Customer Reviews

GENTLE GIANT - GIANT ON THE BOX: DELUXE EDITION: DVD/CD

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...and if you don't mind seconds... even thirds... But then Kerry Minnear's vibes solo is never the same, is it!? And what a treat at that!
And how about when they stop everything dead cold in mid-air to tune up the cello, for a huge 30 seconds or something?!... yes, live on stage: how cool can you get!!
For me - I have to say I was already highly familiar with the much bootleged ZDF show of this collection - the most interesting section is the '76 Italian TV documentary. Although I do struggle to make minimal sense out of the Italian-dubbed group interview, I find the mono recorded, B&W concert excerpts (quite long ones) of late '73 to be the best gig, with the best damn live "Advent of Panurge" one could dream of (Derek's lead vocals, sharper, powerful but less forced, and more refined, and the general groove, much closer to the original studio version than any other official live version, if like me you are fonder of that). Mono and low-fi as it might be, the mix happens to be superior to the other sections' (eg. Kerry Minnear's vocals).
My second favorite section, as strange as it might sound, is the 36-photo gallery from Gary Green's private collection. Coming basically from the Advision studio recording sessions of "Octopus" (1972), it gives a unique and priceless window to one historical musical moment in the making, and tells tales on the collective writing, perfoming and recording collaboration of the then-six piece Gentle Giant. Thanks for this, Gary, from the bottom of my heart!
So all in all, definitely a great buy for the buck!

I saw Yes as a kid at RFK Stadium in Washington,D.C and it planted a seed of curiousity about the progressive rock genre. While I sought out a few of the bands and their sounds from time to time, Gentle Giant was a name I knew for decades, but never got around to hearing. I'm glad I finally did.

There are two discs in this collection, one DVD, one audio and for the sake of time, I will review them together. While it is interesting to see the DVD and watching the "multi-instrumentalism" of the group live, in honesty there is nothing exceptional to witness besides that oddity visually. The film stock from Gentle Giant's mid-70's show in Belgium ( which comprises most of the DVD) is of older quality, as is another part of the disc that was filmed in California. NO stage pyrotechnics or any visual flash here- just a group of Englishmen who are serious about their music, though they do seem to enjoy themselves.

The music is what the fans are here for and it is spectacular and in many ways indescribable. Gentle Giant's song structures are complex, with intricate riffing on guitar and keyboards, quick tempo changes with top rate drumming (and sometimes odd syncopation) and transitions from styles as diverse as baroque, jazz rock and even some acoustic dueling on guitars that echoes of bluegrass and folk. The lyrics are strange, I still have zero idea what many of the songs are really about, but they are sung decently by a lead man whose voice really fits the music.

There are some great numbers here- my favorites are "Proclamation" a cool little keyboard riff that's slightly jazzy and leads into a unique and ornately timed saga.Watch/listen to the drum patterns here and how the percussion is timed to the riffs, I do not know how this is pulled off live! "Funny Ways" is a great standout and showcases the viruosity of the players. To see/hear this band move from acoustic guitars to cellos and violins, horns and yes even xylophones in the same song, without being excessive- is amazing. A haunting, melancholy melody that leads to some brilliant and texturous imrov, "Funny Ways" is a masterpiece.

There's really nothing to compare these guys to and what they did at the time was and is truly a lost art in it's experimentalism and ambition to step beyond the 12 bar blues and other hard rock(which incidentally I still love also). If you like Yes' album cuts, King Crimson, pre-pop Genesis, ealry Supertramp and yes even the mid 90's prog-rock parody by Ween (Mollusk), this is definitely something you woll find interesting.

This dvd/cd release is for avid Gentle Giant fans only. Others should start with the new 35th Anniversary cd re-issues such as Free Hand, In A Glass House, or the fine live release Playing The Fool. The bulk of the dvd footage is from two television performances filmed during the mid - seventies. The German footage is showing some wear although fans will be delighted with the excellent performance. The U.S. TV performance is also very fine and the video quality is very good for it's advanced age. Long time fans will also enjoy a 2005 interview with lead vocalist Derek Schulman produced by VH-1. There is also a full band interview produced by an Italian TV station dating from the mid 70s. Unfortunately, the band's commentary is dubbed in Italian. This release also includes a companion live cd which is of poor sound quality. Like I said, it's for fans and completists only.

Gentle Giant have released audio CD's from most of the important tours they undertook during their 10 year existence. Many would point to the official release of "Playing the Fool", recorded in 1976 during the "Interview" tour as the definitive audio record of the band playing live and for good reason. But, no official live video has surfaced of the band during this tour, or from any tour between 1970 and 1976. Along comes this official DVD finally documenting the band playing live during the "Power and the Glory" tour in 1974, just preceding "Free Hand", and at the peak of their capabilities. You will want to see each band member switch to drums and percussion for the finale of "So Sincere", and see Kerry's insane vibraphone solo during "Funny Ways". Close up footage of frets, keys, and percussion. It's all here. Best video is from German TV in 1974, but the Long Beach, CA footage later in 1975 during the same tour is also of interest, as are the extras listed below, particularly the Szene footage featuring Gary's searing guitar riffs. In short this is a must have document for anyone interested in seeing how this band appeared live to really appreciate how they pulled off such complex and compelling work. For many progressive bands the performance itself is as important as the audio content - to me Gentle Giant is no exception and footage is critical to complete the experience. Forget the CD - there are better. Buy this for the incredible live footage.

DVD Track listing:

1974 German TV ZDF for "Sunday Concert"
-Cogs in Cogs
-Proclamation
-Funny Ways
-The Runaway
-Experience
-Features from Octopus
-Advent of Panurge
-So Sincere

1975 US Concert - Terrace Theatre Long Beach, CA
-Experience
-Features from Octopus
-Advent of Panurge
-Funny Ways

Szene 74 topical news show from German TV
-Jam segment from "In a Glass House"

Extras
-Baroque & Roll - segments from Octopus on Italian TV
-Photo Gallery
-VH1 interview of Derek Shulman 2005

There's never been another band like Gentle Giant, before or since. They were easily one of the 10 most important bands of the Progressive Rock genre; yet likely only a relative handful of their fans ever got a chance to see them during their 70s existence. This DVD represents a chance to finally see what all the fuss was about, and it doesn't disappoint.

Gentle Giant was 5 guys who each played an astonishing variety of different instruments. The musical style was a mix of Zappa-esque jazzy Prog, mixed with medieval English influences. There were elaborate, dramatic vocal harmonies galore. The band tied all their influences together seamlessly, and rocked hard! They even managed to sound a bit funky at times, which is almost unheard of in Prog rock. Their complex arrangements and dizzyingly frequent changes in time signatures made them a little difficult for average music fans to appreciate on record, but seeing them on DVD helps one figure them out a lot more easily. This music is not meandering improv stuff either; rather it's highly rehearsed to the point of being almost slick. Gentle Giant clearly meant to deliver a tight show with major punch, and they succeeded in spades.

This DVD does represent only a narrow time period and selection of songs, but the sound & visual quality is mostly very good aside from some of the "bonus" bits. If you're a fan of the most adventurous kinds of rock music, or always wondered about the legendary Gentle Giant, I can't recommend this DVD strongly enough.

This deluxe edition contains a companion audio CD.

I first got "playing the Fool" in 1975 when I was 15 years old and became an instant fan, I live in Australia and footage of this band has been impoosible to find, so to find this dvd on line had me overjoyed, so I bought it slightly suspicious (I thought it might be the slightly dubious missing piece show), but I found it to be everything I wanted, Gentle Giant at their absolute non-commercial best, such talented guys. Production is a bit 1976 but still worth it.

This was a fantastic colourful bird of a band, and they are still flying High above most of the others.

Serious and complex music(ians) for sure, but not without having a lot of fun. You can see the passion and the joy running through their limbs and faces when they play. Mr. Weathers drumming, for example, is a true wonder to behold; he looks like some wild -but controlled- predator in a trance, while he is banging away on his drums. Or look at Mr. Minnear when he lets his (un)controlled musical instincts treat those tuned percussions... And the sounds and music they make... I'm almost without words!

I ordered the american edition of this dvd just to get the interview(!) with Derek Shulman. The interview wasn't great, but nevermind; I love the cover, anyway: You know; the Giant with his hands full of gentle, crazy musicians... ;o)

I first heard "The Power and the Glory" in 1978 and was instantly hooked. Unfortunately I never saw GG before they disbanded, so any video of live performances is a treat. I enjoyed everything on the DVD. So what if the audio, and camera angles are not up to 21st century standards, just seeing these guys perform makes it worth the cost!

You saw the title. It's a great compilation of concerts!!

magnífica recopilación de un grupo de culto, innovador y poderoso. buena imágen y sonido. recomendado a los fans del progresivo años '70.