GONG Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy [Remastered] Charly 2015

Hi, I came across this today at my local music store and hadn't heard anything of it's existence prior.
It's a large digipak book with the trilogy and a 4th disc of rarities from the time period, but the big claim on the sticker on the plastic wrap was that they were ALL REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES. This includes Flying Teapot which I assumed the master tapes were lost at this point. I was wondering if anyone had any info on this set. I know that in the past what Charly defines as "master tapes" (particularly with the 13th Floor Elevators) can be a bit of a stretch, but what they recently did with Gong's Camembert Electrique I thought was quite the improvement. This set I guess would be a continuation of their "Remastered Audiophile Edition" Gong releases since it was not so subtly printed on the front of the jacket just like Camembert. There's links up on Amazon for it. Thanks for anyone that can verify the sources or SQ of the set!

 

This might help.
http://www.chrismeloche.com/?p=254

 

Totally helped! Thanks Stuevts! I now know that their shady practices extend well beyond the Elevators' catalog. Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely be awaiting the Universal box set.

 

Chris Meloche, who is a member, always has great information on his blog.

 

I had a look at my blog stats earlier today and saw that there were a ton of hits on that page. All of them seemed to have been referred from the forum. I guess that this thread explains why!

Steve Hillage has mentioned that Universal will be doing a proper release of these titles with the consent and input from the surviving band members. Please be patient and wait for this version.

Cheers,
Chris

 

I'm glad I saw this thread. I recently acquired Gong's Angels Egg on CD (Virgin Records). The sound is terrific. Assuming all three of the trilogy were on the same label. and with the same sound quality. I asked my parents for Flying Teapot for Christmas. I just checked Amazon, and apparently the current version of Flying Teapot is the one with crappy sound. The current version of You is on Astralwerks (a decent label) and has bonus track and, presumably, decent sound. So I asked for that instead. I'll wait for the reissue of Flying Teapot.

 

PLEASE Don't get this. Wait for the Universal as ChrisM states above!

 

Despite owning all the virgin originals, the lp boxed set looked interesting and I had it on advanced order. However after reading Steve Hillages post I decided to cancel it. Does anyone know if the Camembert tapes reside with Virgin?

 

I'd love to hear some of this stuff in 5.1, particularly the spacier explorations on You.

 

Camembert Electrique was originally issued in France by Byg in 1971. Virgin would have licensed it from them to issue it on their label in 1974. There's a good chance that the tapes that Virgin used were a copy from the original Byg tape. So, if that is the case, the earliest master tape that Virgin would have ever owned is that copy. It hopefully still exists in the Virgin (now Universal) archives. While maybe not the first gen Byg tape, it would still be better than anything that Charley could ever come up with. My old Virgin LP that I bought back in the '70s sounds pretty nice.

 

I have the Virgin LP and recently bought the Charly reissue, neither are great, I wondering if I need to try an obtain an original BYG copy?

 

I've never heard the Byg pressing but, I don't think that CE a super high fidelity recording. I'd love to hear any feedback about a Byg pressing. However, I'm guessing that it's not a huge step up. My theory could be proved wrong.

 

I had the BYG Camembert Electrique and the sonics were not memorable. Also, I never heard any problem with the Charly remasters. Is my cheap stereo tone-deaf?

 

Charley put a half page colour advert in the November issue of Record Collector (page 4). All the buzz phrases are used - limited edition, newly remastered, original tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl.

 

Thanks for the tip. Order canceled.

 

Charly has excellent canterbury and prog catalog. Just hopping someday they put them in Hi resolution.

 

Universal is releasing these? I wonder if there's a chance for SHM SACD versions.

 

i just ordered the set... paid 63$ shipped.

i have a 1st press b&w virgin twins flying teapot....a 1st press b&w virgin twins angels egg(no booklet)....and a 1st pres color virgin twins You.

ill post my comparisons...

btw...i dont care if steve hillage told me not to buy it.... it looks like a nice box with cool extras even if the sound might be subpar.

 

I'm all for artists being treated fairly and paid for their work, but it does baffle me somewhat that ex-members of Gong so vehemently condemn this one particular release. After all, it's hardly the first time Charly releases this stuff without their consent. I don't remember them ever instructing not to buy any of the earlier Charly CDs. Even if there's a superior release in the pipeline, I can't see this release considerably affecting its sales.

 

There should be an announcement soon on the upcoming Virgin/Universal box set.......

 

Can hardly wait for the Virgin/Universal set.

 

my charly order has been pushed back top preorder status....so i guess its delayed.

 

I think they are angry because Charly has dishonestly claimed to possess the original master tapes, which reside with Virgin; the BYG issue of The Flying Teapot was basically a bootleg, issued three years after the Virgin release and in a different sleeve.

 

http://www.planetgong.co.uk/ has often detailed the bands problems with Charly.

When they sell copies of CDs on the Charly label they include the following statement:

"Note: Unfortunately, the only way the musicians will benefit in any way from sales of this release is if you buy it here - otherwise they can expect no royalties on sales or publishing.".

 

I learned of this a bit late to cancel my order; it shipped today...oh well. It'll be interesting to own these on vinyl, even if they're just place holders until something with better sound comes along. I do wonder what these were mastered from though if the original tapes are indeed in the virgin vaults... Not just high res digital files taken from original vinyl I hope... It should be here next week. I'll post when I've had a chance to listen.