Daevid Allen's University Of Errors: e2 x 10 = tenure
(2001) innerSPACE 7715
Another outpouring from the master of the history of the Planet Gong this time ably abetted by an ever increasing crew of like minded astronauts, including members of US space rock travellers MUSHROOM. From the start the disc grabs you - gliss guitar over a suitably spiky rhythm track. Almost taking off from where some of the new York Gong sessions hinted. A spacious almost dubby feel melds with the aliens sublime vocals - sublime both in the warm Australian tones that Daevid has never lost in all his many travels and in the lyrical content of the words of truth and inspiration that he is intoning to us. Some of the vocals take on an almost scat feel with small improvisations firing away at the end of lines sounding like a well-oiled and natural mantra. Daevids politics are still as radical as ever, this is ably demonstrated by the words on the inside cover of the c.d., talking of the futility of working for a 'boss' and the grind of the wage slave in their daily struggle to make a living in the face of all odds stacked against a realistic ethical living. Long passages of the c.d. take of and fly in a twisted take on the standard space-rock theme whilst all the time Daevids guitar sings and hums cutting through the static like a lighthouse. Definitely a disc that can be listened to for many reasons and in many different mindsets, from the intelligent listen in a social and ecological mood to the whacked out appreciation of the guitar and trancey sounds. As with the previous U of E c.d. and the recent Gong releases this isn't the work of a sixties throwback but the sound of an artist and thinker constantly evolving and taking part in a living music. Definitely recommended to all
(Cris Baldwin)