Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A challenging classic; an underappreciated, innovative band, May 11, 2000
Gentle Giant was a British progressive rock band that handled a multiplicity of musical styles (from rock and blues to Renaissance madrigals and jazz) and instruments (roughly 30 of them in concert) with ease. The songs were rhythmically complex, the lyrics rich and intelligent, vocal harmonies could break into four and five parts, and in concert the boys would treat fans to guitar quintets, percussion quintets, recorder quartets, a cello/violin/bass/drums combo, and acoustic guitar duels. That they toured with Yes, Jethro Tull, and Renaissance gives only a hint of where their talents lay.The boys issued 12 albums between 1970 and 1980, roughly in an arc that ascended to this, their fourth album, and remained at peak level for the next five, descending to a bumpy close with the final three. The fervent support of longtime fans and the introduction of new, young listeners in the late 1990s has prompted the recent issue of tribute albums, out-take collections, and a number of live recordings. _Octopus_, well loved by Giant fans, is perhaps a little on the eclectic side for the newcomer, though it sports the incredible "Advent of Panurge," with its blend of smooth keyboards and vocals punctuated by slashing passages and roaring choruses. "Raconteur Troubadour" is the rolling Renaissance cut of the album. The song that inevitably leaps out at the listener is "Knots" -- a tribute to R.D. Laing's slim volume of word game/poems, partly sung in four and five parts a capella, and alternating with playful sections of violin and xylophone. The band members' notes refer to it as "something of a musical jigsaw." Listeners unfamiliar with complex vocal styling may find it weird, but almost everyone warms to it quickly, especially with the pounding electric passages. "A Cry for Everyone," inspired by the existential philosophy of Camus, is a fairly straight rocker; "The Boys in the Band" a blistering instrumental dash with the rare break to catch a breath. "Think of Me With Kindness" offers a tender ballad, "Dog's Life" a rueful tribute to roadies, and "River" a contemplative ramble through various musical styles. From almost any other band, this amazing melange would merit five stars. But Gentle Giant was just starting an amazing run of albums that would push the envelope of musical and vocal innovation, and _In a Glass House_ (sadly unavailable now, but promised back), _Free Hand_ (more commercial and the best choice for a newbie), and the astounding double live _Playing the Fool_ have to rank higher.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gentle Giant's Best, October 17, 2001
Gentle Giant's music is, as they rightly say, an acquired taste. This gave the band a strong core of dedicated fans, but ultimately drove Gentle Giant out of existence. I have always wondered what they were thinking; you can't produce this kind of complex educated music and get any kind of commercial sucess. More accessible than Curved Air or Henry Cow, less grandiose or cosmic than Yes, Gentle Giant created a sound that no one could imitate or degrade with the exception of themselves. Octopus is the first part of the three album high point of their spiky career, culminating in Free Hand, and then fulminating on Interview, etc. The tightness of the playing, the cohesion of the vision was never better here. The songs are projections of the players: smart, sharp, and concise. The world of 1973, even with its lack of technology, internet, and globalisation, produced so much good music based on the what the musicians themselves could do, not on drum loops, samples, and sequencers, that it makes me timesick to think about it. Here is an exellent example of has been lost. Why this is not using the original Roger Dean cover is a mystery. American Prog covers are boring compared to the English artists on the late '60's and 70's.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remastered edtion of classic GG album sounds terrific, December 23, 2006
Gentle Giant's fourth album has been reissued and remastered by Repertorie for CD. The remaster sounds terrific. The new version sounds better than the U.S. domestic release and is a slight improvement on the Japanese reissue that was put out in a replica of the original album sleeve a couple of years back. It's slightly warmer sounding than previous editions with quite a bit of sonic detail. Should you upgrade? To me this is the best sounding of the reissues but some people will be happy with the Japanese pressing from 2001. That edition sounds fine but for me this one wins hands down. Considering the fact that the original mastertape is well over 30 years old, that's quite an achievement. Although the person who remastered this isn't credited they've done a splendid job.
If you don't mind the fact that the carboard sleeve isn't an exact replica of the original release, then this will be the best version to buy. Since the sound (at least to me) is more important, I'm happy with this limited edition remaster. I've posted a copy of the original cover artwork for comparison purposes. Also, the lyrics that were on the inside of the original sleeve are missing in this redesign by Martyn Dean (brother of cover designer Roger Dean)but it would have been difficult to read them anyway.
They will also reissuing "Three Friends" in Marchof 2007 in a remastered edition. Hopefully that edition will not have some of the sonic sloppiness that marred the Japanese re-release from last year.
There is, however, a poster included that duplicates the original inside of the album sleeve with the original graphic (which was the cover image rendered in blue and white). Lyrics are included here (which is probably just as well as the original lyrics would have been too small to read)along with a brief essay about the band's history (similar to the other Repertorie releases).
So should you get this if you have the previous CDs? Absolutely.The remastered sound brings this album into the 21st century on a par with some of the other top notch remasters of GG's works. If you have the Japanese edition you may want to do an A-B comparison to see which you prefer but to my mind this edition wins with a warmer slightly fuller sound. This edition is limited to ONLY 3000 copies so I'd suggesting snatching this up before it goes out of print and demands the high prices that the previous edition out of Japan did when it was released bck in 2001.
Just an addition: There appears to be a flaw that occurs on "River" and "Think of Me With Kindness". According to Eroc (who remastered this) the flaws don't appear on the master he gave to the manufacturing plant so it appears that something happened during the process of transferring the master to CD for pressing. No word on a reissue at this time.
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