Vinyl Vault — Gong, “Expresso II”

The Vinyl Vault will feature music from the band Gong and its album “Expresso II.” The album was released on Arista Records in 1978.

The band Gong had a bit of a complicated history. The original Gong started around 1970 and was led by Australian musician Daevid Allen. The band originally favored a spacy, psychedelic sound. As the ‘70s wore on, Allen and several other original members left the band leaving drummer Pierre Moerlen the last band member. He added new players and recorded two more albums under the Gong moniker, including “Expresso II.” Shortly after the release of that album, he changed the band’s name to “Pierre Moerlen’s Gong.” Meanwhile, other original members went on to form Mother Gong, Planet Gong, and New York Gong.

The band on “Expresso II” focused on jazz-rock fusion and was mallet-heavy with most songs featuring two vibes and/or marimba players and sometimes three. Moerlen played drums on the album as well as some vibes. His brother Benoit Moerlen also played vibes, Hansford Rowe was the bass player and Mireille Bauer played marimba and vibes. Guests on the album included Mick Taylor (former Rolling Stone) and Allan Holdsworth on guitars.

Check out this Gong album with host Geoff Anderson on the next Vinyl Vault, Tuesday, July 16 at 8:30 p.m. on KUVO JAZZ.

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