Here's another Gong album no one seems to know about, as this is basically Gong plus poet/musician Dashiell Hedayat (otherwise known as Melmoth). Evidently the lyrical content (especially on the suite "Eh, Mushroom will you mush my room?") is hallucinogen-related; it, and the back cover of the CD urges the listener to listen to the album "as stoned as impossible." Regardless, if you are an early Allen-period Gong fan, you are sure to love this one as it is CLASSIC 1971 Gong, replete with Malherbe sax solos and killer gliss guitar. Hedayat proves to be an adequate guitarist (the album was too early for Hillage) and keyboard player, and the long 20-minute track here is an incredible space flight. This album was extremely groundbreaking, as parts of it resemble the Kosmische music label such as Sergius Golowin's Lord Krishna Von Goloka, yet it was years before. The best comparison would be to Timothy Leary and Ash Ra Tempel's Seven Up with its delerious lyrics (the opener sounds very similar to the "Downtown" part of Seven Up) as it is an incredible parallel to the album.
(Originally published in Exposé #1, p. 10, Edited for Gnosis 1/19/01)
Including almost the complete line-up of Gong of that time, the music is expectedly similar with great spacerock, psychedelia, and the loony Gong humour. The music on Obsolete manages to remain accessible without compromising on the experimental side. Freaky psychedelic music with great wah-wah guitar, beautiful acoustic ballads, and free rock/spacerock elements are combined flawlessly. I think that this album surpasses the Gong albums of the time (Continental Circus or Camembert Electrique). Essential psychedelic progressive album from the French/Gong scene.
