The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Naturally, every group has best works like others without expression, I not prefer specifically one album, but the prolific golden phase of the Gentle Giant which was between 1971 to 1975 and were their masterpieces.
-Aquiring the Taste
-Three Friends
-Octopus
-In A Glass House
-The Power and The Glory
-Free Hand
G.Giant ever was a prog. group many years after their proper time, playing a fusion of vanguard music changing suddenly to a kind of calm Renaissance music, some moments reminding an chorus into a gothic chapel or minstrel's songs!!
Ever mixing other sounds and rhythms. Many people was thinking at that time, was a incoemprensible sound.
Imagine a music like that at seventies!!!:angel:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

You pretty much have listed their discography. There is of course the debut.

Forgot Octopus (my favorite)...that's right after Three Friends. And Interview, after Free Hand is up there with the other works.

After that there's Missing Piece. A bit less prog but a lot of fun!

And of course two more...

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Hey Toc...Forgot Octopus...not my favorite, but a seminal one... In A Glass House and Aquiring the Taste for me and a special mention to Free Hand... ;)

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Hey Toc...Forgot Octopus...not my favorite, but a seminal one... In A Glass House and Aquiring the Taste for me and a special mention to Free Hand... ;)[/quote]

Hi Carlos, really at the moment when I did the Thread I forgot to include in, and is my favourite, but now I repair.
Embrace brother.:surrender

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Really Rick, when I did the Thread I forgot to include in and it's my favourite too, but are in gold G. Giant phase, 1971 to 1975.
Embrace, sorry.:surrender

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

G.G. in the years 1971-1975 were very popular here in Italy, and not only for music expert listeners, but for true different kind of young people. The creative magic moment of the Shulmans and Minnear faded-out after the album "Interview", in part for market motivations and in part, i think, for a real loss of creativity from the members.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Three Friends, easily.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Really friend, market and the loss of creativity are normaly the causes that
faded-out a group, as well as internal contrariety!!:boxing:
Unfortunely!

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Really friend, a masterpiece too.
I like very much a part in the song Schooldays, when begin the piano of Minnear and after a voice begin to sing a melodius theme:
"Remember.... Remember when we together, Went to the sea....Was it real or did we dream. The days of children
gone.
Seagull's scream............."
Who of us don't remember the good moments of our childhood...and the big impression that the sea in us cause :-V

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

John Galgano from Izz did a really nice piano and voice version of "Think of Me With Kindness" last night :thumbsup:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Nice song right, are in Octopus my work Fav.
"Sleep while the sweet sorrow wakes my daydream......"
Do you have this last version? Where I can to listen.. the Radio has?
I like very much of "The Boys in the Band" it's so well essayed.....:thumbsup:
The guitar solo of Green with voice together in the song River it's nice...:dogpile:
Bye Rick.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

A agree with Rick, that Missing Piece should not be excluded from the GG masterpieces. And actually, I like Civilian as well. It's quite different from the earlier work - less classical and more rock. But still great melody lines and arrangements. And "Shadows On The Street" would fit perfectly on any 70's GG album.

The only one record I really don't like is Giant For A Day, which is somehow stuck in between and sounds like the band searching for a new style, but not really succeeding.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Interesting take on the last two records. I prefer GFAD, but I like the argument made for Civilian. I'll rretry it sometime.

The test of an enduring band is the ability to meld so many facets into its work. Giant is the standard for this.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

In every G.G work, there are a G.G signature, which are good sense, good taste, parts well instrumented in the music, with their respectives players.
High performances of everyone, telling about it:
I have a DVD named Giant in the Box, very good, the performance of the players are bombastic!!!:jawdrop:=8^O :eek:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Hi Rawol !!
Really "Shadows on the Street", remind a little bit the seventies G.G Phase, but obviusly the G.G melodies are present in every work! Like I was telling to Rick,the G.G signature wich are good sense, good taste, music well instrumented, etc.Are a constant presense in every G.G work!!
I have a DVD named "Giant On The Box" which are an special of German TV 1974, and other of the US TV Concert, it's very good.
Do you are from Bavaria?
Ich liebe in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil und habe Deutsche abstammung, aber meinen grosseltern haben aus Westphalen gekommen !
Auf Wiedersehen!:-V

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Obviouly Rick, "The Missing Piece" are enchanted too, less Prog. than the others, but very good, I like the songs: Winning, Memories of Old Days and For Nobody:
There are a part of Winning which Shulman's voice and Minnear's keyboard enters together unissonant : " No returning... no looking back...on with this way... ( Transmiting energy, power, fiber..) ,excellent!:aua:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Actually, For Nobody is one of my favorite GG tracks!

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Back in the day, I remember seeing GG on their final tour in Chicago. When they played "Betcha Thought". some in the audience even booed. At that time, I was so disappointed in them that I didn't even give Missing Piece a fair chance. As Time Drifts by, and as I got more desperate for their music, much of that album has grown on me. Civilian has too. It would be very difficult to name any favorites as at different times, they're all my favorites! I do love On Reflection, Playing the Game, 3 Friends...I love em all! :haha:

Another DVD to get is GG at the GG. Not only to see this incredible band live, but to hear just a little bit of Kerry's newly composed music for the DVD (the intro and menu music). Just that justifies getting the DVD for me.

Are any of you on the GG list, On-Reflection? Info here: http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/

Some of you here know that I am involved with a few CD projects of music inspired by GG fans, and we do have a little bit of GG in the music besides the inspiration. On "Let Truth Reveal the Beast" by Dan Bornemark & Helena Josefsson, John Weathers (Pugwash), the GG drummer on everything after Three Friends, sings a bit of backup there. It's in the playlist here on AM. We also have a new CD due very soon where John programmed the drum track for a song by John Eyre (John can no longer play drums for medical reasons). I would hope that someday I could say there is a bit more participation from other band members, but that remains to be seen.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Hi Andy!
Nice to corresponding with you , a good musician and a person who many important things are did to the GG's fan world.
I didn't know about the John's health problem, sadly I received the notice ! Let's to pray to the John's health begin to bettering. I hope that soon others giants will begin to participate too of the activities.
Telling about GG.Songs. A song which there are a force very descriptive are in the album Aquiring the taste, is Black Cat. If you begin to listen and close your eyes, easily a Black Cat appears walking with his proper charming and elegancy.....:hrm:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

I totally agree. You haven't included their first album and the weirdest of them all "Interview" on your list. They went a bit commercial after that. Shorter songs and Genesis like production. The magic was gone.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Interview's a great record.

Plenty of magic on Missing Piece though...

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Really Kaltsu!! Interview it's an fantástic GG work , every song it's like another GG work, well done.
The song for example Give it Back, remind me a kind of Prog.Reggae, it's a very authentic and intelligent work with a kind of Reggae rhytm + Variations + Progressive sounds and effects.
But inside the album the songs that I like more are Another Show ,Empty City and I Lost My Head.
All very, very good songs!:rockband:

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Thanks Toccata- it's always exciting to find others who feel the same about their music. I love Black Cat! You can find something interesting in just about everything they did!

I don't know about living up to the "good musician", but I'll keep trying. I am but a cog in cogs :D ;)

Good choice for a nick name. You have obviously been "touched" by good music! Toccata:
Etymology:
Italian, from toccare to touch, from Vulgar Latin — more at touch
Date:
circa 1724

: a musical composition usually for organ or harpsichord in a free style and characterized by full chords, rapid runs, and high harmonies

I actually asked the organist at my wedding to play Toccata and Fugue, but she declined. It's a beautiful piece. But it gets associated with other things...;)

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Hey Rick,

Nice to see you say that 8-)

I think there is magic on MP, but it is diminished from previous albums. Civilian is good when I'm in a Rock out mood....

BTW, did everyone catch the question on Interview, where they are asked "how would you describe your music?"

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

OK- this thread MADE me put on a couple GG CDs. First, I spun Civilian. Loved it. Rocked out totally to it. Love the playing, GG snuck in some nice syncopations here and there. But then I played 3 Friends. Compositionally, there is almost no comparison. There is soooo much more magic on 3F than on Civ.

Did you know that at the beginning of Mr Class and Quality, the first 30 seconds of that little jam is actually the same notes (played on the bass) as 3 Friends? Listen to it carefully. It's so cleverly done! And be aware that the track marker for 3 F is off (on the CD) as it actually starts in the middle of Mr Class and Quality. 3 F starts with a different melody. It lasts for only about 2-3 minutes (anyone care to guess how many times that phrase repeats?). No such problem with the vinyl version. There are many other ways in which the compositions on 3F are richer than Civ, but I'll stop here. If you don't think so, try learning the parts (guitar, bass, keys, whatever) to Civ, then try 3F. If you don't play an instrument, focus on one and try humming with that part.

There is another difference, and that is the stylistic difference between John (Pugwash) Weathers' drumming and Malcolm Mortimer's. I love them both, and I think 3 F sounds different in part because of Malc. That guitar-drums jam they did in Peel the Paint was a magic moment. His drum beat to 3 Friends is masterfull. I think Pug's style went well with the rest of their albums- he kept a strong beat while the rest did their very difficult rhythmic variations. John was steady. Malc likes to improvise.

GG tried to feed their families by changing direction. Remember, punk was in, prog was on its way out. It's really too bad that they had to do that to survive financially. And even so, they ended their recording careers by trying to be what their loyal fans perceived to be, someone other than themselves. And the world lost what would have been the next GG albums.

Thanks for making me listen! :D :D :D

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Very good points about three friends......Ray's bass playing is absolutely brilliant. And a great point about the drumming!

I must take issue about the feeding the family line though - Derek, with Simon Dupree (pre-Giant) really wasn't doing Giant-type stuff. And given his vocational pursuits post-Giant, I don't think he was ever comfortable blazing a trail for Prog. Giant was the perfect storm of diverse elements blending to make fantastic records. Gary can rock out (actually he can play anything), Kerry and Ray drove the sound, and Phil had his own way....sometimes it was even basic rock. I mean look at The House The Street The Room....hard rock mixed in with the Kerry pastoral sections. I Lost My Head, they could rock.

My favorite Giant tune is In A Glass House. It's got everything rolled up into one song.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

You're so right about Ray- because he doesn't play like a typical bass player, I forget to give him credit. He is as superb musician who happened to play the bass (among other instruments).

I meant to say that they felt (at that time) they needed to become more commercial to survive financially (after the fact it turned out to be the kiss of death). The Simon Dupree thing may have been an attempt at hitting the rock scene, I dunno. But the Shulmans and Kerry have classical training, which is where they got many of their musical ideas. According to the Italian interview on the DVD, they were trying to be "different". And when they did that, they were successful.

Re: The best work of Gentle Giant.
 

Thanks Andy!! Toccata is an excellent nickname , Bach was the man of the toccatas everythings are wonderfulls, he wrote a lot of pieces. There are one organ's piece which I love too, is Bach's Passacaglia.
Sadly the marriage's organist decline to play, right.
GG was a very creative group, there are here on this thread , I wrote to a Moonie fellow, commenting about Give it Back of the work Interview:
Remind me a kind of ProgReggae : Reggae rhytms + Variation + Prog Music and Prog effeccts.Was a Giants Really!!
Bye.:rockband: