ET CETERA

If you're a Gentle Giant fan, you have to hear this. OCTOPUS meets FREEHAND with female french vocals from Marie Bernard Pagé that are not unlike those on Stereolab's EMPEROR TOMATO KETCHUP. Bothered that GG virtually abandoned prog.rock after the completion of side 2 of _The Missing Piece_? Well, here's your long lost Gentle Giant album! These guys are freakishly like Gentle Giant to the point where they out- Giant the Gentle Giant at times. Musicianship is top notch. No real outstanding tracks, although _Apostrophe_ is a fine instrumental(it's Et Cetera's BOYS IN THE BAND). Counterpoint vocals all over this, even the Minnear like back-up. Having praised Et Cetera, this only gets 3 stars for obvious reasons. This is hardly original material, but boy can they play! Highly recommended for Gentle Giant fans. Simply a must own for musicianship alone.