Daevid Allen "Banana Moon"
Australian musician Daevid Allen, known for leading the band Gong, released his first solo album "Banana Moon" in July 1971 under the French BYG Actuel label. The album is also referred to as "Bananamoon" and was later reissued as a Gong album. The record features Daevid Allen's former Soft Machine bandmate Robert Wyatt on drums and Archie Legget on bass, as well as a number of guest appearances by musicians such as Gary Wright from Spooky Tooth, Maggie Bell from Stone the Crows, and Gilli Smyth & Christian Tritsch from Gong.
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Australian musician Daevid Allen, known for leading the band Gong, released his first solo album "Banana Moon" in July 1971 under the French BYG Actuel label. The album is also referred to as "Bananamoon" and was later reissued as a Gong album. The record features Daevid Allen's former Soft Machine bandmate Robert Wyatt on drums and Archie Legget on bass, as well as a number of guest appearances by musicians such as Gary Wright from Spooky Tooth, Maggie Bell from Stone the Crows, and Gilli Smyth & Christian Tritsch from Gong.
"Memories", sung by Wyatt, was originally recorded as a demo by Soft Machine in 1967 and later covered by Material with Whitney Houston on lead vocals in 1982. "Stoned Innocent Frankenstein" was re-recorded by Allen and Here and Now as Planet Gong in 1977.
The original French release of the album had a painting by Didier Léon on both the front and back of the gatefold cover, while the BYG Actuel reissue credited the album to Gong and used the band photo as the front cover. The first UK pressing had an alternative cover drawn by Allen, featuring a peeled banana/moon playing a guitar. In 2014, an alternate version of the album called Stoned Innocent Frankenstein was released, featuring previously unreleased mixes and versions.
David Bowie included "Banana Moon" in his list of 25 favorite albums in 2003, suggesting that it may have influenced the embryonic glam style.
