Those in tune with being transported through music will want to station themselves near the speakers for Motivation Radio. Call it the "light side of the moon," this album draws the listener into its own astral plane with a glossy and gauzy sound similar to Pink Floyd without the darkness, or Alan Parsons Project without the dorkiness. The new age/space ideology isn't far removed from Gong's original alternate reality (remember the Octave Doctors?), spelled out best during the album's true point of transmigration, "Saucer Surfing." Hillage's guitar work is typically transcendent, Giraudy's keyboards a vital component (note the Doctor Who-isms of "Searching for the Spark"), and Joe Blocker's drums a frequent breath of change. Steve Hillage doesn't have the vocal presence to reach out to listeners; at best, he can meet them halfway.
Motivation Radio works as well as it does because it draws listeners to that halfway point (and beyond), steering them with spiritual signposts and rewarding them with rapturous music. It's a remarkably smooth journey, more accessible than L, if equally cosmic. Again, it was an idiomatic cover tune, "Not Fade Away," that became the single; though an odd way to end the record, it wouldn't have made any sense in the middle. The rest of the record is a contiguous collection of music. So tune in and bliss out.
by Dave Connolly
1. Hello Dawn - 2:49
2. Motivation - 4:10
3. Light In The Sky - 4:11
4. Radio - 6:13
5. Wait One Moment - 3:20
6. Saucer Surfing - 4:20
7. Searching For The Spark - 5:31
8. Octave Doctors - 3:33
9. Not Fade Away (Glid Forever) (Norman Petty, Glen Hardin)- 3:28
10.Leylines To Glassdom (Tonto's Version) - 2:52
11.The Salmon Song (Original Power Trio Backing Track) - 9:12
12.The Golden Vibe (Alternative Mix) - 2:50
Music by Steve Hillage, Lyrics by Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy, unless as else stated
Musicians
*Steve Hillage - Guitar, Synthesizer, Vocals
*Joe Blocker - Drums
*Reggie McBride - Bass
*Malcolm Cecil - Synthesizer
*Miquette Giraudy - Synthesizer
1976 Steve Hillage - L (2007 remaster)
1978 Steve Hillage - Green (2007 remaster and expanded)
1979 Steve Hillage - Open (2007 remaster)
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