You

This 1974 release is both the conclusion of Gong's famed Flying Teapot trilogy and the peak of the initial iteration of the band led by Australian singer/songwriter Daevid Allen. Evolving from the post-psychedelic swirl of Gong's early albums, You is the most musically sophisticated recording by the Allen-fronted version of the band, fusing visceral jazz-rock with spacy electronics. You created a high-water mark for what would eventually be dubbed "space rock." Just as crucial to the concoction are Allen's satirical sense of humor and his accordingly offbeat mythological narrative, elements that would disappear from Gong when he left after You's release. On You, Tim Blake's cosmic synthesizer textures, Didier Malherbe's post-bop sax lines, and Steve Hillage's Hendrix-goes-sci-fi guitar patterns blend to create a unique world, with Allen's oddball vision providing form and forward momentum on what stands as a shining moment of '70s progressive rock.