Gong at their peak, I say this is the one.




Gong - Gazeuse!

Member: Prog Owl

Allan Holdsworth - Guitars Pedal Steel, Violin
Mireille Bauer - Percussion, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Tom-Tom, Vibraphone
Mino Cinelu - Percussion
Didier Malherbe - Flute, Sax
Benoit Moerlen - Percussion, Vibraphone
Pierre Moerlen - Drums, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Tympani [Timpani], Vibraphone
Francis Moze - Pianos, Gong, Fretless Bass


Having left the Planet Gong far far behind, drummer Pierre Moerlen had taken the helm of Gong from the departed Daevid Allen and completely recast it as a fusion band, starting with the previous effort Shamal

Here, what sounded tentative on Shamal became incredibly confident on Gazeuse, aided no doubt by the strong writing and playing of that mercurial guitar stylist Allan Holdsworth. All the elements of a successful change were in place, strong melody, rhythms that never lapsed into tedium, a unique frontline of twin vibes and strong compositions to boot.

My favorite pieces tend to be the Allan Holdsworth ones like the mysterious and intense "Shadows Of-Pts 1&2" (featuring Allan doing a snarly ring-modulated solo) and the soaring "Night Illusion". "Percolations 1 and 2" is Pierre Moerlen's chance to shine bringing the whole affaire to a rousing conclusion with one of the most captivating drum solos ever put on record (and believe me, I normally can't sit through drum solos but this is one serious exception)! Very untypical is the romantic ballad "Mirielle" at the end, it's romantic and colorful without being in any way sappy or cloying. Without vocals to mess it up, it gets its point across beautifully, not unlike a first kiss with someone you are madly in love with. "Expresso" contains one of the most lyrical and beautifully developed Holdsworth guitar flights these ears have ever heard.

Add to all this, incredibly crisp production and engineering from one Dennis McKay (who also loaned his amazing ears to Brand X around the same time) and it makes for one very enjoyable listen.

Sadly, Gong under Pierre Moerlen's leadership would never scale these heights again, but I am grateful that for a moment in time, it worked so beautifully!