Gong are one of the most singular and delightful bands in all of progressive rock. Founded by the Australian visionary Daevid Allen — a co-founder of Soft Machine — and his partner Gilli Smyth, they fused psychedelia, the Canterbury Scene, space-rock and jazz with a gleeful, self-invented mythology all their own. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of their classic years.

The short version

For the heart of Gong, start with You, Angel’s Egg, Flying Teapot and Camembert Electrique. Between them they hold the celebrated Radio Gnome trilogy and the early classic that started it all. The full ranking is below.

Pot Head Pixies and the Flying Teapot

At their peak, Gong spun a whimsical universe of Pot Head Pixies, Octave Doctors and a Flying Teapot, centred on the allegorical Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy and Zero the Hero’s journey to the Planet Gong. After Allen left in 1975, the band morphed into a virtuosic jazz-fusion outfit under drummer Pierre Moerlen — effectively a different group. A word for newcomers: this is eccentric, mythology-soaked music, an acquired taste but a joyous one. A note on the catalogue: the eight albums here run from 1970 to 1978, spanning both incarnations, with later Allen-led revivals beyond.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing invention, charm and influence across two very different eras. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate — and with a band this playful, your own ranking may look gloriously different.

The essential four

At the summit sits You (1974), the trilogy’s dazzling finale and for many their masterpiece, home to the cosmic “Master Builder” and “The Isle of Everywhere”. Angel’s Egg (1973) is the beloved middle chapter, richer and more musical, and Flying Teapot (1973) launched the whole saga with glee. Before all of it came Camembert Electrique (1971), the raw, inventive early classic that defined their sound.

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Reliably great

The next tier marks the turn toward fusion. Shamal (1976) is the graceful, transitional album that followed Allen’s departure — still recognisably Gong, but jazzier — while Gazeuse! (1976) is the first full flowering of the instrumental, mallet-percussion jazz-rock that Moerlen would make his own.

For completists

Two albums sit at the edges. Expresso II (1978) pushes the Moerlen-led fusion further still — accomplished, but a long way from the Planet Gong — and the debut Magick Brother (1970) is a rougher, more primitive psychedelic affair, fascinating chiefly for hearing the band before they found their magic.

The two eras, in order

Their classic years, 1970–1978, in chronological order — the Allen-led psychedelic era giving way to the jazz-fusion turn. Click through to the full write-up on any record.

Where to start

Begin with You — the most musically thrilling of the trilogy, and the fullest expression of everything that makes Gong special. From there, Angel’s Egg is the most charming entry to their world, and Camembert Electrique the raw early classic.

The players

Gong were a fluid, multinational collective orbiting the visionary Daevid Allen, whose “glissando guitar” — bowed and drenched in effects — gave them their eerie, shimmering signature, and his partner Gilli Smyth, whose “space whisper” vocals were unmistakable. The classic trilogy lineup added guitarist Steve Hillage, synthesist Tim Blake, saxophonist Didier Malherbe, bassist Mike Howlett and drummer Pierre Moerlen, who later steered the band toward jazz fusion. Founder Daevid Allen, co-founder Gilli Smyth and drummer Pierre Moerlen have all since passed away, but the Gong spirit plays on.

Why they still matter

Gong brought something no one else in progressive rock had — pure, joyous, psychedelic invention wrapped in a mythology you could lose yourself in. Springing from the same Soft Machine roots as the wider Canterbury Scene, and standing alongside space-rock kin like Hawkwind, they proved how much wonder and humour rock could hold — and the Radio Gnome trilogy remains one of the genre’s great delights.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: read about the best Gong songs. You can also place them in the bigger picture with our list of the best progressive rock albums of all time.

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