Bananamoon Band – Bananamoon Band (2014, LP, France)

Tracklist:
A1 Pretty Miss Titty (1st Version) 4:03
A2 Rich Girl 3:45
A3 Un Oeuf For You 5:36
A4 My Mother's Gone To India/ Hare Krishna/ Time Of The Green Banana/ Remember The Name 5:25
B1 Why Are We Sleeping? 9:36
B2 French Garden (1st Version) 3:24
B3 French Garden (2nd Version) 3:31
B4 Pretty Miss Titty (2nd Version) 1:46
B5 Je Ne Fume Pas Des Bananes 5:00

Musicians:

Bass – Patrick Fontaine
Composed By – Daevid Allen
Drums, Vocals – Marc Blanc
Guitar, Lead Vocals [Lead Vocal] – Daevid Allen
Vocals – Gilli Smyth

Notes:

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 recorded in Studio CBE in March 1968.
Track 6 recorded at Antibes in July 68.
Tracks 5, 7, 8, 9 recorded at Deia in August 1968 at the Banamoon [sic!] Observatory
Limited edition 1000 copies

This is a gem of a package for anyone who’s interested in how you get from Soft Machine to Gong in a couple of years as well as for anyone who’s interested in top tier, very original psych-rock in general- this album will not disappoint on either front. More focused than the sprawling, earlier CD which contained the Banana Moon Band recordings, Daevid Allen / Banana Moon Band / Gong - Je Ne Fum' Pas Des Bananes, which padded out the CD running time with Gong and Daevid Allen tracks (and split up many of the Banana Moon Band sessions with these extraneous tracks), this release sticks strictly to Banana Moon Band material and is possibly complete in that regard as far as their recorded output goes. Elaborately packaged in a vintage style, tip-on sleeve with metallic, reflective gold background coloring on the front and back cover with a high quality clear vinyl LP inside and a collection of high quality ephemera inserts, including six extremely nice photo prints from the cover photo session inside a resealable poly-bag, this is a beautifully realized, release in the Daevid Allen/Gong canon of reissues and prestige editions. This is a very significant psych rock release and, while bridging an important gap in Daevid Allen’s career, is unlike most anything else he ever did in many ways.