| Gentle Giant | review #2 | review #3 | 1970 |
| Acquiring The Taste | review #2 | 1971 |
| Three Friends | review #2 | 1972 |
| Octopus | review #2 | 1973 |
| In A Glass House | 1973 |
| The Power And The Glory | 1974 |
| Free Hand | review #2 | review #3 | 1975 |
| Interview | 1976 |
| Playing The Fool - The Official Live | 1976 |
| The Missing Piece | 1977 |
| Giant For A Day | 1978 |
| Civilian | 1980 |
| In Concert (BBC Radio 1) (live) | 1994 |
| King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents (live) | 1998 |
| Live In Rome 1974 | 2000 |
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Funny Ways, Alucard, Isn't It Quiet And Cold? LOW POINTS: Nothing At All.
Debut albums are often a great opportunity to define the sound of a band, and Gentle Giant sure do take advantage of this here. Don't be put off by their somewhat corny band name - this is quite a convincing brand of condensed prog in attempting to compress musically ambitious segments in a mostly four to six minute time frame - it's a diverse mix of very unique medieval inspired harmonies, with blues, classical, hard rock and King Crimson influences thrown in (the latter band's In The Court Of The Crimson King released the previous year also inspired the cover art to this one). The band's sound is a tad bit rough around the edges here, as some of the musical shifts don't always quite gel together, and there is a bit of needless filler-quality noodling, but other than that, there is some impressive, and occasionally even innovative, material to be found within.
The first side in particular is a really captivating stretch, with the opening "Giant" definitely a defining track for the band. It has a quiet fade-in that leads into a seemingly straightforward horn driven rocker with nice guitar breaks in the verses. Derek Shulman's vocals also present the sort of rough sound, too, but its' tempo and mood take a different, orchestrated turn in the middle. It wanders off a bit too much musically, but it's certainly a nice startoff song. In contrast is the lighter, extremely pretty violin-ballad "Funny Ways". I tend to like the softer side of the band best, and this one is certainly a big representative of it, since it contains an absolutely beautiful melody and angelic vocals from Shulman's brother Ray. And in another thrilling change, it shifts in its' middle to a groovy Kinks-ish piano section, then effectively turns into an awesome guitar solo. If any song on here earns the title of 'masterpiece', it's this one.
"Alucard", meanwhile, happens to be the most Crimson-like track here, as it utilizes the horns most obviously, but what really distinguishes the song is that the horns gel together perfectly with the rocking main synth part to the tune (one of the first meaningful early uses of them on a rock album, in fact), and the way it all comes together with the eerie, harmonized singing at the start of the tune is positively thrilling. The band can also be quite charming, as "Isn't It Quiet And Cold?" is highlighted by more gorgeous singing from Ray and an extremely fun, quirky melody - it also marks the appearance of a rather ominous and curious synth part that appears throughout the rest of the album to give it an almost conceptual unity.
Too bad the band couldn't write more soothing numbers like this in the remaining songs, however, as that one certainly works much better than the 9 minute "Nothing At All". This one starts off promisingly enough, with acoustic verses that hint at a dramatic epic, but after the song turns into a hard-hitting rocker, it loses all of its' flow by turning into a drum solo/piano wankfest in the middle that doesn't accomplish anything. At least the bluesy "Why Not?", an underrated, catchy rocking tune with fine soloing at the end (plus the hilarious lines in the middle about 'climbing a hill with someone you hate') makes up for it a little with fine energy, though the last track "The Queen" is kind of a pointless (though short) reworking of "God Save The Queen" that feels somewhat unfulfilling as an end, perfectly illustrating the unevenness of this album. Despite this inconsistency in the second half, though, the album really hints at what this band could do with the style they've developed, with its' fair share of classics already.
This is a daring debut album from this underground progressive Rock band. Unlike Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's pretentious keyboard dominated sound, or Yes's professional and aggressive sound, Gentle Giant go for dynamic and shorter tunes, along with challeging melodies, while bringing in elements of blues, classical, and Renaissance music to the mix. On this album though, they haven't quite found their perfect sound yet, although they are already pretty diverse here.
The first song that kicks off their career, "Giant", contains some of their trademarks; clean and efficient melodic guitar lines energize this song, with a slow orchestrated jam in the middle. On The softer side of prog though, are the two gems, "Funny Ways", a thoughtful sweetly-sung ballad driven by cellos and an ambitious middle part, and "Isn't It Quiet and Cold" which has an even better melody and a little xylophone solo. "Alucard" is a twisted and strange tune with layers of saxes, horns, keyboards, and bass in it. Some of the other tunes like "Nothing At All" and "Why Not?" are more on the bluesy side, especially the latter with its guitar wanking. Last of all is "The Queen", which sounds stupid but I think this is a traditional tune; if so, it's a good finale anyway.
Wow. This is really one weird album. But it's good. Well, Apart from the boring "Nothing At All" (which seriously disappoints me, since I normally love 9+ minute prog songs, especially ones that don't use half of their length on a stupid drum solo) and the pointless closer "The Queen," these songs kick. Plus I adore that guy's voice. No kidding. His unique style of whatever you want to call it type vocals just absolutely cracks me up, and even though my favorite work of his comes from the title track to Free Hand, his singing on the band's debut is good enough for me. Derek also has a brother, Ray, who sings some of the stuff on here. He has a much more pleasant voice, and that's occasionally a nice change from Derek's... whatever you want to call it. Throw in the fact that most of these songs are awesome and you have a solid debut album.
Opening things up is "Giant," a great rocking track that gives a great taste of the band's unique style. "Funny Ways" is a much quieter song with Ray leading the vocals, and the result is quite pretty. The strings are an excellent addition to enhance the mood of a wonderful "I Talk To The Wind" style prog ballad. "Alucard" returns things to insanity, but it's a good kind of insanity, and certainly a kind worth listening to. It never feels like too much chaos for me, and I love it. Following is my favorite on the album, "Isn't it Quiet and Cold?" which has a silly, almost childish mood, but a melody so incredible and memorable that the final result is a progressive rock mini-masterpiece.
"Why Not?" is definitely not as good, in fact only parts of it are great (especially the part about the hill and the solo about half way through), but there are enough of these parts to call it a decent song. It's a fitting addition to one of the craziest prog albums ever, a debut that's almost a parody of In the Court Of The Crimson King (and not just the cover either), and while it isn't as good as King Crimson's debut (few are), it is probably the best place to start with the band.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Pantagruel's Nativity, The House The Street The Room, Wreck, Edge Of Twilight. LOW POINTS: Plain Truth.
Gentle Giant's debut album might have been a rather interesting introduction to their one of a kind progressive sound, but it's their second effort where the songs just seem to become more focused in their approach and structure. The material on Acquiring The Taste often goes through rather odd shifts that somehow gel together, with complex especially arrangements and instrumentation. As a result, there are a few really knockout tracks here, and the overall mood of the album as a whole approaches something special at points - there seems to be an overwhelming night feel to the vibe, where everything is peaceful yet decidedly ominous and majestic all at once. Great melodies, too - they might have a somewhat challenging twist to them, but once one actually gets used to the sound, they are highly engaging and memorable.
It certainly starts off on a startiling note - the opening song "Pantagruel's Nativity" is, simply put, a masterpiece. Led by Ray Shulman's soaring, angelic voice and an equally heavenly melody, these two factors work perfectly with the haunting atmosphere created by the instruments, with a simply classic guitar riff thrown in between the vocal parts. The harmony portions of the song rule mercilessly as well, and only contribute to the finest piece on this whole effort. "The House, The Street, The Room", though, is right behind it in terms of quality, as it has such a great rough edge in the doomy riff and Derek Shulman vocals, and the drama is heightened very well when the acoustic guitar break merges with the harmonies. Not to mention the vocal melody has powerful conviction, and the dissonant middle where all the instruments quietly go crazy in the background is challenging but really effective for the mood.
There are also very odd atmospheric pieces on here, with "Edge Of Twilight" being the most curious of these. The slow, foreboding rhythm and unorthodox melody is a bit of an 'acquired taste' for sure, but it's given an eerie yet beautiful tone through Ray's vocals, and the way the rest of the band's instrumental wackiness adds to it is quite interesting. The orchestral tones of "Black Cat" are another really neat pleasure - maybe a little too much so, as the flow between the verses and soloing (mostly between cellos) is a little iffy, but the melody is very mysterious and well-crafted, so I can't complain too much. And finally, the title track is a short synth instrumental that works well as a sort of break to end the first side.
Meanwhile, out of the remaining tracks here, I've gotten quite a bit of appreciation out of the hard rock-based song "Wreck", mostly because the verses are really entertaining with that 'heeeeeeey yeah, hold on' chanting after each line, and I love that cool medieval section after the tune's first fade out. The harpsichord-laden "The Moon Is Down" is also very good, with an interesting arrangement, the typically weird harmony work in full force, gorgeous overtones in the middle and dramatic end. That leaves the 7-1/2 minute closer "Plain Truth", a decidedly 'ehh' tune featuring awkward interplay between the violin and bluesy guitar, awkward chorus melody, awkward and tiresome endng, you get the idea. Thankfully, it's the only real stinker on this otherwise excellent sophomore effort that seems to be an improvement over the last album in most cases, so I can call it a high 8.5 as opposed to the low 8 there.
This is the release in which Gentle Giant's sound comes together; the melodies are getting more challanging and tricky, and the band's interesting mix of hard rock, midieval harmonies, classical, and blues is certainly stronger on this second outing than it was on their debut. They state in the liner notes that their mission is to 'expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular', and they do keep true to that goal on this unique and very uncommercial (even for prog music) album. Acquiring The Taste is defintely a challanging listen in parts, and difficult to get used to because of some of the subtle (yet elegant) instrumentation, but once you get used to the complicated Rennessance-type vocals and melodies it's pretty rewarding.
The sound of a moog synthesizer starts off the opener "Pantagruel's Nativity", an incredible song with some haunting guitar flourishes and strong intertwining vocals. This tune contains a superior melody with all the instruments mixing freely together, and an amazing dynamic riff holding everything together in place on this highlight. "The House, The Street, The Room" is superb too; it contains a couple beautiful and quiet parts, and a melodic and unique riff that gives the tune an eerie edge, with a soaring and quite hard-rocking guitar solo highlighting the middle of the track. The most disturbing part of the song is the way the almost tuneless piano, violins, and instruments meld together in the middle part quite masterfully (definitely have to pay attention to it to realize that it works). Those are the two undisputed and lengthy highlights on here, but the soft and melodic "The Moon Is Down", which has some down-to-earth harpsichord, probably has the sweetest and best melody.
"Black Cat" (the most atmospheric song with very odd cello soloing), "Acquiring The Taste" (a short moog synthesizer tune), and "Wreck" (kind of annoying at first but is really quite melodic and grows on you) are important and strong tunes too. "Edge Of Twilight" has the most difficult melody, and really is an acquired taste (it defintely holds the record as the most challenging song on here). "Plain Truth", the longest tune on here, is the only real unconvincing song on here. The playing is great througout, but it is more normal than the others, and it's mix of blues with violin playing doesn't really work too well. Besides that, this album is wholly successful and shows off Gentle Giant's best talents.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Schooldays. LOW POINTS: None.
From conversations they had while probably playing Dungeons and Dragons or something like that, the Shulman brothers apparently had it in their head that they would make a concept album. How about that - one of the most difficult and complex progressive bands of the early 70's throwing a rock opera at us. This idea, however, is a bit deceptive - the concept behind Three Friends is actually not complex at all - it's basically the story of three friends at school and their adventures together and apart. Not only is it conceptually simple, the album is also pretty darn normal by Gentle Giant's musical standards - the songs do generally have complex playing, but the structures of these songs aren't really as irrational or unpredictable as they normally might be. Maybe this was a little bit of a breather for the next album? But in any case, call this one the most accessible of their 'classic period'.
There's also the fact that many of these songs, while none of them are bad as a whole at all, all have slightly bothersome flaws that keep them out of greatness. Take the opening song "Prologue" - you'd think this was a short little introductory tune for the concept, right? Nope - it's basically a 6 minute jam with only occasional vocal parts and fairly rambling jamming the rest of the time. But that said, I love the kickass guitar riff that shows up throughout, and the song as a whole is pretty decent, if overlong. There's also "Working All Day", whose actual vocal melody and solo portions are really engaging, but there's just something about the quality of the rough Derek Shulman vocals, the instrumentation and the production that makes it sound a little ugly to these ears.
As for the most frustrating song, that would have to be "Peel The Paint" - the delicate orchestral Ray Shulman 'brush' part is pretty, the 'nothing's been learned, no nothing at all' Derek countermelody is exciting, and the guitar and organ solos kick, but the fact is that the arrangement to this song does not work at all. The individual parts might be somewhat good, but the overall effect makes it so the song seems twice as long as it is. The remainder of "Mister Class And Quality?" also never comes close to living up to its' great bassline/violin part at the start of the song, as fun as the soloing might be. And there's that really irritating flaw in the CD index where the closer "Three Friends", starts at 2:28 into the last track. Not that I can hold this against the album, especially since that one is a pretty majestic, well-harmonized ending to the concept, though it's not really long or full enough to make as much of an impact.
Okay, if it seems like I've complained too much about the album so far, bear in mind that all of these songs are decent to good as a whole, and there is one true masterpiece here in the form of "Schooldays". The arrangement is absolutely brilliant on this one, with the really complex and exciting vibraphone/guitar intro or whatever that is, the great burst of tricky harmonizing in the opening verses ('the bell rings... etc.') and the incredibly hook-filled chorus ('schooldays together...') I also love how in the middle of the song it shifts over to a dark piano based middle bit containing a really ominous melodic tone before it later returns to its' original form. Great! That one may be the only classic on the album, and Three Friends as a whole may be a flawed step down from the first two efforts in quality, but there's still some very interesting and effective music here.
On this somewhat less challenging follow-up, Gentle Giant go for a more mainstream prog-rock sound, without losing the qualities that make them distinctive. Though much of this album is fairly dynamic, there are more lighter and playful moments than before, like the first half of the odd and springy "Schooldays". Basically, this is a loose concept album about the lives of three school friends, and how their lives differ now that they are fully grown. The musical ideas that Gentle Giant portray on here are usually good, but the production is sometimes dissapointing and the tunes aren't always effective. Sure, the playing is better and more playful now, but sometimes it just disguises a fairly uninteresting tune like "Working All Day", though the backing saxes and organ solo in the middle of this song is nice.
"Peel The Paint" is almost ruined in the beginning because the orchestration seems to be strangely turned down way too low (what were those engineers thinking?), and the blues meanderings at the end of the track seem a little out of place. The rough-edged and doomy middle section is great though, which has some honking saxes backing up the fuzzy riff. I wouldn't say that there are any bad songs on here, it's just that a few parts of the songs don't work. That can't be said for the jazzy and melodic instrumental opener "Prologue" though, which starts the album off on a high note. This bright-sounding, tight, quirky, and energetic song, which has a neat instrumental buildup middle part (a high moog synthesizer highlights this part), is the best song on here and sums up what the best qualities of Three Friends are.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Knots, The Advent Of Panurge, Raconteur Troubadour, River. LOW POINTS: None.
The previous three albums might have been quite unique in their approach to the progressive rock style, but I think it was at this point where Gentle Giant's creative ambitions truly gelled together. Of course, one could easily complain that Octopus is merely 'complexity for complexity's sake', as the whole point of most of these songs seem to be to cram in just about as many weird and neat ideas into pop-song length structures as possible. This can be a nightmare if you're not used to the sound - the instrumental bits at first seem engaged in pointless, constant time changes as if the band is saying, "Look at how complex we are!" Of course, an approach like this doesn't always work and can lead to disasterous results and awkwardness, but in this case it really does - in spite of all the seemingly irrational ideas, somehow it all seems to gel together in a cohesive whole that's quite breathtaking. A lot of the melodies and ideas here are just so neat that they're downright captivating in spite of their craziness.
Especially side one, which is a near-classic case of condensed prog rock at its' best. "The Advent Of Panurge" in particular is a completely quintessential example of their talent for insanely complex, yet engaging and memorable, fast melodies that are so apparent in the opening verse portions, but there's even more to it than that. The instrumentation in the background seems to flow around in a crazy whirlwind, and there are a couple other really interesting ideas, like the slightly ominous piano line that the band members start improvising totally random lyrics over, and the triumphant 'look at my friend, look around my friend' horn part. Man, this song is under 5 minutes long? That's hard to believe. It's also not surprising that their version of straightforward hard rock, "A Cry For Everyone", veers off randomly into various instrumental sections, my favorite of which being the fast keyboard/guitar interplay portion and the noisemaking bit right before the last verse. Now this is cool stuff!
The band also nails down a medieval sort of atmosphere wonderfully on "Raconteur Troubadour", and the melody just sounds so authentic, yet perversely catchy in a totally engaging manner - just the way the tempo of it builds and moves in all different directions is a completely genius idea, plus I also have to say the keyboard playing here totally suits the song. And of course, there's "Knots". Like... how the heck do I describe this? Simply put, this piece has one of the most creative and extremely complex, but precise, vocal harmony arrangements ever captured on record, with ridiculous lyrics flowing through them 'ALL... MEN... IN... EACH MAN... HE... CAN... SEE SHE CAN'T .. etc.' This is a song that should not work, and instead should crumble under the weight of its' own pretentiousness, but somehow, incredibly, it gels. I don't know how, but it's brilliant, executing the general 'jigsaw puzzle' concept in totally irrational fashion. And it has the coolest dissonant xylophone solo ever! I love it to death!
Now inevitably, we have the problem of the second side here being potentially overshadowed by what came before it, and while it is somewhat less spectacular in quality, I wouldn't call any of these songs particularly weak at all - I even like the ones that are generally considered to be the less notable tracks on here quite a bit. The instrumental "The Boys In The Band", while sometimes a little overlong and repetitive, has quite a neat and exciting repeating guitar part that serves as the main 'hook' for the various jams here to revolve around, and "Think Of Me With Kindness" is something of an attempt at a completely normal, personal ballad. While Gentle Giant doing a song like this may seem somewhat awkward at first (it does seem out of place here, too), it's genuinely moving in its' melody and piano-based arrangement, with nice angelic vocals and a great refrain. Plus, I find it funny how they just can't keep the simplicity going, not being able to resist throwing in a bizarre little melody in the middle ('the laugh... that love... could not forgive...')
The remaining tracks on side two are also neat diversions (heck, aren't all of them?). "Dog's Life" is another ballad-style song that may seem nice, especially since the melody is catchy, but the way the cellos seem somewhat dissonant throughout (not to mention those cool buzzing noises in the middle!) make the tone seem uneasy, plus the symbolic lyrics that are actually quite a biting stab towards the band's roadie. And finally, the closing "River" is my personal favorite track on the side (and believe it or not, the only one that exceeds 5 minutes long) - the mixture of violins with a distinct bluesy feel, especially within the guitar solo, truly captivate the entire time, especially with the number's complex, multi-faceted melodies and moods, particularly the main vocal melody to the entire piece. Again, I'll say that Octopus may be (sometimes overly) difficult to get used to, but there's so many neat ideas and arrangements here that it becomes totally rewarding once you really get into it. And by the way, it's only 34 minutes long. How amazing is that? In case you haven't figured it out, I think of this as Gentle Giant's peak, and that's reason enough to make it essential.
Three Friends was perhaps Gentle Giant's most 'normal' progressive rock album; the songs were complex and changed tempo quite a bit, but they were wholly accessible and just not that odd or 'experimental'. On Octopus though, their next release, the band sets its' goals to do something all the more dissonant and weird. From the opening minutes of "The Advent Of Panurge", where the Shulman brothers start singing the first verse of 'There coming over Charaton Bridge....', their vocals intertwine complexly around each other in circles against a bit of playful and low-key bass/electric guitar. That minute alone already makes it apparent that Octopus is going to be a bit mind-boggling and fantastic to the ear - it's not called their magnum opus for nothing.
Gentle Giant will boggle and surprise you with the incredible amount of time signature changes that happen in each and every track, the imaginative vocal gymnastics, which actually reach mathematical precision in the bizarre "Knots", and the entertainingly fast melodies found through-out. Except for a few random musical twists and/or time signature changes that seem a bit unnecessary, most of the time they are well thought-out, weirdly exciting, and generally effective. This is quite unlike some of the pointless changes found on Three Friends material like "Peel the Paint", which has that inappropriate blues excursion at the end of it. Anyway, the actual album is only thirty-four minutes long, but just like the octopus that's crammed into a jar on the front cover, the songs are very compact, tight, and focused; in other words, a bunch of proggy tunes that hover in-between three and six minutes.
Often forcefully played, with cozily brittle, hard-driving electric guitars clashing neatly against (sometimes) extremely loud keyboards and moog synthesizers, the songs are only empowered by the upfront and harshly bright production job. "A Cry For Everyone" is the best example of how hard-hitting things can be, as it un-expectedly goes from being a complex riffy-rocker to its' almost unrelated instrumental sections. There are time changes abound here as the admittedly limp, but pleasant piano-led part leads into the main spiralling keyboard/guitar hook tag, and then into a dense little jam where the bright moogs effectively take over and make some crazy effects alone. Then back into the main riff again. It's not the best tune on here (though still quite good), but it certainly gives you a good idea of the records spirit and what it does.
The previously mentioned "The Advent of Panurge" sure is a winner though. The complex little melody that appears in the beginning soon gives way, by introduction of a few glorious keyboard notes, to a jazzy melody that dramatically layers on the guitars and keys until a climax is reached for one of the Shulman bro's to sing "Then said he fair Pantagruuuelll .. My name is Panurge and I have coommme from Hell!". The horn-led part following it sounds a bit goofy in the context of the song, but the song as a whole is very lively, exciting, and melodic. Next is the Renaissance-flavored and just-as-excellent "Raconteur Troubadour", an odd-paced tune that is built on an infectious melody that breaks off into fast little keyboard playing, and which contains a grand string-laced instrumental break.
Elsewhere, there is the pretty-sounding "Dogs Life", which contains a dissonant edge in the cello's during the main verses (great tune, but a minor complaint is that there are a few moments where the cellos are a bit too awkwardly dissonant), the crazy keyboard-squabbling of the instrumental "The Boys In The Band" (this one takes a few listens, but is very good in the end), the good but somewhat weak piano ballad "Think Of Me With Kindness" (the arrangement leaves something to be desired), and the closing "River", which is diverse as anything on here and a prime highlight in itself. It's complete with neat guitar/violin interplay, an awesome blues guitar solo (the only sign of blues on the whole record!), a ton of atmospheres that range from dark to peaceful, and all the like.
Finally there is "Knots" (which I can't forget), the tune that displays these guys daring vocal talents in full force in the span of four delicious minutes. Probably considered by the band to be the pinnacle of sorts for them, it is certainly mind-boggling with all those voices flowing together in precision and somehow making sense, but it's also very dynamic, catchy, and full of musical surprises as well - check out the funny xylophone solo tacked on in the middle - much like everything else on Octopus. Unfortunately, we may never be able to hear the out-of-print successor to this, In A Glass House; it's supposedly more-or-less talked about as being similar in style.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: An Inmates Lullaby, The Runaway. LOW POINTS: None.
How do you follow up the fairly brilliant complexity and endless ideas of Octopus? Apparently, Gentle Giant's answer to this seemed to be, "Hey, we proved we can cram a ton of musical changes into short songs already, so let's make the songs on our next album really long instead!" Unfortunately, as far as their success with the general public went, this move proved to be a fatal mistake. See, in terms of the actual complexity of the material here goes, this is no harder to get into than any of the previous albums, which probably makes the record company's decision in considering this effort 'too uncommercial' for release in the US (where it apparently has still never been put out) a bit difficult to understand at first. In retrospect, the fact that the melodies here are still whacked out in a way unique to Gentle Giant, almost every song here has a considerable amount of musical shifts, and even the shorter songs (the two on this record that don't go over 7 minutes) aren't exactly radio friendly with their overall atmosphere, so I can easily see why it didn't sit well with the executives.
So how good is the actual album itself? Well, the actual hooks on here are no less attractive and challenging, but still catchy, than Octopus, that's for sure, and there are quite a few standout instrumental parts that are able to consistently grab the listener. But while I'm listening to this, I can't help but think that this band is just not meant to do really long songs. I mean, didn't they learn from the aimlessless of "Nothing At All" or the rambling "Peel The Paint"? Guess not, cause they're still making some of these same mistakes. Take "Way Of Life", for instance - it's one of those multi-part songs on here that starts out as a great uptempo rocking tune (almost dance-like) and ends on an irritating stop-start two (or three?) note organ thing. And in between, there's a fast 'Renaissance' part that leads into a slow synth driven break, neither of which have much to do with the rest of the song. Don't get me wrong - other than that ending, these actual sections are just fine, but make it flow worth a damn.
Even one of the better tracks (the opening "Runaway") has its' flow broken off by a 'Renaissance' part in the middle, and that reminds me, one of my gripes with this album is that almost every friggin' song on here happens to have one of those things! And it gets really tiring after awhile. I do have to say though, that this song has the most appropriate use of it, and as for the rest, it really rocks hard at the core (for this band, anyway), the main vocal melody ('heeee is the runaway... lie low the wanted man...') is the most memorable part of the album, and the way the whole thing starts off with breaking glass turning into an actual instrumental melody is pure brilliance. Not to mention the jam portion in the middle with the great vibraphones and cheesy keyboard sounds is really entertaining. The title track is somewhat less impressive, mostly because it doesn't have as many great instrumental hooks - just some of your usual fast Gentle Giant melodies that almost casually switch to neat little slow grooves and gruff Derek vocal power. Again, the Renaissance bits randomly thrown in are still annoying, and the structure isn't exactly ideal, but it's still very enjoyable to listen to.
The track that most seems clumsily put together, though, would have to be "Experience" - again, the ideas that this song features are fabulous, like that simplistic, but completely cool quirky bassline that seems to randomly appear out of nowhere, especially when it sets up a great groove for Derek Shulman's yelling out of a top-notch melody. The slightly medieval-ish vibe it sets up in the beginning is cool, and the way the organ/violin interplay throughout is an attractive feature, but the structure is again thrown off by that broken record called Gentle Giant Goes To The Renaissance Fair. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! WE GET THE POINT!!! Not to mention that the already existing parts here don't seem to flow together. Why not save them for a separate shorter song, like the slightly filler-ish, but still melodic and pretty violin-led ballad "A Reunion", which is a little underlong, but still makes good use of its' time?
Really, though, I must emphasize that the worthwhile melodies and ideas on this album (and there are quite a few of them) are great, but they seem to have lost their way in arranging them rationally. But I can still give the album a really solid rating for excitement and catchiness displayed here, and for the one song that's completely free of the flaws I mentioned earlier. Indeed, the ballad "An Inmates Lullaby" is a really interesting Kerry Minnear-sung piece - it's apparently meant to take place in some mental hospital, and the unsettlingly twisted vocal melody and lyrics like 'I talk to all my funny friends in here...' really nails that down. Not to mention the fantastic use of vibes in this track are some of the most inventive and appropriate I've yet to come across. So anyway, very good album here despite the numerous structural flaws, even if it's damn unfortunate that it's extremely difficult to find on CD these days for obvious reasons. Getting it on MP3s might not be a bad idea.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Proclamation, Playing The Game, Aspirations. LOW POINTS: So Sincere, Cogs In Cogs.
For whatever reason, this album has generally been ranked by Gentle Giant fans as the absolute peak of their catalog, something I can actually see to a point, even if I don't agree. The band probably realized themselves that In A Glass House and its' approach to long epic tracks didn't really work as a whole, so this album makes a return to what they do best - shoving a whole bunch of complex ideas into short song structures - this time we've got 8 songs in 37 minutes, most of the longer ones being on side one. The problem here, however, is that the album is very difficult to get into - there are very few immediately memorable or striking melodies and ideas on first listen, and possibly more than ever, there are several cases where the band seems to be recycling older stylistics pretty blatantly and going out of their way just to prove how complex and dissonant they can be. Eventually, this effort does provide some rewarding challenges, but this is also probably their least focused and weakest album to date.
Not that The Power And The Glory doesn't have its' share of songs that can count as impressive thoughout, though. Most notably, the opening "Proclamation" and "Playing The Game" both have memorable and on the whole extremely engaging melodies (even if they take a couple listens to get into). The former has a wildly entertaining and quirky keyboard groove and, set to a typically odd Gentle Giant melody, it produces an effect that engages you and wedges its' hook in your head (even the really plodding 'hail to power, hail to glory's way' section seems appropriate here). The latter, meanwhile, has somewhat of an Oriental influence to the vibes and guitar part that merges very well with that very catchy pop melody (featuring the immortal 'as I hold the key to the back door...' opening bit), the strange groove of the verses, the lighter atmospheric breaks, and the false fadeout with softer vocals reappearing out of it.
To a lesser extent, the largely acoustic/organ dominated ballad "Aspirations" has more of that hauntingly beautiful vibe due to the always welcome angelic vocals, with a good build throughout, and a very nice counterpart 'hopes... dreams...' melody. And the last three songs here, while not really all that great since they do rely on recycled ideas from both earlier in their career and even on the actual album itself, are still fine - "No God's A Man", while nice and hook-filled, is a just okay mix of styles based on both the Renaissance vibe and the atmospheric "Edge Of Twilight" sort of vibe, "The Face" is yet another one of those violin/electric guitar duels that they seem to include near the end of almost every album (though a good one as it is), and "Valedictory" is just a slower reprise of the opening "Proclamation" that doesn't really have a point, since the earlier track said it all and in a much more engaging fashion.
All these tracks range from at least decent to very, very excellent, but unfortunately, besides the rehasings throughout, there are also a couple of painful experimental misfires, one of which, "So Sincere", is undoubtedly their worst song to date. The verse melody is actually kinda distinctive and tolerable, but that horrendous drawn out chorus ('so.... sin.... cere') with all that dissonant playing in the background completely ruins the effect, and like the other low point from later in the album ("Cogs In Cogs"), it represents a preview of what can happen when the band's ambition to be complicated players grows, but their sense of taste for arrangement and making the song actually pleasing to the ear falters. Needless to say, I had to drop the rating a little because of these weaknesses down to about a low 7, but hey, I'd still recommend picking up the album for the gems that are here - if you can find it, that is.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Free Hand, Just The Same. LOW POINTS: None.
A comeback of sorts. Although the overall complexity of Gentle Giant's sound had only gotten stronger on In A Glass House and The Power And The Glory, that came with a price - there were far too many moments on those albums where the arrangements just weren't very together, jumping from great ideas to sometimes inappropriate sections that didn't really advance things much. On Free Hand, though, the approach is much more focused, with most of the ideas and sections thrown into the songs flowing perfectly well with each other, to the point of this being arguably the most accessible, easy to get into album they've done thus far. Not that it's a sellout - there's still several instances of whacked out interplay and insanely complex parts between the musicians, but the vocal melodies are more poppy and pleasing, and the arrangements are generally more straightforward and easier to follow (by their standards, anyway).
More important than that, though, is the song quality, and in that respect the first half in particular isn't far off from matching the initial half of Octopus, if you can believe that. The opening "Just The Same" actually has a snappy little groove going on - not just from the snapping fingers that start the song off, but also in the repeating piano line (which subtly stays there for the entire song), fragmented but catchy vocal melody, and upbeat saxes. Of course, it also has its' features of strangeness that are just as excellent, from the odd time signatures to the the keyboards that have a really bizarre-sounding tone in the jam and chorus (the interplay between them and the 'I'm just doooooing what I want to do...' vocal hook is an example of good ugliness), but the damage has been done.
Following that, "On Reflection" utilizes huge harmonies in a way that may be layered even more spectacularly than "Knots" and is addictive as hell in the process, even if it's not done in quite as much a challenging way in the process. The Renaissance embellishments going on underneath are effective as well, as is the pretty Kerry Minnear-led quiet ballad section that actually does fit in well with the rest. It may repeat itself a little too much, which keeps it just out of high point status, but it's still very good. And besides, in the title track we have quite possibly the catchiest tune Gentle Giant ever wrote - the bouncy vocal hook is damn near genius quality, and even just a deceptively minor addition like a little pause in the melody on the 'who's gonna take your place in the games you play, in the games you........ PLAY???' is a brilliant arrangement touch. And the tricky shit the briskly played piano, guitar and bass parts are doing while still sounding groovy and tight at the same time are insane, man. Definitely in my top 3 songs by the band, if not possibly even claiming the top spot.
Ultimately, though, Free Hand falls victim to the same thing so many albums do - all the best material is placed on side one, leaving all the weaker tracks for the second half. Now, the remaining four songs are good enough to ensure the album a really low 8, but that weaker stretch and the often flat production style also ensures I can't go any higher than that, and there's no doubt they're a letdown from the first three. "Time To Kill" is a weaker version of the same approach the title track had - it actually has a very good main melody (which is made more powerful with the backing vocal harmonies appearing later on, and especially the key change at the end), but the other aspects of the song are less memorable, especially the jam portions, and the somewhat stupid-sounding though not bad 'alternate' melody.
Actually, the last three songs have potential to be classics, especially "His Last Voyage". It boasts gorgeous singing and a haunting stop-start acoustic guitar chord that creates quite a majestic 'sea' atmosphere, but outside of some jazzy piano bits, never gets off the ground, just pretty much repeating itself between those two sections for over 6 minutes. The still nice "Talybont" might also be fabulous if its' main medieval melody was developed more into an actual full song with vocals and the arrangement didn't sound too RPG-ish, and "Mobile" could benefit from more excitement and creativity in the playing, even if the 'moving all around, going everywhere from town to town' hook is the catchiest thing on the album outside the title track, and the violin and guitar-driven arrangement comes fairly close to matching the power of the similar "River". All good (if not always special) songs these are, placing this right around the quality of the debut in the ranking for me. The percentage of great material might not be as high, while the sound and production isn't as fresh or convincing as there, but I definitely enjoy the lesser songs and the melodies on here more overall, so call it a tie. Unfortunately, there'd be problems in the GG camp afterward....
Free Hand ranks as one of the tightest Gentle Giant efforts. The band keeps its' original style intact here, but the songs carry less dissonance and are not as musically challenging to the ear as tunes from Aquiring The Taste and Octopus were (as of now I haven't heard their 1974 release Power And The Glory yet - from what I hear though it is a very dissonant and difficult album to get into). So a little more accessible it is, and as far as quality goes, pretty much like all of the earlier releases. The first three songs in particular are pretty great, with the album opener "Just the Same" getting things off to a quirky start in fine Gentle Giant fashion. A clapping beat followed by some catchy piano notes give way to a song that is upbeat, jazzy, poppy, and lots of fun; the melody is off-kilter but catchy, and the little honking saxophones and various instruments add greatly to the atmosphere. The chorus in turn has these weird synthesizer twirls that catch your ear in excitement, and the slower instrumental section in the middle, which is dominated by a sparkling smooth synth, makes for a good contrast to the main upbeat melody.
After it's all over the band returns with the Renaissance-flavored (one must admit that they were masters at this) "On Reflection", a tune that starts off with a well-done Gregorian Chant and which really captures the spirit of the 16th century in the main melody that follows it. That main melody might be the best example of how well the band was at this style as the elegant instrumentation and beautiful falsetto vocals (sung by one of the Shulman brothers) create an absolutely gorgeous Renaissance atmosphere - the melody is very engaging in itself. That's not too mention the various faster melodies that excitingly pop in during the song too. Now for the last of the greats, "Free Hand" is the most rocking tune of the bunch with its' very tight bass and keyboard playing, and frantic, almost shouting vocals. The main instrumental tag is very hooky, and the overall recording has a certain stripped-down edge to it as well.
The four tunes that follow can only pale in comparison, but even so, that's solely because they just aren't nearly as memorable (the melodies escape me almost every time, though they are very enjoyable when playing). "Time To Kill" is the first as a somewhat unassuming jazz-tinged rocker that opens with a heavily stomping beat, and which contains a nice chorus, "The Last Voyage" is carried by a haunting and beautiful vocal delivery (with a perfect little organ riff following each verse), but never really goes anywhere or becomes adventurous, and "Talybont" is a two-minute 16th century-flavored instrumental with harpsichord/flute accompaniment that never makes any kind of impact at all despite a decent little melody. "Mobile", however, makes up for things somewhat, even if it sounds un-memorable in the end for that fact that it retreads similar Gentle Giant territory. Overall this album is really close to 8 quality (in fact when I rewrite my review for the first Gentle Giant album I may raise that to an 8 - I realize it's a tad better than this album), but the second half, though quite nice, contains too many flaws (and is unassuming on the whole) for me to push this album into greatness.
I believe that this is the album that most Gentle Giant fans consider to be the band's best. I'd personally say that it's on about the same level as the debut, although the high point here is better than anything else I've heard from the band. "Free Hand" is a wonderful track full of Gentle Giant charm, Derek's best vocal work (the only Gentle Giant track I know of that comes close is "Mobile" from later on in this album), and that awesome opening riff. The songs kicks even more with short little jams throughout, and really cool keyboard work. The little pauses are also really cool, and help make this not only my bet for best Gentle Giant song, but also the bet of many of their fans as well.
Elsewhere the opening "Just the Same" might be the album's defining moment, and a fantastic upbeat track. "On Reflection" has a hilarious vocal intro that comes back a few more times during the rest of the song. Now there is a point that I think I'll go crazy if they sing "All around!" again, but other than that the song is fine. "Talybont" is a neat little instrumental with medieval mood. Unfortunately it's a little too short to be completely enjoyable, but what's here is nice. Closing the album is "Mobile," which might be the song on here most like earlier work with its strings and silly mood. It's a good song, a heck of a lot of fun to Derek sing: "Up, Up time to fly! Moving all around, going everywhere from town to town!"
There are a few flaws, though. "Time to Kill" goes nowhere in its five minutes, and fails in an attempt to combine "On Reflection" and the title track. "His Last Voyage" starts out very promising with a great bass line and a gentle, pretty mood, but it eventually gets boring, dragging on for at least two unnecessary minutes. Still Free Hand is an excellent album, certainly worthy of being called Gentle Giant's best work. I'd say it's about even with the debut (then again I've only heard two of their albums). Anyway if you're a prog fan don't be afraid to get this.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: I Lost My Head. LOW POINTS: Design.
Now this is definitely one of the most controversial efforts Gentle Giant ever recorded, as people can't seem to really agree on it. Is it unlistenable, dissonant trash that takes the band's complexity to the absolute maximum, or is it a brilliantly jaw-dropping and creative piece of work that wonderfully expands on Free Hand and may be one of their best albums? Well, in my humble opinion, both extremes that I've seen taken on this album are wrong - it's not that different musically from Free Hand (or most other albums they made up to this point, really), but the problem here is that the band had to get their followup to it out at a certain date, and after their tour had only a month to record it. Not surprisingly, since their music was often complicated, textured and carefully arranged, this probably put them under considerable stress, and the result is a set of their most tired-sounding, unimpressive songs to date, one which buried their commercial fortunes even further, forcing them to turn to the sellout pop route ala Genesis.
I'm not too sure how to describe a lot of these songs in detail, as technically they're excellent, but in terms of actual songwriting most of them are quite mediocre. There are definitely some interesting, memorable ideas - "Give It Back" is probably one of the most unconventional takes on reggae out there (I don't know what the hell kind of signature it's in), but neat keyboard embellishments and boggling rhythm aside, there's not much special about it, and "Empty City" tries to take the laidback and textured acoustic medieval route of something like "His Last Voyage" (with occasional rockin' parts and a violin appearance) - but there's nothing really exciting to look forward to during a lot of this stuff. Additionally, "Another Show" is too chaotic-sounding and complicated for its' own sake in a Power And The Glory kind of way, and "Timing" is pretty much a standard (for Gentle Giant) groove I really don't know what to say or feel about.
At least there's only one obvious bad song on the album, but unfortunately, it's one of the worst songs by a prog band I've ever heard. "Design" is pretty much what "On Reflection" or "Knots" would be like if their harmony-based structures completely fell flat on their face, maybe even worse - it's built around the harmonies singing melodies that are just plain retarded at best or near unlistenably dissonant and off-key at worst, and those percussion embellishments throughout make it even more painful to sit through. It's probably the worst song they ever did, and the first 15 seconds of it, a conceptual bit where an someone asks the band, "How would you describe your music?" and they all start talking at once so no one can understand them, is definitely defining of the confused state the album is in.
Fortunately, the bookend tracks come to the rescue in boosting up the rating to a low 6. On the first Gentle Giant album ever to lack a single classic, they're nothing great, but at least they're somewhat good. The opening title track has a really entertaining organ-based groove, and even though the instrumental portions are unmemorable and aimless, the 'don't make us something that we're not' anti-categorizing chorus is very memorable. And the closer "I Lost My Head" is something like an improved "Peel The Paint". The delicate Renaissance background music has a lot of complicated quirkiness and memorability to it (plus Kerry Minnear's singing - how can it not be good?), and it merges into the gruff, melodic and convincing Shulman rocking part much better than that Three Friends song did. At least these two are the longest tracks on here, which helps the album considerably, but sadly they're the exceptions rather than the rule, and as a result, the band would have to rethink their musical approach for next time out.
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COMMENTS
Whether or not they confess to this - I've always felt that this album signalled the mark of completion for the "schtick" of Gentle Giant; for lack of a better word. With this album, they had taken everything as far as it could go - particularly the heavy counterpoint thing - which is relentless here. It's very dense. (in light of this- The Missing Piece becomes a much more logical followup to this one than most people think...)
Couple that with the fact that it's quite an aggressive outing - the lyrics are angry or cynical, the music is harsh harmonically most of the time, vocalist Derek Shulman sounds particularly pissed off here, the rhythms are frequently driving and the choices of sounds are, well...harsh; and weird as well.
Then I must say this - if you have gone to college or have elsewheres studied harmony and/or counterpoint you will love this album. ("Design" will be your favorite track). It is a work of sheer genius on many levels. But I pity anyone who innocently happens upon this album thinking "well... now isn't that a pretty rainbow on the cover!".
We start with the title track and the concept of the album - an interview with GG concerning their views on the music business as a whole. Hence the aggression. The lyrics are quite telling on where they were at mentally at the time and are autobiographical as well, mentioning their lack of direction in the beginning, finding their sound on Octopus and enjoying the relative success of Free Hand. This is a good song - but it's hard listening. Moment of genius - the tail end of the wacky middle twelve-string breakdown thing where they fade in the riffs of the opening verse to conclude with them again. Very subtle - very smart - very effective.
"Give It Back" was my favorite tune for years on this album - the time signature mentioned above is 7/8 - 5/8; a first and last in reggae. It is the only gentle song on the album and it's also a bit atmospheric and hypnotic. The keyboard sounds are highly unique - one of them oddly resembles a crumhorn (low sound in the verses - right channel). Their are other caribbean elements here as well - the marimba and steel drum-like keyboard in one of the repeating instrumental parts in the middle. Funky little number.
Ah, "Design" - I love it. So do my friends who have music ed. or jazz harmony backgrounds. This is a headphones must. You will otherwise miss Kerry Livgren's creepy low vocals and it helps to understand the counterpoint. The beginning is actually pretty and catchy in a modal sort of way - also hypnotic. Enter the percussion and the crazy middle section which lacks a tonal center (atonalism) and uses some seriously complex chords vocally. Then the gratuitous counterpoint breakdown. My friend and I have this theory that the female sex is chemically not adapted to progressive rock - if you want to get your wife to leave the house or start yelling for apparantly no reason - this would be your first selection. Even if she likes "Heart of the Sunrise". Nevertheless this tune is a masterpiece - and was the final statement on the vocal centerpiece meets classical music meets general strangeness (Knots, On Reflection).
"Another Show" is once again in your face. Derek is yelling, the organ is melting, the measures are dropping beats, the stereo counterpoint is in overdrive and to top the caos (intentional - pointing out the hassle and rush of touring from town to town) is the ghost effect preceeding Derek's vocal. Brilliant song that will give you a headache.
"Empty City" is the only song to remotely resemble anything from Free Hand. The verse melody is not catchy and is complicated by the background vocals. But these guys can't seem to go for very long without getting funky - as in the B sections here (in spite of Derek's lackluster sax playing). This is the weak number in my opinion and that much said - it's really pretty good. Strange ending.
"Timing" sports more mediocre sax - but also Derek's smart pop sensibilities (what did he just say? Doesn't anybody recall he started out as a pop/blues singer?). Almost as if Elton John at his peak stepped in to get his prog. ya-yas out but wait there's the completely bizarre middle instrumental section with electric violin and strange boogie woogie piano followed by a raunchy guitar solo over the most un-solo-over-able counterpoint riff. This is also a good song but it requires intense concentration to appreciate it.
Finally, there is "I Lost My Head" - the end of the rennaissance schtick, albeit very nicely done here and perhaps the least annoying. Let's face it - these guys could be trolls when they felt like it; at our expense. This is very nice, though; and yet with a gong turns into one of the best rockers these guys ever came up with. They never rocked like this again either. Very original and very catchy melody. And what's this? During the verses all the instruments are playing the same rhythm at the same time? Polyphony on a GG album? Now that's weird. Of course they are in rhythmic contrast to the melody but still. And c'mon - those handclaps are funky. Definitely the most enjoyable track on the album.
Why the aggression? Well the lyrics tell you a lot. But you can also take the King Biscuit live album when the boys are pouring their hearts out on "Funny Ways" and some boneheads are yelling out for Alvin Lee during the quiet parts. 'Nuff said. I give this album an 8.5
Kenny MacKenzie
(sorry this was a long one)
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