Flying Teapot (album)

Updated on Nov 22, 2024

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Released 25 May 1973 Flying Teapot(1973) Angel's Egg(1973) Release date 25 May 1973 Label Virgin Records		Length 39:45 Artist Gong Producer Giorgio Gomelsky

Recorded January 1973The Manor Studios, Oxford, UK Genres Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock, Space rock, Jazz fusion, Canterbury scene Similar Gong albums, Canterbury scene albums, Other albums

Gong radio gnome invisible

Flying Teapot is the third studio album by the progressive rock band Gong, originally released by Virgin Records in May 1973. It was the second entry in the Virgin catalogue (V2002) and was released on the same day as the first, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (V2001). It was re-issued later in the year, with different cover art, by BYG Actuel in France and Japan. Recorded at Virgin's Manor Studios, in Oxfordshire, England, it was produced by Giorgio Gomelsky and engineered by "Simon Sandwitch 2 aided by Tom Zen" (Simon Heyworth and Tom Newman).

Subtitled Radio Gnome Invisible, Part 1, it is the first of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy of albums, followed by Angel's Egg in December and You the following October. This trilogy forms a central part of the Gong mythology. The Flying Teapot idea itself was influenced by Russell's teapot. It was the first Gong album to feature English guitarist Steve Hillage, although he contributed relatively little as he arrived late in the recording process. According to Daevid Allen, "Steve Hillage arrived eventually, but there wasn't a lot of space left. He played some rhythmick wa wa [sic], some jazzy chords and a spacey solo on 'Flying Teapot'."

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #35 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

Gong flying teapot

Track listing

"Radio Gnome Invisible" (Allen) – 5:32
"Flying Teapot" (Allen, Moze) – 12:30
"The Pot Head Pixies" (Allen) – 3:00
"The Octave Doctors and the Crystal Machine" (Blake) – 2:00
"Zero the Hero and the Witch's Spell" (Allen, Blake, Tritsch) – 9:45
"Witch's Song/I Am Your Pussy" (Smyth, Allen) – 5:10

Personnel

The original personnel listing is as follows:

Pon voicebox – Dingo Virgin & Hi T Moonweed the favourite

Orgone box & space whisper – the Good Witch Yoni

VCS3box Cynthia size A & crystal machine – Hi T Moonweed the favourite

Split sax i.e. tenna & soprasox & so flooth – The Good Count Bloomdido Bad De Grasse

Gitbox – Stevie Hillside (spermguitar & slow whale), The Submarine Captain (sidereal slideguitar & Dogfoot), Dingo Virgin & others (aluminium croonguitar & stumblestrum)

VCS3 fertilised elect piano & left bank uptightright pno & Shakesperian meat bass – Francis Bacon

Drumbox kicks and knocks – Lawrence the alien

Congox – Rachid Whoarewe the Treeclimber

Road crew & trux – Venux De Luxe (switch doctor), Wiz De Kid (lights) & Duke

All CD versions have shortened versions of the track "Flying Teapot" which was shortened from 12:30 to 11:52 and a shortened version of "The Octave Doctors And The Crystal Machine" which was shortened from 2:00 to 1:51 and also "Zero The Hero And The Witches Spell" shortened from 9:45 to 9:38. This editing is a source of much controversy and disappointment to fans of the original album.

These pseudonyms, in turn, represented:

Daevid Allen – vocals, guitar

Gilli Smyth – space whisper

Tim Blake – synthesizer, vocals

Didier Malherbe – saxes, flute

Steve Hillage – guitar

Christian Tritsch – guitar

Francis Moze – bass guitar, piano

Laurie Allan – drums

Rachid Houari – congas

Francis Linon - live sound mixing

"Wiz De Kid" - lighting technician