I haven't really listened to Gentle Giant, no. And I dunno, it was a fugue (was it actually a fugue in form or just name?), and those kind of things just sound like exercises to me. Like I find it hard to respond emotionally to it, which is usually important for me.
And don't worry, I haven't written anyone off. I wouldn't dare from one song. What kind of music did he play usually?
yeah it is a "Fugue" or rather the version on Shaming is titled "Suit Fugue (Dance of the A&R Men)" anyway. An "excercise"? well I suppose in a way you could describe it as that. It's kind of a demonstration of layers of different vocal lines, and in this case, it's to demonstrate a smothering of voices desiring to all get your or the main character's in the story in the album, time attention and influence. It's really like an exposure of how the music industry is a short-attention-spanned, style over substance, 15 minutes of fame, experience. And how A&R Men wield a lot of that (negative) influence on an impressionable musician.
But as far as Kevin's music it self, that song, while many regard it as 1 of his most creative pieces, is hardly indicative of even the rest of the Shaming record, let alone his other work. Toy Matinee for example, is really cleverly written (although could be called 80's-tinged) pop. Thud is a very lyric-driven, singer/songwriter record. And Shaming is kind of all over the map, but it's a big concept album that you could say is Kevin's Quadrophenia or The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, in a way.
I know you know Spock's Beard and Transatlantic..and Genesis, Yes, etc. and his music appeals to people into those groups especially (among many others).