Customer Reviews

Gentle Giant

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

 

 

What do you get when you cross the madrigal, folk-rock of Jethro Tull with the avant-garde, experimental leanings of King Crimson, and you add a dash of classical influences for extra measure? You get Gentle Giant. Always sitting next to Genesis in the music store bins, but never achieving the massive success of Genesis or other well-known progressive rock groups, Gentle Giant were certainly an acquired taste, but for the progressive rock fan who's open to the band's complex time signatures, arrangements, and vocal harmonising, there is great music aplenty to be found in their work, as the band recorded 11 studio albums (plus one live album) between 1970 & 1980. The group, led by vocalist Derek Schulman & keyboardist Kerry Minnear, were a terrific progressive rock outfit that deserved much bigger success than what they got. They never rose above cult status (and they're one of the few progressive bands to never make a comeback, either in the 1990's or now), but their impressive catalog of albums speak for themselves. If you love prog rock, then you'll certainly love Gentle Giant.Their self-titled debut from 1970 is an excellent album that displays quite plainly what this group were all about. The title track is a powerful blend of all of the band's Tull/Crimson/classical influences rolled into one. "Funny Ways" is a lovely song with fine singing & string arrangements. "Alucard" is an awesome prog-rocker. "Isn't It Quiet And Cold?" is the lightest number on the album, an acoustic/classical confection, but it works wonderfully. The exquisite, Traffic-esque "Nothing At All" is an all-time Gentle Giant favorite. "Why Not?" is a cool guitar-rocker, and the band finish the album with a short-but-amusing rendition of the British anthem, "The Queen." Gentle Giant may have lacked commercial success, but at least they had---and still have---a devoted following, not to mention a recording contract that allowed them to make a dozen albums in their decade-long lifespan. Their self-titled disc from 1970 is the first of the bunch, and an awesome opening salvo from this fine progressive rock band that should not be overlooked.

What would you think of a band that has three different lead vocalists, plays up to 30 different musical instruments (not only in the studio but live on stage!), and mixes elements of blues, jazz, Baroque, rock, and madrigals in its compositions?

Gentle Giant was that band. A challenging quintet that put out 11 studio albums and one double live between 1969 and 1980, the Giant developed a considerable following on the European continent, and fanatical but small fan bases in the U.S. and their native Britain.

This was their auspicious debut. A bit rough around the edges, it features many of the distinctive styles that would coalesce and blossom so impressively on their fourth through eighth albums in the mid 1970s: cello and multi-tracked violin under a bittersweet ballad with a jazzy vibes solo ("Funny Ways"), heavy blues rock with delicate Baroque-style bridges on keyboard and recorders ("Why Not?" which resembles the later "Peel the Paint" or "The Runaway"), offbeat rhythms punctuated by long, humming instrumental breaks ("Giant," similar to the later classics "Just the Same" and "Interview").

"Alucard" calls to mind the Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein" (not surprising, since the title is "Dracula" backwards), with pounding keyboards echoed by an unobtrusive sax, but it adds chilly vocals, then blasting blues lead guitar. In contrast, "Isn't It Quiet and Cold?" is jaunty and sweet: acoustic guitar and cello support a sly lead vocal, with interjections by toy piano and "bones-y" xylophone. An experiment that fails is the gorgeously limpid "Nothing At All," whose 12-string arpeggios and lovely melody give over to a self-indulgent drum solo and Liszt's "Liebestraum," played straight on grand piano for a couple phrases before descending into jazzy free form. Also, "The Queen," known to us Yanks as "America," is a pretty weak and dated joke.

Still, this album served notice that a band worth watching had burst on the scene. It would fulfill its promise within a few short years. I give the disc only three stars because the music takes a certain level of sophistication and concentration to appreciate and might not appeal to the general listener, and because the band would do more incredible work on later albums. (See reviews of _Octopus_, _Power and the Glory_, _Free Hand_, and _Interview_. The lamented masterpiece _In a Glass House_, often out of print, is promised back in late 2000.)

You can think of Gentle Giant's 1970 debut like you can Genesis' Trespass or the first two albums of Yes: just dipping their feet in the waters of the prog world, with a sound maybe not totally living up to their full potential, but definately worth having, after you get a few of their following albums. Prior to Gentle Giant, the Shulman brothers (Phil, Ray, and Derek) were in a band called Simon Dupree & the Big Sound. Of course there was no one named Simon Dupree (Simon was actually Derek Shulman). They released an album in 1967 called Without Reservation and had a hit with "Kites". Being from 1967, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't expect much of that GG sound here. As I hadn't heard that album, I'm sure it's more of a historical curiosity. Of course the Shulman brothers wanted to pursue something more ambitious (especially after King Crimson gave us In the Court of the Crimson King), and formed a band with guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist/vocalist Kerry Minnear, and drummer Martin Smith, and the band became Gentle Giant. They recorded and released their debut in 1970 on the "swirl" Vertigo label. Being a debut album, many bands hadn't quite had their sound or style mastered, and Gentle Giant was no exception. That meant many of the band's over-the-top quirky complexity hadn't surfaced yet. But you can see some of that like on the opening cut, "Giant". I also like the Mellotron solo as well. "Funny Ways" features some great violin work, and Kerry Minnear's trademark "medieval"-sounding singing. "Alucard" (that is, "Dracula" spelled backwards) features vocal harmonies that make me think that Queen had heard their share of Gentle Giant albums in their lifetime. Also interesting to note is the presence of synthesizers, usually as just incidental noodling between cuts. Remember this was 1970 when synthesizers were still mainly big modular Moogs, and most recordings then were still classical Moog (like W. Carlos' Switched-On Bach), except for the stray rock album (i.e. Beatles' Abbey Road, or of course, ELP, who also released their debut in 1970). "Isn't it Quiet and Cold" is a rather lighthearted number, with Minnear singing again. It's quite a contrast to the more sinister "Alucard". "Nothing At All" starts off as a rather pleasant acoustic number and nice pleasant vocals, but the problems start surfacing with the drum solo and the classical piano. At least to make it interesting was Martin Smith (their drummer at the time) added on some phasing, but then the song returns to how it started, in that pleasant laid-back fashion. "Why Not" is one of the more rocking numbers, but there's a more medieval-sounding part in the middle part complete with recorders. The last song, "The Queen" is basically a rock version of "God Save the Queen", played on guitar. I don't think that was the best move for the band, but it could have been worse. This might not be the best place for Gentle Giant newcomers to start (try Three Friends first), but still this album is full of great material, and worth having.

Although it is the overwhelming technical virtuosity of Gentle Giant that I respond most favorably to; I have to admit that this 1970 debut (along with Acquiring the Taste, 1971) is an absolute favorite. I really can't nail it down to one single thing; my guess is that it is some combination of the haunting melodies; baroque period classical; loads of mellotron; and the more "rocking" nature of the music. In general, the complexity is there, yet it is stripped back a bit more than that on albums like Octopus (1973) and the overall sound is very warm.

This initial lineup included Derek Shulman (lead and backing vocals); Ray Shulman (electric bass; violin; guitars; lead and backing vocals); Phil Shulman (saxophone; trumpet; recorder; lead and backing vocals); Kerry Minnear (Hammond organ; mellotron; mini-moog; acoustic piano; cello; tuned percussion; lead and backing vocals); Gary Green (electric and acoustic guitars); and Martin Smith (drums and percussion). Supporting the group is Claire Denis (cellist on Isn't it Quiet and Cold?) and Paul Cosh (tenor horn) on Giant. Even off of the starting block, this was a group of superb skills and there is some great ensemble work on this album. The individual playing is great too and there are some ripping solos on the Hammond organ and electric guitar. The vocal harmonies are also very sophisticated and would become a hallmark of the classic Gentle Giant sound.

The seven tunes on the album range in length from 1:40 to the comparatively lengthy track Nothing at All (9:08) and present a nice mixture of English progressive rock, classical, Magical Mystery Tour period Beatles; English proto-progressive rock (Procul Harum/Moody Blues), and even a tiny smidge of the European avant-garde. In general, the trademark Gentle Giant complexity is present on this album, although presented in a somewhat rawer and simpler format. There is greater emphasis on "bittersweet" melodies, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, wild solos on the electric guitar (Jimi Hendrix style) and even some heavy riffs (Why Not?). Speaking of which, Why Not? Is a fantastic tune that features some great jamming and even lapses into a sizzling blues-rock workout - something that would have been unheard of on albums like The Power and the Glory (1974) and especially Free Hand (1975). The occasional use of synthesizers is also a pleasant surprise and they would be featured to an even greater extent on Acquiring the Taste. Although very different in sound to the other tracks, Isn't it Quiet and Cold is very lighthearted and a lot of fun to listen to. The album closes with a very Jimi Hendrix-ian adaptation of The Queen. Simply great stuff from beginning to end.

All in all this is warm and inviting debut album that is very highly recommended along with the superb Acquiring the Taste. For those folks that are interested in the trademark Gentle Giant complexity, the albums Octopus; In a Glass House (1973); The Power and the Glory; and Free Hand are all excellent examples.

It is a mystery for my why this wonderful album is always
overlooked by reviewers...it gets
less starts then their later albums, and is a pity because
this is one that defines their music. An astonishing
strong debut with 6 classics.

As I said, the songs are wonderful the arrangements
are rich (I think thy use 20 different types of instruments
on this album, and they fit well together).

Some short reviews for all songs:

It starts with "Giant" a piece with medieval music influences,
that basically introduces the band. The next one,
'Funny Ways' is calmer and with a wonderful vocal line and heavy
use of chords. "Alucard" is dense with and they switch from
cords to horns and electrics. The album continue with the
delicate "Isn't it quiet and cold?" and "Nothing At All",
probably the best piece on the album, that somehow I always
associate with Doom 2, because I was listening to that one a lot
while playing Doom some 7 years ago...
"Why not" is the most 'rockable' piece on the disk and one of the
strongest too. The album ends with "The Queen" a rock version
of the British anthem..

Well.. I said enough....this is a steal guys..

On their first recording Gentle Giant hadn't yet fully developed that very unique blend of rock, jazz and Renaissance that characterized their best work. But there are many good moments in their debut, such as the opening track which fuses jazz-like riffs and majestic harmony, the spooky "Alucard" and their first rock with recorders song "Why Not?" I also like the piano in the backround of the drum solo in "Nothing at All" with its gradual shift from Lizst to "dirty" jazz and the tongue-in-cheek soft-shoe of "Isn't it Cold & Quiet?" Best of all is the haunting ballad "Funny Ways" with it's soaring strings, trumpet fanfares, and searing lyric power. By any standard this is a fine album, well worth a listen.

This is truly a terrific first effort by this brilliant band. All of their eclectic glory is revealed from the start. Where their sound would mature over subsequent albums all of the ingredients that made them such a unique band are present. Brilliant musicianship, dynamic compositions, stellar vocals and harmonies and strong production are all evident. Classical, jazz, English folk, blues and rock all inform their sound. One of the finest bands in British progressive music. Highly recommended...Simon

Most prog rock groups of the first golden era (the late '60s/ early '70s) formed their fusion with rock and classical by way of the actual classical and the romantic periods. Gentle Giant took the baroque and renaissance approach. This became more obvious in the album "Acquiring the Taste", but there are hints of it here, too. "Isn't It Quiet and Cold", with its pizzicato strings, is one example. That's another way they differed from other classically-influenced bands--others used mostly guitars and keyboards, while Gentle Giant actually played woodwinds, strings and brass. An early Moody Blues album described that group as being "the world's smallest symphony orchestra", due to their multi-instrumental talent. Myself, I think that description should have been saved for this band. Prog bands were invariably described as "taking themselves too seriously". Then how do you explain this album ending with "The Queen", which is actually "God Save The Queen"? Or, on this side of the Pond; "My Country 'Tis Of Thee". This album was not at first available in the 'States, but I'm glad they finally got around to it. Us Yanks deserved to know where Gentle Giant got their start.

All songs are very good. The band shows much promise on this album, but it still holds up after all of this years. i play this one on car rides all of the time. Alucard is one of their best, as is Funny Ways, Nothing At All, Isn't It Quiet And Cold, and Why Not?. Also The Giant. The only not good song is the queen. Kind of pointless. Startlingly mature first album by a band, sounding better than most prog bands third or fourth records.

There are at least 7 different CD releases of this album with varying sound quality. I am not sure, but I think this one on Amazon is bright but has some tape hiss. The best one to find would be the Japanese remaster.

I normally don't recommend paying the extra for hype of remastered CD's or Japanese releases. But....in the early days of CD's, a poor job was done converting some albums to CD. This bred vinyl snobs who thought LP's were better than CD's. A poor job was done on all the early Gentle Giant albums. And, there were different companies that put out the CD's. You might be lucky and end up with a CD with good quality, but if you get the Japanese remaster, you know for sure.

What I have done is make CD's off of my old LP's. (I have a profession audio CD recorder, which makes it convenient. But, it can also be done a computer, as long as it has a good sound card). I get better sound quality than I had on the store bought version of Three Friends. But, unfortunately, I get all the snap, crackle and pops that are on the vinyl. I have tried the music editing software to remove the pops, but didn't like the results. Maybe there is some newer software available.

I think that this is one of Gentle Giant's best CD's. I like that it has a variety of styles. Some of it reminds me of PFM, and other parts are like early Deep Purple (back when they were a progressive rock band).

This CD has 2 of the band's best songs, Funny Ways and Nothing At All. Admittedly, there is an even better version of Funny Ways on Playing the Fool.

The only minor track is the folksy Isn't Quiet and Cold. But, this CD is 38 minutes long, and that still leaves 35 minutes of great music. Note that most Gentle Giant albums are only about 35 minutes long.

The LP was never released in the US. If you lived in the US, you had to seek out a costly import. The cover of this first album was reused as the cover of the US version of Three Friends.