GIANT FOR A DAY

But in 1978 it was clear they were not. Like so many other prog acts of the early 70´s the group was caught by the overwhelming changing tides. The press was completely in love with punk and the general public was going disco. Prog was no longer hip or anything even close to that. So, like many other great bands of the time, GG tried to adapt and survive in what seemed to be an ever hostile enviroment. If The Missing Piece already showed some sights, this one is totally non prog. Not a single track reminds of their glorious past. Not that it is bad either.

Actually I was quite surprised to see that they did write some fine tunes among a few turds (specially the more rocking stuff like Little Brown Bag). Certainly the band had all the chops needed to play almost any kind of music. When writing something simpler and more popish they managed to deliver some interesting stuff. Take It´s Only Goodbye for instance: it is a great pop song with beautiful guitar lines by Gary Green and a convincing vocal perfomance by Derek Shulman. Rock Climb has a nice riffing and the piano licks are catchy and very good. Word From The Wise sounds like one of those Yes pop songs from the 80´s: infectious and groovy. And so it goes. Most tracks has good things to show. As usual, their perfomances are exceptional (for a pop band, of course)

So in the end I found this record far from the hideous piece of crap so many called it at the time. They could write some fine pop songs, ok. But it is not Gentle Giant as we knew it. so if you´re looking for the GG trademark art rock excellence, avoid this CD. Even the most devoted fans should be aware of its difference and get this album only when they had purchased all of GG´s previous ones before. This is a good pop rock album and nothing more. And since I like good pop tunes, I can say I enjoyed this recordm but I don´t consider this as a GG work. They should have changed their name.

They could have made it as a simple rock band if properly promoted, I guess, but that was not to be. For a pop record I´d give it gladly a higher rate, but for a prog site 2 stars is more fitting. Definitly different and not for the hardcore prog fan. People who likes fine melodies and have an open mind will certainly find something interesting listening to Giant For A Day.

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