Allegedly at one point the farewell release by
Flying Saucer Attack, at least if the title indicated as much, Goodbye brings together "by chance," to quote the liner notes, three separate recordings. More or less the last release featuring Brook, who can just barely be seen with Pearce on the back cover, Goodbye finds
FSA pushing into even more abstract realms than before. Even the most outré
FSA songs beforehand had central melodies or vocal hooks, but the series of edits that make up the title track lead from one slice of randomness to another, feedback loops to out-of-nowhere squalls and guitar grind to a soft piano figure. A useful comparison point would be
Main, but with less obvious structure. "And Goodbye" is a separate instrumental recorded live, featuring one of Pearce's heroes, cult New Zealand guitarist
Roy Montgomery, jamming with the band.
Montgomery is credited with the lead, his own considerable talents perfectly suited for the exploratory work of
FSA, though he intriguingly doesn't play a "typical"
Montgomery guitar part, instead matching the band's own general aesthetic direction. Recorded on Dictaphone, the sound quality is anything but clean, but it actually adds to the song's weird charm, adding even more murkiness than usual. The last track, "The Whole Day," is actually an instrumental preview of the song of similar name from New Lands. The ambient feedback introduction to the song was not repeated on the later release, giving this version its own unique appeal -- otherwise, the steadily paced guitar shimmer here is the same as on New Lands, drizzling down like electric rain. ~ Ned Raggett