Daevid Allen & Euterpe - Good Morning

Wake up, it’s a new day!

Gong’s first album, Magick Brother, was recorded in the beautiful village of Deya on the island of Mallorca. It was to Deya that Daevid Allen retreated after leaving Gong with a purpose to stay “as clear and clean as possible” in pursuit of his musical direction. There he and his then partner and Gong co-conspirator Gilli Smyth found new collaborators in Euterpe, a band of Catalan musicians reportedly discovered covering Stairway To Heaven, and this part-mystical, part-spiritual and often whimsical solo album was born. Good Morning is a typically loveable, yet infuriating, Daevid Allen album; a charming and beguiling work meandering from nursery simplicity to deep contemplation. That it’s performed with a backing of local musicians doesn’t actually remove it, for the most part, from being texturally in touch with the Gong canon. Moreover, its delicate beauty was achieved in his modest home with a semi-professional reel-to-reel and two Revox tape recorders. Not available on CD since the early 90s, Good Morning is presented with remastered sound and restored artwork, and the bonus track Euterpe Gratitude Piece that has gorgeous instrumental moments soaked through with Spanish sunshine. An impressive album from a singular man.

Esoteric | ECLEC 2004

Reviewed by Ian Abrahams
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