The Gentle Giant Discography

[darkshade]

Free Hand was an early favorite. I think I was 18 when I first heard this album. Listening to this now, and I'm being swept with memories and feelings of nostalgia, as a few friends and I would listen to this album (among others) while hanging out and smoking some herb. Gentle Giant, while more known for their crazy compositions and great rocking riffs, also show off a side that most prog bands can't/don't, which is their gentle  side, their tender, beautiful side, like on His Last Voyage, which may be the most beautiful prog song ever written. HLV has some "proggy moments" but is all emotion, and one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard, so much soul, another thing most prog bands lack, especially those formed after the 1970s.

I can't get enough of Free Hand, though this is the first time I've listened in a while. I'm always reminded of the past when I hear it, I recall a time a couple of friends listened to the whole album in one sitting, and we were like "whoa we listened to the whole thing!" and it's funny because it's only like 36 minutes long, and I listen to 1 hour - 2 hour long albums and live shows all the time these days.

[Orbert]

Gentle Giant toured North America, Great Britain, and Europe to promote Free Hand, their most successful album yet.  Between tours, and likely during them as well, they somehow found time to write, rehearse, and record the follow-up, In'terview.

They took a month off to write the album, followed by their usual three weeks in the studio to record it.  After the one-month writing period was over, they didn't have a complete album yet, but the studio time was already booked, so they proceeded into the studio to begin recording what they had, while writing continued.  The three weeks they had booked did not prove to be enough time, and they eventually finished recording about a week later, grabbing extra studio time whenever available.

The results reflect the frenetic pace at which the album went from nothing to finished product.  While the production is excellent, and the arrangements easily up to Gentle Giant standards, the songwriting is perhaps a bit less consistent.  But make no mistake; there are no weak Gentle Giant albums.

In'terview (1976)



Gary Green: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Alto Recorder, Backing Vocals
Kerry Minnear: Minimoog, Piano, Hammond Organ, Clavinet, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Clavichord, Marimba, Percussion, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Derek Shulman: Lead Vocals, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
Ray Shulman: Bass, Electric Violin, Violin, 12 String Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals
John Weathers: Drums, Tambourine, Percussion, Finger Cymbal, Cowbell, Cabasa, Güiro, Gong, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals
Phil Sutcliffe: Interviewer
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1 Interview (6:54)
2 Give It Back (5:12)
3 Design (5:00)
4 Another Show (3:29)
5 Empty City (4:23)
6 Timing (4:52)
7 I Lost My Head (6:57)

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The album concept is something of a musical interview.  It starts quietly with the sounds of people pulling up chairs and a bit of casual conversation, then we hear the interviewer ask "Where shall we begin?" Sometime during this, you've turned the volume up to catch whatever you can, so when the song Interview starts, with its driving, irregular beat, it hits you right in the face.  The song is a combination of serious answers to unspoken questions ("After the fourth once, realisation...") and a parody of all the inane questions they get asked in every interview (which they don't answer at all).

Give It Back answers the question which no one had yet dared to ask, which is "What if Gentle Giant wrote a reggae song?"  This is the answer.  It's reggae, but with the demented Gentle Giant twist.  You might think you know where the rhythm is going, but you would probably be wrong.

The interview continues.  "How would you describe your music?"  In response, they all begin talking at once (which is actually pretty funny if you know Gentle Giant music at all).

At one point late in the process, Kerry sat in a basement room with a guitar and a tape recorder, writing, while the rest of the band was upstairs recording.  He then came up and passed out finished parts to everyone, and they recorded Design, another masterpiece of composition and arrangement.  Until they had a master, even Kerry did not know how the finished song would sound.

Another Show kinda bugs me.  It's the uptempo, ranting, shouting song, and certain phrases are punctuated with the sound of a Hammond organ being unplugged while being played, representing the hurry to tear down the set and get ready for another town and another show.  For a long time, I avoided this album, having never really played it enough times to become familiar with it, but seemed to remember a bunch of half-baked songs and one song (this one) with the horrible whining, droning sound.  I realize now that if I could've skipped this song, my opinion of the album would have been much, much higher.  And as always, one cannot pass judgement on a Gentle Giant album until at least half a dozen complete listens, and I don't know if I ever got that many.

Going immediately to the other end of the sonic spectrum, Empty City opens with a quiet acoustic guitar duet (Gary on six-string, Ray on 12-string) eventually joined by the rest of the band and finally the vocals.  The song takes us through a few changes, and eventually leaves us with the same quiet mood with which we began.  It's a beautiful, introspective piece.

The interviewer asks four more questions.  The answers come in the form of Timing, which features the trademark Gentle Giant interweaving of parts, and rhythms completed only after all parts are present, sometimes including even the vocals.

I Lost My Head is another "two part" song, starting with a quiet section before bursting forth into the hard-rocking second section, similar to "Peel the Paint" from the third album.  Interesting then, that these two songs are combined into a sort of medley on the live album.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The interview, and the album itself, ends with the interviewer thanking the band for their time, and wishing them luck.

----------

I had a lot of trouble with this album at first, which could have been alleviated greatly if Skip button technology had existed on consumer-grade turntables in the 70's.  That horrible sound on "Another Show" actually bothered me so much that I ended up just not playing the album at all, and missing out on another great Gentle Giant album.  I don't like this one as much as Free Hand, but it is a worthy follow-up.

The other problem I have is the "interview" parts.  As a concept, it's pretty cool, and spoken word has its place in some songs, but for me there's just no replay value.  Whatever it adds to the songs and the concept, it takes away from the overall flow of the album.  Sorry, but I'd rather just have a collection of songs I can listen to.  Not everything has to be connected via some grand theme or concept, and it's just a bit annoying when the music stops every couple of songs and there's some barely audible talking.

During the Free Hand tour, the band was frustrated to find that there were some songs that they just could not perform live.  They could not reproduce all of the parts on the studio version, and could not even (to their satisfaction) cover all the essential parts.  This led to a conscious effort to only record songs which they could play in a live setting.  In'terview therefore continued the streamlining of the Gentle Giant sound.  Once they had finished recording the album, Kerry noted that there were no cellos, flutes, recorders, or vibes.  "Maybe it's rock and roll" joked Ray.  (Also, Kerry was mistaken; the alto recorder makes a brief appearance on "I Lost My Head".)

[Podaar]

Listening now. I take back my earlier comment that Mr. Nalder played all the GG albums in my art class. I'm pretty sure I've never heard this one before...but then, it was a long time ago.

So far, Interview, Empty City, and Timing are really standing out for me. I didn't even notice Another Show, so I'll listen again this afternoon when I'm less distracted.

[edit] I don't know, I enjoy Another Show. It's a bit frenetic but I think that's part of its charm. I imagine that the "unplugging" would get a bit repetitive if I listened to the album frequently.

Still enjoying the journey, Orbert! Thanks. [/edit]

[Mladen]

I've heard this one for the first time last year and thought it was very good. A slight drop in quality after Free hand, but still good. But now that I've returned to it after a while... Well, it's better than I remembered it. The first two songs are tremendous, the next two are absolutely insane. Still listening.

EDIT: I lost my head is also great. I really enjoyed the album this time around.

[Orbert]

I've found that I like the album a lot more now as well.  "Another Show" isn't quite as horrible as I remembered, though I do still skip it, usually.

[splent]

We learned interview for our final show in Milwaukee but otherwise didn't do anything off of this album.

[Orbert]

Did you do both vocal parts, or was someone else "the interviewer"?

("What are your plans for the future, etc?")

[Mosh]

Give It Back has some really pleasant melodies and an orchestral vibe to it. I guess the emphasis on upbeats has a reggae association, but I hear more of a waltz, at least toward the end. By far my favorite thing about this band is how they managed to take rock instrumentation and do more with it than anyone else had up to that point.

The percussion in Design is very Zappa-esque.

I'm indifferent to the interview portions, although they seem executed poorly. They're mixed way too quietly and I'm not sure how it relates to a greater concept than "they just felt like putting it in there".

I Lost My Head has some really interesting stuff going on in the keyboard department.

Another solid Gentle Giant album. It was short, but once again I feel like my brain has been put in a knot after listening.

[splent]

Did you do both vocal parts, or was someone else "the interviewer"?

("What are your plans for the future, etc?")

I did both

[Orbert]

Did no one else in that band sing?  I can't remember now.  I always liked how you could cover both Derek's and Kerry's voices, but if there was ever a song that cried out for a second lead voice, this is it.

I forgot to mention that the part of the interviewer in "Interview" was sung by John Weather, making his lead vocal debut, so I'll mention it now.

[ChuckSteak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gvtLa0R7kQ

[Orbert]

Whoa, thanks for that!  Never heard that before.  I think the title of the vid goes a bit overboard, saying "Frank Zappa praises Gentle Giant" when they were really just mentioned once, and he just said that he'd heard some interesting things from them, but I suppose it's notable that they were the first band he thought of when asked that question.

[Orbert]

I love live albums.  I love live music, and hearing what a band can do in "real time" to me is crucial to understanding who and what they are as musicians and as a band.  Then you have bands like Gentle Giant who regarded studio work and live performance as two different media.  It's not just evident in their recorded work; they've said so themselves on multiple occassions.  The studio version of a song is just the starting point, the blueprint from which the live performance evolves.

Here then are the "evolved" versions of many of their best and/or best-known songs.  And true to Gentle Giant's purist tendencies, there are no overdubs.  Although it is made up from different performances in different cities, it is clearly meant to represent a concert "warts and all", though there are very few warts.

The Official Live Gentle Giant: Playing the Fool (1977)






Gary Green:  Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals, Alto and Soprano Recorders, Percussion
Kerry Minnear: Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Cello, Vibes, Tenor Recorder, Percussion
Derek Shulman: Lead Vocals, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Recorder, Bass, Percussion
Ray Shulman: Bass, Backing Vocals, Violin, Acoustic Guitar, Soprano Recorder, Trumpet, Percussion
John Weathers: Drums, Backing Vocals, Vibes, Tambourine, Percussion

----------

1 Just the Same/Proclamation (11:13)
2 On Reflection (6:20)
3 Excerpts from "Octopus" (15:35)
4 Funny Ways (8:35)
5 The Runaway/Experience (9:31)
6 So Sincere (10:22)
7 Free Hand (7:40)
8 Sweet Georgia Brown (Breakdown in Brussels) (1:15)
9 Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head (7:35)

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The album opens with the sounds of classical music playing as the audience enters and finds their seats.  Nothing too unusual about that, for prog bands anyway, except you might notice that the music (reeds, winds, and strings) is being played by the band itself.  It builds up to a frenzy, then suddenly stops and the band starts snapping their fingers, which is the start of Just the Same, which similarly opened their album Free Hand.  The live version of this song isn't much different from the studio version, and there's no extraordinary instrumentation (not even the saxophone, as Derek would be pretty challenged to sing and play saxophone at the same time), but it's a catchy song and a good opener.  After a false ending, they go directly into "Proclamation", which is something like their second opener, as it was originally the first track on The Power and The Glory.  And even though it isn't listed that way, it's actually a medley of "Proclamation" and "Valedictory", which was the closing track on The Power and The Glory and is something of a reprise of "Proclamation".  So the opening track is actually a medley of three songs.

Gentle Giant discovered early on that Kerry Minnear could not sing lead vocals in a live setting.  His voice is beautiful, but very quiet, and because there were no fancy headset microphones back then, there was no way to mike him so that he could be heard while playing his myriad keyboards.  So they rearranged the songs where Kerry originally sang lead vocals, and On Reflection is our first example of that.  They literally turned the song inside out.  The piece starts with an acoustic treatment of what was originally the bridge ("I'll remember the good things, how can you forget?") played on violin, cello, and two recorders.  Then comes the amazing four-part vocal fugue, originally the main theme.  They pull it off live quite brilliantly, even the second verse where there's a different instrument following each voice.  Then they go back to the bridge theme, this time played on electric instruments.

Excerpts from "Octopus" nearly defies description, other than to say that it's a medley of bits from the album Octopus.  But not all the bits are from Octopus; at least one bit is from another album and some parts are new anyway.  It starts with the familiar sound of a coin being tossed, and "The Boys in the Band" begins.  They then go into an acoustic guitar duet by Gary and Ray based on "Raconteur Troubadour" and which incorporates "Acquiring the Taste" before going into "Knots".  A keyboard break (dubbed the "Ocean Bridge") leads into "The Advent of Panurge", except that instead of the strange break in a foreign language, it's a recorder solo over the bass and drums.  Then it's a recorder duet, then a trio, then Ray finally sets the bass down and grabs a fourth recorder.  The quartet proceeds, accompanied by some percussion here and there courtesy of John Weathers, and ultimately they finish with the rest of "The Advent of Panurge".

I remember sitting in my dorm room in 1980 listening to this album, this piece in particular, and wondering what kind of minds could even come up with it.  By this time, my roommates and I had managed to find three or four other Gentle Giant albums, but had no idea what "Octopus" was.  This was pre-Internet, so there was no way to look up a band's catalogue, especially one as obscure as Gentle Giant.  One theory we had was that there was no "Octopus"; they simply came up with an amazing, bizarre piece of music and titled it "Excerpts from Octopus" because it sounded like bits and pieces from something.  It was years before one of us found a copy of Octopus, thus solving the mystery.

Funny Ways proceeds mostly according to the studio version (with a few modifications so things flow better in a live setting), except for a totally psychotic vibes solo from Kerry.  So Kerry plays keyboards, cello, and vibes in this one.  I think this is my favorite track from this album, just because the vibes solo is so mind-blowing.

"This album was called In a Glass... House" and during the slight pause before Derek says "House" you can hear someone in the audience go "WAAAAHHHHH!!!" and it always cracks me up because he does it a couple of places on the album.  Live albums are awesome like that.  We're then treated to a nice little mashup of The Runaway  and Experience.  Normally I cringe a bit at bands that catch "medleyitis" later in their careers.  I'd much rather hear entire songs than bits and pieces of different things thrown together just to cover more songs, and it strikes me now that four of the nine tracks here are medleys, but other than "Excerpts from 'Octopus'", the songs are mostly intact, and since Gentle Giant has already shown a tendency to cut up and rearrange things for the live version anyway, it seems to fit right in.  Also, this was before I knew any of the original versions, so there was no "Oh man, they cut to a different song right before that one section."

So Sincere starts off innocently enough, except for them omitting the oddly syncopated "So.. Sin... cere" probably it was impossible for even them to play and sing at the same time.  But once we get to the guitar solo, things start going off the rails (in a good way).  First the drums keep going while everyone else stops, but it's not a regular drum solo; you eventually realize that he's playing the same thing that the instruments were playing.  Same rhythm, same syncopation.  Then one by one, John is joined by the other members of the group and eventually we have what is referred to as The Five-Man Percussion Bash.  Other bands might have a drum solo, but only Gentle Giant gives you The Five-Man Percussion Bash.  Then suddenly all five of them are playing tuned percussion.  Eventually, they switch back to regular percussion, and the song ends.

The live version Free Hand is another one that they've turned inside out.  Instead of the mellow middle section, they go the other way and build up to a driving, rocking jam based on the opening riff.  Then a verse which is something like a capella except that it's accompanied by drums (it's hard to describe; you're better off just listening to it), then a guitar solo, then they come back for the final verse.  I love the contrasting middle section of the studio version, but I also love the totally rocked-up live version.

Sweet Georgia Brown (Breakdown in Brussels) is named so because two songs into the show in Brussels, they lost power to the right side of the stage, including all the keyboards.  While electricians and roadies worked furiously to get things working again, Ray grabbed his violin, Gary grabbed an acoustic guitar, and they treated the audience to an impromptu interlude.

The closing medley of Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head is, as noted upthread, made up of two "two-part" songs.  "Peel the Paint" and "I Lost My Head" originally had a mellow section followed by a more rocking section.  This medley fuses an instrumental version of the mellow part of "Peel the Paint" to the heavier part of "I Lost My Head", which originally closed the album Interview, and closes the live album from the tour as well.

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I could try to be unbiased regarding this album, but I would not succeed.  The was the first Gentle Giant album I ever heard, and I was completely blown away.  It was 1978, and it changed and shaped my concept of what it means to play live music, and the possibilities therein.  Back then, most bands only released one live album, maybe two if they were around for longer than average and/or they were really, really popular.  Also, there was no YouTube, and no home video, so no way to experience a band in a live setting other than actually going to a concert.  A band's live album therefore wasn't just the next best thing to seeing them live; it was the only alternative.  I played this one over and over, and it is still my favorite Gentle Giant album.

People come up to me after gigs raving about how I switched from keys to sax and back again during that one song (actually there are three) or whip out a recorder or bang a cowbell or something.  Even with my church band, I've arranged things for me to switch instruments during songs where feasible.  People go nuts over that kind of thing, but really, they need to see Gentle Giant.  Five guys playing 20 different instruments during the course of the night, every one of them brilliantly.  That is musicianship.  To say that this band inspired me as a budding musician would be an understatement.

[Mosh]

I'm not familiar enough with their music to figure out what they changed, but this is an enjoyable listen. I was really curious how well their music would translate live and I'm very impressed.

Loved the rearranged On Reflection.

Really enjoyed this one.

[Orbert]

[splent]

Did no one else in that band sing?  I can't remember now.  I always liked how you could cover both Derek's and Kerry's voices, but if there was ever a song that cried out for a second lead voice, this is it.

I forgot to mention that the part of the interviewer in "Interview" was sung by John Weather, making his lead vocal debut, so I'll mention it now.

I did the majority of the singing but everyone sang at one point (on reflection) and Mike (the violinist/bassist) sang secondary.

[Orbert]

Guys, I just wanted to say that The Gentle Giant Discography will continue, but I've been busy as hell the past couple weeks.

Stay tuned, and take this opportunity to check out more live Gentle Giant.


Gentle Giant Live in Long Beach 1975 Full Concert

Gentle Giant German TV ZDF 1974-Live Brussels film studio

[Orbert]

Okay, maybe you don't have time for full concert vids.  But if there is one song you must see and believe, it's On Reflection.

[Mladen]

Thanks for the wonderful videos, looking forward to learning more about the more obscure albums that are coming up.

[splent]

Okay, maybe you don't have time for full concert vids.  But if there is one song you must see and believe, it's On Reflection.

 

[Orbert]

The Missing Piece (1977)



(There are no musician credits, but they're something like this)

Gary Green:  Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Kerry Minnear: Keyboards, Vocals
Derek Shulman: Lead Vocals
Ray Shulman: Bass, 12-String Guitar, Percussion
John Weathers: Drums, Drum Machine, Percussion

----------

1 Two Weeks in Spain (3:07)
2 I'm Turning Around (3:59)
3 Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It (2:25)
4 Who Do You Think You Are? (3:35)
5 Mountain Time (3:20)
6 As Old as You're Young (4:21)
7 Memories of Old Days (7:18)
8 Winning (4:18)
9 For Nobody (4:05)
 
----------

Gentle Giant were at a turning point.  The live album Playing the Fool was recognized as an artistic success, but commercially it fared much better in The United States and Europe than in their home, Great Britain.  (It is not insignificant that Playing the Fool was recorded on their European tour.)

The music scene in the U.K. was changing.  Prog was suddenly quite out of fashion, in favor of New Wave and Punk.  These same trends would soon be echoed on this side of the Atlantic.  Overnight, the amazing musicianship and esoterica in which Gentle Giant prided themselves were scorned, seen as pretentious.  The public ear was ready for a change.

After working hard for six years to build a following, they were still frustrated by how little real success they had found at home, and what little they had seemed about to evaporate.  Their mantra of doing what they wanted to do artistically, popularity be damned, was being severely tested.

One could, however, argue that The Missing Piece was exactly the album that they wanted to do.  Ray and Derek were drawn to some of the newer music being made, both Punk and New Wave.  Kerry wasn't quite so eager to compromise their artistic vision, but, as always, Gentle Giant were a blend of many styles.  There was no reason why some newer influences couldn't be added to the mix.

The Missing Piece, then, is back-to-basics Gentle Giant.  Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals.  No violins or cellos, saxophones or trumpets, recorders or tuned percussion.

In 1981, my roommates and I sat and played this album, the copy we'd found in a used record store in East Lansing, Michigan; and we could tell by the year of release, 1977, that it must be the next album right after the amazing live Playing the Fool.  We couldn't wait to hear what they'd done next.

Two Weeks in Spain had us staring at each other in disbelief.  It sounded like them.  That's definitely Derek's distinctive voice.  The guitar and keyboards combined and played off of each other in that Gentle Giant way, and that sure sounds like John Weathers on drums, with that GG backbeat holding it all together.  Also, where in the heck is the downbeat?  Where is "one"?  The song sounds at first like a "simple" song in 4/4 but, as always, Gentle Giant is not as simple as it seems.

I remember grabbing the record jacket, looking for the musician credits, but there are none.  The sleeve was plain paper, but this was from a used record store, so it's possible that there were credits, lyrics, and/or pictures on the original sleeve.  We didn't know.  But we were sure of one thing: This was a different sound for Gentle Giant.  Stripped down.  "Commerical" was the word we used for "the opposite of Prog", but then "Prog" wasn't the word we used yet, either.  I believe it was still "Art Rock" at the time.

But really, what the hell was this?  How could the same five guys, on the very next album, create music so fundamentally different?

I'm Turning Around starts with Kerry Minnear's Wurlizter electric piano, and is a nice little "mellow" song with a chorus that's a bit less mellow, but the song overall is firmly in "ballad" territory.  And yes, the arrangement is quite simple compared to earlier Gentle Giant.  We already were bracing ourselves for an entire album of... well, "disappointment" is the easiest way to describe it.

Gentle Giant, ever self-aware and self-deprecating, come right out and tell us what's up.  Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It boasts that this is the album (they assumed) no one thought they could make.  Of course it comes down to exactly what the question was.  Did we think they couldn't make a commercially viable album, one that could actually sell, maybe break the Top 100?  Or did we think that they couldn't channel their considerable musical talent into something still recognizable as Gentle Giant, but somehow radio friendly?

I betcha thought we couldn't do it.  And if you did we wouldn't try
I betcha thought we couldn't do it.  But if we didn't we would die

We built our house stone by stone.  Little help, we were on our own
Made the town, torn it down. Now you know, tell me how it feels

We've been waiting such a long long time.  To fit the pattern, fill the rhyme
Now we can't stick in our old ways.  Now it's out we'll see how you feel

So this is it.  Gentle Giant does Punk.  Now we knew what we were listening to.  It's not that we didn't think they could do it.  It's that we really didn't want them to even try.

Who Do You Think You Are? takes us a step back towards... something.  It's bluesy, it's got some kind of dark shuffle thing going on.  The melody doesn't quite do what you think it will, not all the time anyway.  It's hard to describe this one.

The trend continues with Mountain Time, which is reminiscent of mountain music, with a little bit of 30's jazz vocal thrown in, and a dash of blues and pinch of honky-tonk for flavor.  An odd tune, but catchy.

As Old as You're Young is the other keyboard-driven Kerry song.  On earlier, more adventurous albums, this would be the simpler song which serves as a break from the insanity.  Interestingly, it serves a similar purpose here.

Memories of Old Days is the one which catches the attention of long-term Gentle Giant fans.  Gary and Ray on their dueling acoustic guitars, the moody keyboard melody evoking children's tunes and times gone by, and lyrics mourning the passing of time and of innocence.  A beautiful, wistful piece, by far the longest track on the album, though that's not saying much.  Gentle Giant songs usually aren't long anyway, and on this album, with a focused effort to keep things simple, they're downright short.  So at just over seven minutes, this one's an epic by comparison.

It took me a long time to be able to listen to Winning, and I'm still not sure how much I like it.  Once I got past all the percussion, which is very upfront and very "in-your-face", I could hear the guitars and keyboards intertwining, finishing each other's phrases, as with the puzzle-piece Gentle Giant of old.  This song is very much in the vein of older Gentle Giant in terms of innovation and just plain going for it; it's just not a side of them I've always cared for.

For Nobody is, as is so often the case, the straight-on rocker to end the album.  On an album full of more stripped-down rock and roll, that's not really a shock.  But this is a good song, reminiscent in some ways of songs like "Mobile" from Free Hand (the break features odd vocals harmonies, with some kind of phasing of flanging effect on them), which was another great album closer.

And then it was over.  We'd turned the record over between "Mountain Time" and "As Old As You're Young", and maybe we'd noted that the second side was more Prog than the first side, though again we didn't use that term at the time.  All we knew is that Gentle Giant had "gone Commercial".  They had to change their sound or die, as they said so clearly in "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It".  So they changed their sound.  Still Gentle Giant, still the same five guys, the same lineup since In a Glass House.  But this was the new Gentle Giant.

Okay fine, I'll just say it:  I don't like this album.  But I said it before: There are no weak Gentle Giant albums.  How did I decide that?  I used the old tried-and-true method of asking myself  "What if this was the first album I'd ever heard from this band?"  The problem was that we had come to expect a certain something from Gentle Giant, and if it wasn't there, then something was missing.  The missing piece.

But if I'd never heard Gentle Giant before, whether or not I cared for the style right away (anything can grow on you after a while), I could not deny that these guys have chops.  And as much as this sounds like a stripped-down, back-to-basics album, there's a lot going on here.  Intricacies you just don't normally hear in Punk or New Wave.  A sophistication in the arrangements, even if that very sophistication is being used to make the songs seem simpler than they are.

Unfortunately, this album did not sell well, and was not received very well artistically, either.  Most longtime Gentle Giant fans were alienated by the drastic change in sound, and Gentle Giant didn't exactly make a lot of new fans, who had no idea what to make of this strange band.

Contemporaries Yes, Genesis, and others managed to change their sound to meet the end of 70's Prog and the rising New Wave and Punk.  Gentle Giant had a more awkward transition, and this was it.  An awkward, transitional album.

[Mosh]

It was a competent attempt at more commercial sounding rock music, but it was also very boring. It was lacking nearly everything that I enjoy about the band.

[Mladen]

This one isn't one of my favorites. The classic Gentle Giant sound is much better on the previous albums, and the commercial Gentle Giant sound is much better on the following album. Two weeks in Spain is fun, the last two songs are also really cool, but the rest is just... kind of there.

[Orbert]

A lot of very talented musicians say things like "Oh, anybody could write pop songs.  They're so simple and formulaic."  I'm not accusing Gentle Giant of ever saying such a thing; in fact, I would assume that they were smart enough to know better.  Simon Dupree and the Big Sound had, in fact, attained a small amount of commercial success via two singles, so they knew the difference between writing what you like and writing what the general public likes.

Still, I'm sure it came as a bit of a shock to them when, upon deciding to make a commercially viable album, they realized how difficult it really is.  It didn't help that by 1977, music had completely changed, so what little experience they had in pop music in 1969 was no longer applicable.

To me, this album has always sounded like Gentle Giant trying to write a pop album (which is exactly what it was) and, to put it bluntly, failing.

Also, I agree that the next album is better.

[splent]

I don't mind this album.

We did two weeks in Spain, for nobody, and as old as you're young, which was probably my favorite one I enjoyed singing with the group because I was 20 years younger than everyone

[ChuckSteak]

I don't like anything that comes after Interview. The only song that saves this record and is also a classic is Memories Of Old Days.

[Orbert]

Maybe a bit harsh, but totally understandable.  I was the same way for a long time.  It was only after playing this album over and over during the past two weeks that I've come to "accept" a few of the others, but I don't actually like any other track on this album.

There's some good stuff coming, though.  In particular, I really like most of Civilian.  It's just hard to get past the fact that it's so different from their earlier material.

[splent]

Just FYI we only did one track off civilian and nothing off giant for a day (and I really don't like that album, but I like civilian) so that tells you my contributions coming up lol

[Orbert]

Giant for a Day! (1978)



Gary Green:  Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Background Vocals
Kerry Minnear: Keyboards, Vocals, Some Bass
Derek Shulman: Lead and Background Vocals
Ray Shulman: Bass, 12-String Guitar, Background Vocals
John Weathers: Drums, Percussion, Lead Vocals on Track 7

----------

1 Words from the Wise (4:14)
2 Thank You (4:50)
3 Giant for a Day! (3:49)
4 Spooky Boogie (2:55)
5 Take Me (3:39)
6 Little Brown Bag (3:26)
7 Friends (2:00)
8 No Stranger (2:29)
9 It's Only Goodbye (4:19)
10 Rock Climber (3:52)
 
----------

Gentle Giant continued to push towards a more accessible sound.  The strings and winds were long gone now, and also the odd time signatures, counterpoint, and esoteric musical influences which were once what made Gentle Giant so unique.  After struggling for nearly a decade, and clearly having given up on the idea that their music would change the face of pop music, they instead chose to change their own face.

The idea of inviting your fans to cut up the album cover and use as a mask seems incredibly ill-advised, but the band insists that they just thought it would be a fun thing.  They thought it would be fun if everyone cut them out and wore them to the concerts, and they could look out and see a bunch of Gentle Giant faces in the crowd.  I guess I can see that, but... really, guys?

There's some good stuff on Giant for a Day! but while The Missing Piece was a pop album by a prog band trying to make a pop album (and not quite succeeding), Giant for a Day! isn't even a very good pop album.  A few interesting ideas, but overall... ouch.

I have to give the guys credit.  They kept trying new things, and Words from the Wise starts with a Gentle Giant first: five-part a capella vocals.  The song itself is one of the better ones on the album.

Thank You is a nice idea, but there's just not enough here to justify its nearly five-minute length.

Giant for a Day! absolutely shocked us when we first heard it back then.  We thought it was complete crap.  I was shuffling my iPod recently and this song came up and I didn't recognize it at first, and kinda liked it.  Some 80's New Wave thing I liked that I'd forgotten I'd downloaded, apparently.  I have a lot of music on my iPod.  Then the vocals came in and I just went "Holy sh!t" because it was the same song that had disgusted me back then, and I thought it was cool now.  In retrospect, it was just a little bit ahead of its time.  It's almost like early 80's EuroPop with the synths and stripped-down production, but people weren't ready for it yet in 1978.  It's now the highlight of the album for me.

Spooky Boogie is an instrumental, a fair outing, though nothing special.  A couple of catchy riffs put together, with apparently nowhere to go.

Take Me is another catchy idea that they didn't seem to know what to do with.  The chorus is meant to be a big singalong kind of thing, but it's just too mediocre sounding.

Yet another riff-driven, catchy, yet ultimately vapid song, Little Brown Bag opens what was originally Side Two, and has the decency to not overstay its welcome.

I'm sure some people really like this song, and overall I guess it's not particularly offensive, but Friends is, for me, just about the lowest point in the Gentle Giant catalogue.  Written and sung by drummer John Weathers, it is the result of what was clearly an open-door policy regarding compositions.  That or they were either desperate for material, or just didn't care any more, because every other entry in the Gentle Giant discography was written by one or more Shulmans and/or Kerry Minnear.  That John had written a song, submitted it for inclusion on the album, and it was accepted and included, is admirable.  And it's not a horrible song.  It's just more what you'd expect from a junior high kid writing his first song, not included on the tenth studio album from an established recording act.

No Stranger is apparently such a forgettable song that I can't even remember enough of it to write something about it, and i just listened to it.  I know the chorus is really repetitive, and there's a gratuitous key change towards the end, but that's about it.

It's Only Goodbye makes me sad.  It's another song that seems like a good idea, like it might appeal to teenagers because it sounds like it was written by a lovesick teenager, but to me it's too obviously a gifted composer trying to write a love song.  And that's exactly what it is; Kerry Minnear's attempt to write a love song.

As usual, they close the album with a rocker, Rock Climber, an uptempo, driving, yet completely forgettable song.

----------

I've insisted up until this point that there are no weak Gentle Giant albums.  I honestly may have to revisit that position.  Widely regarded as the weakest Gentle Giant album, Giant for a Day! is, in my opinion, their lowest point.  I've been trying for a month and a half to write something positive about this album, and this is what you're getting, so believe me, this is it.  Full disclosure: I just want to get the writeup over at this point.

But as always, I invite you to click the links, listen to the songs yourselves.  I really would like to hear from people who like anything they hear here.

[Mladen]

I like this album a lot.

None of it sounds forced, contrived or out of character to me. The band transformed into the pop rock style as if they've been playing for 10 years. It sounds experienced, well formed and focused.

The title track is tremendous, it features a tense build up, intricate guitar harmonies and a catchy chorus. Lyrical content aside, the slower tracks like It's only goodbye and Thank you are melodic and enjoyable with such guitar playing that proves we're still listening amazing musicians and not just an ordinary pop rock one-hit-wonders. Spooky Boogie is a neat, brief instrumental, and another hidden jam is No stranger, with it's hooky transition from chorus to verses (not vice-versa, mind you), and the modulation overwhelms me with how beautiful it is. Oh yeah, Little brown bag and Words from the wise are solid as well.

EDIT: Having seen that I've got carried away commenting on almost all of the songs, I'll share my thoughts on the remaining three songs as well. Take me and Rock climber strike me as slightly generic and unimaginative songs, while Friends is just... kind of ugly. But overall, this is a very enjoyable listen, I love listening to it all the way through every now and then, I return to it more often than to some classic GG albums.

[Orbert]

That's what I wanted to hear.  I remember not liking this album at all for a long time.  Like, ever.  Then when I first re-reviewed it a couple months ago in preparation for this writeup, I thought it was okay.  "Words from the Wise" was better than I'd remembered.  The title track, as mentioned, is really pretty cool.  Some of the others were not as horrible as I remembered.  "Friends" is still bad.  The rest just seemed like single ideas that were made into songs, short and to the point.  I suppose that's what most pop songs are, but I guess I was expecting more than that.  When Genesis went pop in the 80's, most of their songs were single ideas fleshed out into songs, same as here, but if you dig deeper, there's a lot going on in the arrangements.  Same with Yes.  Here, they completely embraced pop sensibilities; there's nothing more than meets the ear.  I guess that's what I find disappointing.  Most of the songs aren't bad, just nothing special.

[Mladen]

Those are some very good points. Yes kind of pushed the boundaries of pop music to an extent with 90125, whereas Gentle Giant just made a straight-forward pop rock album. But hey, that's what they were going for with this one. The one Gentle Giant album that was pop but also slightly experimental and adventurous was Civilian, but as far as I'm concerned, that experiment failed. More on that latter, probably. 

[Mosh]

Not much to say about this one. It doesn't even sound like Gentle Giant at this point. Just your generic below average radio rock.

[splent]

The only track we did from this was It's Only Goodbye. I agree that it's sad but it's a pretty good song. That and Words From The Wise are the only tracks are really enjoy on this album.

[Serah Farron]

Following.

When I was introduced to progressive rock/metal, I tried delving deep into their roots. Stumbled upon Gentle Giant by change and haven't fully grasped them yet, but I know this will help.