A Kraut, a Brit and a Yank prove….
….not every band formed after hearing THE VELVET UNDERGROUND was awful!
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It was way different for them in the beginning; HENRY COW and R.I.O. were yet to happen so their genuine weirdness was able to shine without being manipulated for other means. DAGMAR KRAUSE had been around the German scene flirting with cabaret and folk, ANTHONY MOORE was into minimalism having released the flop Lp's 'Pictures From The Cloudland Ballroom' and 'Secrets Of The Blue Bag' while the bent pop sensibilities of PETER BLEGVAD were waiting to happen. They wore their admiration for THE VELVET UNDERGROUND openly; "Just A Conversation", "Little Girls World", "Blue Flower", "Who's Gonna Help Me Now" and "Jumping Jonah" probably couldn't have been written if it weren't for that bands' existence. A one trick pony they weren't, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART gets the nod as well on "Paradise Express", "Tutankhamun" and "Mono Plane". Neither are straight copies tho, there's an unheard before or since Continental/Brit/American amalgamation going on similar in idea (only) to what GONG were up to. Undaunted by such diverse influences they also had their own sound that drew on what each member brought with them ("I'm All Alone", "Small Hands Of Stone" and "Heading For Kyoto") which is why they cleverly christened their debut "Sort Of" - an instrumental THE VELVET UNDERGROUND might've dug had it been around in the early days.