GIANT FOR A DAY

Giant for a Day is the tenth studio album from Gentle Giant and it marked the end of a great career for the band. Civilian was of course the last album but it was with Giant for a Day that the good times were over. Gentle Giant really hit rock bottom with this album. The previous album The Missing Piece had already signalled new times for Gentle Giant but it was still an enjoyable album with lots of power and emotional playing. With Giant for a Day we get an album that seems very uninspired and aimed directly at a commercial audience.

Most of the songs on Giant for a Day is really below standard and there are no progressive elements to be found. Those days are definitely over with this album. Song like Words From The Wise, Giant For A Day, Little Brown Bag and Rock Climber are rocking songs but it´s really only the title track that can partially make me satisfied. Spooky Boogie is an instrumental track and the only thing that reminds you that Gentle Giant was once a prog rock band. It´s a pretty lame affair though and there is nothing in that song that comes close to what Gentle Giant have done before. Take Me and No Stranger are really cheesy mid tempo rock tracks that I couldn´t care less about. Friends which is a song written by drummer John Weathers is a pathetic ode to friendship. Horrible is the word I´m looking for here. But the worst songs are the two semi ballad tracks Thank You and It's Only Goodbye. Heartfelt emotional cheese. I´m sorry but those two songs are so lame that I´ll have to call them an abomination upon the Gentle Giant discography.

The musicianship which was once so outstanding and unique now sounds like most other soft rock bands of the late seventies. No virtuosity and no challenging exciting parts.

The production is allright.

Giant for a Day is a big disappointment. I was actually one of those people who liked the new style introduced on The Missing Piece but this time Gentle Giant have gone where no man should go. This is the album that every Gentle Giant fan loathes. I won´t give Giant for a Day 1 star as the musicianship is allright, the production is good and some of the songs do have parts that are not totally lame, but my 2 star rating is very small. Avoid this album if you´re curious about Gentle Giant. It´s always a bad sign when even the fans can´t stand it.