Customer Reviews

GENTLE GIANT - GG AT THE GG: SIGHT AND SOUND IN CONCERT

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Sight and Sound Concert footage and sound are superb ... every bit of the DVD brought a smile to this Gentle Giant fan's face ... the extras are OK, but I particularly like the commentary track (lots of laughs) ... the menu music (newly composed by Minnear) is interesting and very enjoyable ... it makes me wish Kerry would put forth a solo effort or two (please Kerry!!) ... bottom line, this DVD is essential for any GG fan ... it was nice to finally see these guys live with Giant on the Box, but GG on the GG is much more satisfying in my opinion ...

- Scriptor

A treasure trove.

The official release of the famous BBC "SIGHT & SOUND" concert from January 1978, at the Golders Green Hippodrome. Audio comes from the BBC Radio 1 Simulcast. There is also a commentary track by Gary, John, Derek, Kerry & Ray!

The show is comprised of energetic performances of:

Two Weeks In Spain

Free Hand

On Reflection

I'm Turning Around

Just The Same

Playing The Game

Memories Of Old Days

Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It

Funny Ways

For Nobody

Mountain Time

In addition, there are rare TV clips and 6 promotional videos from the In'terview (3) and Giant For A Day (3) LPs...

A bargain at twice the price for GG fans!

The GG DVD "On The Box" was such a gift to old fans (like me) and newer fans as well, because (I think) most of us thought that video of GG performances are pretty rare!

Hold on to your hats, GG fans! GG at the GG is PURE GOLD! The videos promoting "Interview" are priceless, and the videos for the "Giant For A Day" album made me appreciate those songs much more than I did when they were originally released.

The real treat is the BBC live concert from Golders Green! GG is in top form belting out some of their best works from "Free Hand", "The Power And The Glory," and gems from "The Missing Piece" as well as other classics. The sound and video are both excellent! I found myself dancing and singing along with song after song!

This wonderful DVD proved to me what I always knew about GG. Their music didn't need any huge stage production of the kind their (less gifted) contemporaries put on. The music was all you needed. King Crimson was the only contemporary band of that time that deserved to be compared to GG, and I loved GG more. All of the other "progs" were overblown pretenders to the throne.

While I wish GG had achieved the fame and tons of money they so richly deserved, I will always think of GG as the extraordinary group that blew me away at that intimate little club all of us GG fans attended. That smokey little jazz bar by the warf where you could here the haunting voices of sirens in a song called "His Last Voyage," as Gary Green's solo chills the spine with the cries of drowning sailors.

Many thanks to Kerry Minnear for the wonderful NEW music added to the menus. Long live Gentle Giant!!!

It's impossible to describe Giant's talent, creativity, songwriting, and vocal harmonies in words. The music is timeless, sounds as fresh as it did in the 70's, and is better than any prog band out there today.

Disc one has a 1978 concert that looks and sounds great... well everything except the clothes, but Giant didn't rely on visuals to provide a flawless performance. Extras include a commentary track from the band, six videos of the band lip-synching to some studio recordings, picture galleries, and some brief footage (poor video/audio) from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" from 1974. Disc two is an audio CD of the concert and the "Tests".

This is an essential purchase for Giant and prog fans.

I'm as big a Gentle Giant fan as there is, but sadly, there is one very good reason NOT to buy this DVD-- Six out of twelve, or 50% of the songs on this live concert are from one album: "The Missing Piece" (1977). This is not surprising, since this is the album that they were promoting at the time, but as any GG fan knows, "Missing Piece" is the beginning of a precipitous decline in their music, brought about by a misguided effort to simplify their style, write "hit singles", and become "radio friendly". All of this, of course, ran counter to everything that was great about the band-- They would soon hit rock bottom with the dreadful "Giant for a Day" (1978), and would fold their tent for good a couple of years later. The songs from "Missing Piece" aren't THAT bad, but the greatest performance in the world cannot hide their inferiority in relation to virtually anything that the band had produced previously.

GG fans know this already, but if one wants to hear GG in peak form AND performing all of their greatest songs, one must check out the CD "Playing the Fool" (1976). This live CD is astonishing-- Quite simply, it is one of the greatest live rock albums of all time. If one must have a DVD, the previous release, "Giant on the Box" features virtually the same repertoire, though the performances and sound are, generally speaking, not quite as stellar. Still, the DVD is great to have, if only so one can actually see how they pulled off these amazingly intricate, difficult pieces live. Certainly, I would recommend "Giant on the Box" and "Playing the Fool" before "GG @ GG".

Scott Tisdel

At the time that Gentle Giant's first album was released, I believe the average age of the band members was early twenties. I and my musical counterparts were only a year or two younger than they yet the music Gentle Giant played was so far above our own abilities. Technical prowess, versatility and youth aside, their talent to write and play like no one had written or played before or since was astounding. Originality was never a stumbling block for this band...NEVER! So given these credentials, one would expect a live performance from this band to be every bit as amazing and in so assuming, one would be correct. From the very first notes of Two Weeks in Spain to the last in Mountain Time, Gentle Giant (GG) are ON! Time ceases to exist as we are presented with ageless music, relevant to any decade. Unlike other bands from that era (Yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer for instance), GG's music is not dated. There is something about this music that just doesn't attach itself to any era and is as at home in 2006 as it was in 1978, when this performance was recorded. That each player is a virtuoso in his own right goes undisputed. That each member tosses off his "main" instrument for another which he plays, it seems, just as well, with the ease that most of us change shirts, is, well, amazing! That GG's music gives each his many opportunities to show off his abilities is obvious to the listener. With all of the flash each carefully crafted song gives off, perhaps the wonder of it all is contained in the subtleties. That which seems to capture my imagination is the once played and not to be repeated, perfect little guitar line so integral to the song that in its' absence, the song would be an entirely different matter....yet it appears only once and for less than ten seconds, its' understated importance nonetheless in tact! GG's songs are full of these "understated" elegant segments when woven together and stamped with that beautiful smiling face of THE Giant (whose face adorns so much of the band's work), make for the most interesting music (my opinion) ever written. What this DVD does is to confirm that GG was every bit the talented group of musicians as their records made them out to be. This was not a band that needed to hide behind studio gimmics. Their live performances were even more exciting than their studio albums. Audiences could see that these musicians could play with conviction and dynamic (with soul if you will) these difficult

pieces of music and be downright funky while doing it (see 'Playing the Game' for proof). In all, the twelve songs which make up the 'concert' portion of the DVD are incredibly played, impeccably captured by the cameras, and are perfectly transported per the extraordinary sound engineering which never betrays the live feel of the band. When the last note had faded, I sat with the same exhillaration I felt after seeing the band in concert (live and in person) back in 1978. That's when it hit me that watching this DVD is as close to experiencing GG live in concert as most will ever get. For my money, it is definitely worth it and then some! (oh....and then there are the 'special features'...another time perhaps....another time!)

This video absolutely captures the best and worst of Gentle Giant on a single DVD. The best is their fantasic (in the literal sense of the word) music played in kick-arse style and the worst is their style of dressing that comes close to rivalling Abba for cheesiness.

But I quibble, this DVD has the best material from the 'Missing Link' album when GG were inspired by the arrival of punk to add a manic edge to their complex and powerful music. And that mix works so well. 'Two Weeks in Spain' is simply a wonderful but aggressive pop song. And the sentiments expressed in 'Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It' sum up the GG attempt to take on the next generation at their own game. Too bad they ran out of steam. The other material highlights the diverse and brilliant musicianship of the members and comes more from their 'prog rock' period. Trust me, there is no risk is buying this DVD even if you've never heard of GG.

There are a couple of other live DVDs of Gentle Giant you can get, but this one has by far the best video and audio quality, notwithstanding the typical live mixing gaffs, but even those "mistakes" reveal riffs that you would never have heard before.

I think the most interesting thing about this DVD is the bittersweet realization that this represents GG's final attempt to "crossover" and bend to record companies whims. You can sense the frustration, especially in Singer Derek Shulman. He barks at the audience, trying to get through to them. It is ironic that Derek worked his way to become a vice-president at PolyGram Records, where he signed not only Bon Jovi but also Cinderella, Kingdom Come, Tears for Fears, Men Without Hats, and Dexy's Midnight Runners. Later, as president of ATCO Records, a subsidiary of Warner Communications, he signed AC/DC, Bad Company, Pantera, The Rembrandts, Jive Bunny, and Soho... all of whom went platinum or multi-platinum.

For me, Gentle Giant represent the best of the music spirit. Their first albums, Acquiring the Taste, Octopus, In a Glass House...absolutely unique, original, not hackneyed or contrived like so many of their more commercially succesful peers.

If you have never heard Gentle Giant, please give them a listen. You will not be dissappointed

Well, the earlier Gentle Giant dvd was really enjoyable, to see them 'live' after all tthese nearly 30 years!!Giant on the Box was great to obtain & cherish, as an old, old G.G. fan!!However, i've got to say "G. G. at the G.G." IS EVEN ,PERHAPS, MORE PRECIOUS than it's predecessor1The picture quality/sound is absolutely amazing, plus this, amazingly, last ever Gentle Giant British gig, in London, was obviously Derek Shulman & co. , on top form!!The rare videos , finally released, are a real joy to see, all in all , an essential release , on dvd , for all true Gentle Giant fans, of whicih i am certainly on!!Yes, Kerry Minnear, give us a solo cd, PLEASE!!!!a CLASSIC dvd ..BUY!!!

The video and accompanying audio of same takes place in early 1978. GG had already eschewed their rennaisance outfits for a strange disco/Kubrick hybrid, but if you can get past that, the performnce is amazing. This is your first, best chance, if nothing else, to see/hear three excellent performances of selections from GG's creative peak, Free Hand, some of the tracks from Missing Piece are a sad sign of things to come, but all in all, no better player for player prog band existed in the 70''s, and yes, I include Genesis and Yes. Such melodies! Such a fine bassist.