[Doc Sarvis]

Aman's new avatar motivated me.

This is one of the great bands. I've introduced many friends to GG, and they've almost all become lifelong afficionados. I just completed a complete vinyl set of their original studio albums (not an easy thing to do!), and I have many CDs including the excellent Edge of Twilight compilation. Many of their CDs are coming out as anniversary remasters.

Any other devotees here???

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Does no one appreciate Gentle Giant?

 

[Yikes]

I still enjoy being Giant for a Day.

I believe that most members are probably to young to remember Gentle Giant.

 

[king896]

I like them, but they are soooo hard to really get into. I adore Octopus and enjoy In A Glass House and The Power And The Glory, but when I try other albums of there’s I lose some interest or they just don't stick in my mind. I love the fugue parts that are in many of there songs and the musicianship is really top notch. I think that it is really hard for someone who is not used to similar music to there’s to really have a hard time getting into there more complex stuff as it is not really a straight forward journey through each listening session.

 

[Aman]

Hehe -- thank you for the first-post credits!

I really think they are one of the best rock groups to ever live. They have such an inspiring and creative form, and they were so ahead of their time! They were combining opera singing with rock instrumentals (and jazz and classical instrumentals as well) which is today still unheard of! All the musicians are VERY good and VERY tallented. Their songs were innovative yet catchy -- complex yet enjoyable.

They were kind of like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra combined.

I love Octopus and In a Glass House.

 

[pframe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Sarvis I have many CDs including the excellent Edge of Twilight compilation. Many of their CDs are coming out as anniversary remasters.

Doc,

For someone who doesn't know GG at all, would you recommend that compilation as a starting point, or one of the CD remasters first?

Thanks.

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pframe Doc, For someone who doesn't know GG at all, would you recommend that compilation as a starting point, or one of the CD remasters first? Thanks.

Normally I don't like compilations, but Edge of Twilight is an exception: It contains virtually all of the good stuff from five of the first six albums (In a Glass House is not included since it was on a different label). It is remastered with great sound.

So, if you picked up E of T, plus In a Glass House and Free Hand (the latter two preferably on the new remasters series), you will have an excellent intro to GG - possibly all you ever need. All three are essential.

The albums after Free Hand started to go downhill quite rapidly; all are great for a completist like me but they are not the best place to start - each one is progressively farther from the contrapunctal sound that made their earlier work so wonderful.

Alternatively, if you like live albums, Playing the Fool is a good intro to the band and one of the best live recordings of the 70s IMO.

Finally, GG is one of the most bootlegged bands in rock history, and many other unofficial live recordings exist, some of them good, some pretty weak.

Good luck! As I said earlier, no one that I have introduced to GG has failed to become a fan. You might also enjoy the fan website, with lots of good info on the band:

http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/

 

[dave-the-rave]

I was introduced to Gentle Giant in 1974 or so when I heard one of their songs on WNEW-FM in New York. I didn't know the name of the song or the album, but I heard that it was Gentle Giant. So I went to Sam Goody's and bought 'Acquiring the Taste.' Weird and interesting, but not what I heard on the radio. So I went back and bought 'Octopus.' Same story. Finally, I wrote to WNEW and got a postcard back saying that it was 'In a Glass House,' and that it was not available in the U.S. I ordered and received the lp on the WWA label from Moby Disc Records in Van Nuys, CA. Eureka! That's what I had heard on the radio.

I was able to see them twice: August 1975 at a midnight show (that started at 1:30 am) at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, NY, and Nov. 1977 at the Palace Theater in Albany, NY. They were even more amazing live than on record. I think I read that among the 5 musicians, they played 27 instruments. A staple of their live shows was the 5-Man Drum Bash (self-explanatory), but it was such a hoot to see them play recorders, xylophones, and those vocal gymnastics (a la "Knots").

I think 'Glass House' is their best album. A lot of people like 'Free Hand' and 'Power & Glory,' and while those are very technically accomplished performances, they both leave me a bit cold. I followed them until 'The Missing Piece' in 1978 when they went commercial.

I recently picked up the Anniversary remastered CD of 'Glass House.' While it's quieter than my old lp, I hear a bit of hiss over headphones, and I don't think it's as dynamic as it could be (tho neither was the LP). I read on that GG website that one of the Shulman's and Kerry Minnear did an in-store appearance and autograph session at an FYE store (formerly Sam Goody's) at Rockefeller Center on the launch of the remasters. Apparently there was a large turnout. I didn't know about it until after the event; it would have been fun to see those guys and show them my ticket stub from 1977.

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Sarvis Normally I don't like compilations, but Edge of Twilight is an exception: It contains virtually all of the good stuff from five of the first six albums (In a Glass House is not included since it was on a different label). It is remastered with great sound. So, if you picked up E of T, plus In a Glass House and Free Hand (the latter two preferably on the new remasters series), you will have an excellent intro to GG - possibly all you ever need. All three are essential. The albums after Free Hand started to go downhill quite rapidly; all are great for a completist like me but they are not the best place to start - each one is progressively farther from the contrapunctal sound that made their earlier work so wonderful. Alternatively, if you like live albums, Playing the Fool is a good intro to the band and one of the best live recordings of the 70s IMO. Finally, GG is one of the most bootlegged bands in rock history, and many other unofficial live recordings exist, some of them good, some pretty weak. Good luck! As I said earlier, no one that I have introduced to GG has failed to become a fan. You might also enjoy the fan website, with lots of good info on the band: http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/

I was just reading an interview with Kerry Minnear (band member) on the GG fan site; he says there's a boxed set coming out later this year???

 

[pframe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Sarvis Normally I don't like compilations, but Edge of Twilight is an exception: It contains virtually all of the good stuff from five of the first six albums (In a Glass House is not included since it was on a different label). It is remastered with great sound. So, if you picked up E of T, plus In a Glass House and Free Hand (the latter two preferably on the new remasters series), you will have an excellent intro to GG - possibly all you ever need. All three are essential. The albums after Free Hand started to go downhill quite rapidly; all are great for a completist like me but they are not the best place to start - each one is progressively farther from the contrapunctal sound that made their earlier work so wonderful. Alternatively, if you like live albums, Playing the Fool is a good intro to the band and one of the best live recordings of the 70s IMO. Finally, GG is one of the most bootlegged bands in rock history, and many other unofficial live recordings exist, some of them good, some pretty weak. Good luck! As I said earlier, no one that I have introduced to GG has failed to become a fan. You might also enjoy the fan website, with lots of good info on the band: http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/

Coolness. Will pick up EoT at the very least, and the other two if price isn't prohibitive.

Many thanks, Doc.

 

[NightWoundsTime]

Remasters? Excellent. Always love me some GG but really my favorite way to listen is to my compilation disc of my favorite tracks from all the albums. I just find that they couldn't compile an album that holds my interest. Good songs but no intrigue after a while. King Crimson were the opposite for me, only a few good songs but highly intriguing throughout each record.

That said I do find new things all the time in the songs that didn't especially capture me the first time. GG has been one of my longest running obsessions, since I was about 13 years old. Found Free Hand among the parentals record collection and must have played Just the Same about a thousand times. Got me addicted to that polyrhythmic complex sound early in life.

EDIT: Grr this thread made me realize that I threw away my lossless copy of Power and the Glory. Went cleaning through all the MP3 burned discs and forgot it was a direct copy from a while back. Has this been reissued yet?

2nd Edit: Yes P&TG has been reissued, along with Free Hand, Glass House, and Interview. The first three are supposed to be pretty good but Interview got really screwed up in the remaster to where supposedly there's only one channel included or something, so half the instruments are missing. No other albums yet, maybe the box set will be all the albums in the 35th anniversary remastered editions. Guess I'll just wait for that and have the definitive versions of each album.

 

[Hell_Gopher]

Thanks to this thread, I downloaded Edge of Twilight and am enjoying it a lot...have two singers, one to do the rock screaming and another to do the more quiet stuff, is quite a good idea...unless it's one guy with a really amazing voice, anyway.

 

[periurban]

My favourite GG piece is Excerpts from Octopus, which I first heard on the Alan Freeman Saturday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1. The track is a compilation of the best bits of Octopus, and is available on the "Out of the Woods" CD (which is all BBC sessions). You can also see it on the DVD "Giant on the Box".

If you are in the least bit interested in the band, the DVD is a stunning testament to their abilities. Sadly, parts of it look a wee bit out of synch to me, which kinda spoils the intimacy. But there's enough here to showcase what an incredible bunch of musicians they were.

I always used to wonder why Yes were so huge and GG were so unknown. When you compare a typical Yes show with what's preserved on the GG DVD the mystery begins to become clear. GG were strange. The bass player is a passable violinist. No, wait, he's playing a cello now. But he's also a killer guitarist. And that geeky looking drummer plays a mean vibraphone. No, hold on, the keyboard player is playing the vibes now! And now he's playing cello.... Jeez.....

I love this band, but even I have trouble taking the DVD seriuously. One minute it's out and out heavy jazz rock, the next it's madrigals and morris dancing (not literally). I've shown it to one or two people, and the universal reaction has been - What?

It's like sitting down to watch a familiar ball game and having the teams suddenly launch into synchronised swimming!

 

[Doc Sarvis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by periurban My favourite GG piece is Excerpts from Octopus, which I first heard on the Alan Freeman Saturday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1. The track is a compilation of the best bits of Octopus, and is available on the "Out of the Woods" CD (which is all BBC sessions). You can also see it on the DVD "Giant on the Box". If you are in the least bit interested in the band, the DVD is a stunning testament to their abilities. Sadly, parts of it look a wee bit out of synch to me, which kinda spoils the intimacy. But there's enough here to showcase what an incredible bunch of musicians they were. I always used to wonder why Yes were so huge and GG were so unknown. When you compare a typical Yes show with what's preserved on the GG DVD the mystery begins to become clear. GG were strange. The bass player is a passable violinist. No, wait, he's playing a cello now. But he's also a killer guitarist. And that geeky looking drummer plays a mean vibraphone. No, hold on, the keyboard player is playing the vibes now! And now he's playing cello.... Jeez..... I love this band, but even I have trouble taking the DVD seriuously. One minute it's out and out heavy jazz rock, the next it's madrigals and morris dancing (not literally). I've shown it to one or two people, and the universal reaction has been - What? It's like sitting down to watch a familiar ball game and having the teams suddenly launch into synchronised swimming!

Definitely a one-of-a-kind band.

 

[periurban]

I was thinking some more about it and there was an obvious link with Yes, which was the Roger Dean cover for Octopus. (For those who might not know, Roger Dean was the designer of four classic Yes album covers and their stage shows in the early to mid seventies).

But despite making that link they then ruined it with their subsequent cover art works, none of which had anything to distinguish them from the herd.

Having said that, nothing could be as awful as the cover for acquiring the taste! (That really is a giant tongue licking a bottom!)