review by thomas

The second album from the Gong guitarist and Hillage’s voice do sound a lot like Daevid Allen’s and the music do sound a lot like Gong, however with no saxophones or flutes. A strong Middle Eastern flavour and – especially – a very strong touch of India can be heard throughout the album (just take the song “Om Nama Shivaya” for an example). The album can be described as an India flavoured space-rock record with a fascination for technology yet with a touch of psychedelic hippy lyrics; just listen to “Electrick Gypsies” or just read that title and you get it. And what about that spelling? I mean words like “Electrick” and “Musick”, could it be more Gong-ish?

Two of the six songs on “L” are covers; here’s a good, spacey and fitting version of Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” but here’s also a dreadful version of George Harrison’s “It’s All too Much” that just stinks (I don’t know how the original version sounds since I haven’t heard it). Otherwise this album is pretty good with a very experimental twelve minute “Lunar Musick Suite” at front. A song that according to legend was recorded only at full moon! Besides using the whole of Utopia as a backing band, the album was produced by no other than Todd Rundgren. Also appearing is Miquette Giraudy from the Gong family.

A pretty good record, very Gong like yet with a developed style of its own.