DAEVID ALLEN
''NOW IS THE HAPPIEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE''
1977
45:20
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1 Flamenco Zero 01:45 (Juan Biblioni)
2 Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do? 06:51
3 Tally And Orlando Meet The Cockpot Pixie 03:15
4 See You On The Moontower 05:41
5 Poet For Sale 03:26
6 Crocodile Nonsense Poem 00:59
7 Only Make Love If You Want To 05:33
8 I Am 11:05
9 Deya Goddess 06:41
Tracks By Daevid Allen, Except 1
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Acoustic Guitar – Juan Biblioni, Pepsi Milan
Harp – Marianne Oberascher De Soller
Synthesizer – Victor Perraino
Tabla – Sam Gopal
Strings On 2 - Ramon Farran, Vera Violin
Violin On 4 - Xavier Riba
Guitar - Daevid Allen
Harp On 8 - Marianne Oberasher
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Peter Kurtz
The follow-up to Good Morning is another tranquil, organic outing by Allen that re-introduces his imaginary green hero, Zero, from the Gong trilogy. Allen is his usual playful self, although by this time the flying teapot/pothead pixie fixation was getting a little stale. No matter, since the music wafts along at a casual pace, with unusual sounds such as tablas by Sam Gopal and harp by Marianne Oberascher.
Despite his seeming frivolity, Allen has always had a vein of counterculture protest running through his music, and this comes to fruition in "Poet for Sale," a song that Allen directs with venom toward the business end of music. "Only Make Love If You Want To" is a hypnotic piece driven by a carousel-sounding synthesizer and Allen's sly vocals. "I Am" is an 11-minute musical rendering of a Daevid Allen morning meditation from his home in Deya, Majorca. Like "Wise Man in Your Heart" from Good Morning, this tune harkens to the spacy side of Gong, with Allen's patented glissando guitar creating a serene, meditative state. The record closes with the acoustic "Deya Goddess," dedicated to the moon goddess Diana. It's an appropriate coda to Now Is the Happiest Time of Your Life, one of the most pleasant records to spring from the fertile mind of rock's oldest and most overlooked hippie poet.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
William Ruhlmann
Daevid Allen was one of the founders of the British progressive rock band the Soft Machine in 1966. After recording just one album with the group, he became the founder/leader of Gong, which he left in 1973 to begin a solo career (though his first solo album, Banana Moon, was released in 1971 while he was still in the group). Allen explored his quirky, folky take on rock throughout the '70s and '80s on albums like 1976's Good Morning and 1983's Alien in New York. His solo work also included collaborations with underground rock impresario Kramer like 1993's Who's Afraid? and 1996's Hit Men, which was released on Kramer's Shimmy Disc label. Allen returned in 1999 with Money Doesn't Make It, followed a year later by Stroking the Tail of the Bird. Nectans Glen also followed in 2000. In 2003 Allen formed a new version of Gong with members of the Japanese collective known as Acid Mothers Temple, as well as playing and releasing material with his California-based band University of Errors. He continued to release numerous live sets and one-off collaborations in limited editions on various independent labels under his own and various group names. A best-of, Man From Gong, which only scratched the surface of his lengthy discography, appeared from Snapper Music in 2006. After a battle with cancer, Allen died in Australia in March 2015 at the age of 77.
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WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
''NOW IS THE HAPPIEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE''
1977
45:20
********************
1 Flamenco Zero 01:45 (Juan Biblioni)
2 Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do? 06:51
3 Tally And Orlando Meet The Cockpot Pixie 03:15
4 See You On The Moontower 05:41
5 Poet For Sale 03:26
6 Crocodile Nonsense Poem 00:59
7 Only Make Love If You Want To 05:33
8 I Am 11:05
9 Deya Goddess 06:41
Tracks By Daevid Allen, Except 1
********************
Acoustic Guitar – Juan Biblioni, Pepsi Milan
Harp – Marianne Oberascher De Soller
Synthesizer – Victor Perraino
Tabla – Sam Gopal
Strings On 2 - Ramon Farran, Vera Violin
Violin On 4 - Xavier Riba
Guitar - Daevid Allen
Harp On 8 - Marianne Oberasher
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Peter Kurtz
The follow-up to Good Morning is another tranquil, organic outing by Allen that re-introduces his imaginary green hero, Zero, from the Gong trilogy. Allen is his usual playful self, although by this time the flying teapot/pothead pixie fixation was getting a little stale. No matter, since the music wafts along at a casual pace, with unusual sounds such as tablas by Sam Gopal and harp by Marianne Oberascher.
Despite his seeming frivolity, Allen has always had a vein of counterculture protest running through his music, and this comes to fruition in "Poet for Sale," a song that Allen directs with venom toward the business end of music. "Only Make Love If You Want To" is a hypnotic piece driven by a carousel-sounding synthesizer and Allen's sly vocals. "I Am" is an 11-minute musical rendering of a Daevid Allen morning meditation from his home in Deya, Majorca. Like "Wise Man in Your Heart" from Good Morning, this tune harkens to the spacy side of Gong, with Allen's patented glissando guitar creating a serene, meditative state. The record closes with the acoustic "Deya Goddess," dedicated to the moon goddess Diana. It's an appropriate coda to Now Is the Happiest Time of Your Life, one of the most pleasant records to spring from the fertile mind of rock's oldest and most overlooked hippie poet.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
William Ruhlmann
Daevid Allen was one of the founders of the British progressive rock band the Soft Machine in 1966. After recording just one album with the group, he became the founder/leader of Gong, which he left in 1973 to begin a solo career (though his first solo album, Banana Moon, was released in 1971 while he was still in the group). Allen explored his quirky, folky take on rock throughout the '70s and '80s on albums like 1976's Good Morning and 1983's Alien in New York. His solo work also included collaborations with underground rock impresario Kramer like 1993's Who's Afraid? and 1996's Hit Men, which was released on Kramer's Shimmy Disc label. Allen returned in 1999 with Money Doesn't Make It, followed a year later by Stroking the Tail of the Bird. Nectans Glen also followed in 2000. In 2003 Allen formed a new version of Gong with members of the Japanese collective known as Acid Mothers Temple, as well as playing and releasing material with his California-based band University of Errors. He continued to release numerous live sets and one-off collaborations in limited editions on various independent labels under his own and various group names. A best-of, Man From Gong, which only scratched the surface of his lengthy discography, appeared from Snapper Music in 2006. After a battle with cancer, Allen died in Australia in March 2015 at the age of 77.
********************
WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
2 comments :
oldrocker...
thanks for the daevid allen treats! i'd almost forgotten just how whimsical and charming these recording were (and remain today). gracias!
Thank you my friend Miles for your comment.
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