Shamal (album)

Shamal
Studio album by Gong
Released	1976
Recorded	at Basing Street Studios, London and at Olympic Studios, London; and mixed at Sarm Studios, London in 1975
Genre	Fusion, progressive rock, space rock
Length	40:13
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Nick Mason
Gong chronology
You (1974) Shamal (1976) Shapeshifter (1992)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Piero Scaruffi	(6/10)[2]

Shamal is an album by Gong, originally released in 1976. The album was written and recorded without the group's founder member Daevid Allen, and consequently sounds different with none of the hippy flavoured eccentricities of the previous albums. However, it still has a generally progressive rock-influenced approach (especially with regards to Steve Hillage's guitar work), slowly drifting into a jazz fusion sound. It is usually regarded as a transitional album between Daevid Allen's incarnation of the band and the Pierre Moerlen-led fusion lineup of the late 1970s. The album was produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.

Track listing

Side A

1. "Wingful of Eyes" (Howlett) – 8:19
2. "Chandra" (Lemoine) – 7:16
3. "Bambooji" (Malherbe) – 5:21

Side B

1. "Cat in Clark's Shoes" (Malherbe) – 7:45
2. "Mandrake" (Moerlen) – 5:07
3. "Shamal" (Bauer, Howlett, Lemoine, Malherbe, Moerlen) – 8:58

Personnel

• Pierre Moerlen – drums, vibraphone, tubular bells
• Jorge Pinchevsky – violin
• Mireille Bauer – percussion, glockenspiel, xylophone, gong, marimba
• Sandy Colley – vocals
• Didier Malherbe – flute, bansuri, wind, gong, soprano sax, tenor sax
• Miquette Giraudy – keyboards, vocals
• Mike Howlett – bass, bass guitar, vocals
• Patrice Lemoine – organ, piano, synthesizer, keyboards
• Steve Hillage – acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar

Production

• Nick Mason: Producer
• Clive Arrowsmith: Artwork, Photography
• Phil Ault: Engineer
• Dave Hutchins: Engineer
• Ben Tavera King: Engineer
• Rick Curtain: Engineer
• Ben King: Engineer

References