Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Polls
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - ELP vs Gentle Giant
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

ELP vs Gentle Giant
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
Poll Question: Which band do you like more?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
36 [41.86%]
37 [43.02%]
12 [13.95%]
1 [1.16%]
You can not vote in this poll

Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 02 2016
Location: Philly burbs
Status: Offline
Points: 18300 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 12 2018 at 16:17
I put both equally. Although ELP does get a bad rap these days I find their first four albums to all be among the top 100 best prog albums ever made. I would maybe put about the same amount of GG albums in the top 100.
Back to Top
Dellinger View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12732 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dellinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 12 2018 at 20:59
Originally posted by Dr. Occulator Dr. Occulator wrote:

Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

Originally posted by For Nobody's Bush For Nobody's Bush wrote:

Gentle Giant=fun and human connectiveness, ELP=overly serious and a trite pompous.


ELP = Overly Serious... and what about "Nutrocker", "Are you Ready Eddy?", "The Sheriff", "Benny the Bouncer"?


Problem is, those songs are pretty much rubbish. Their good stuff is the serious stuff.


Yeah... well, some of them. I do like Nutrocker, and don't find Are you Ready Eddy nearly as atrocious as most people seem to take it. But indeed they did much better stuff. However, they did these songs, which are not serious at all. In general, I don't like attempts at comedy on music, so if a band is serious it's no problem with me (actually, these sort of attempts at comedy are perhaps what bothers me most about ELP, and not only these short songs, but some similar parts within longer songs).
Back to Top
Blaqua View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: June 06 2016
Location: Greece
Status: Offline
Points: 242 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Blaqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 14 2018 at 06:02
Originally posted by progaardvark progaardvark wrote:

I think Gentle Giant was more the more consistent of the two, though ELP was better at their peak. I gave GG the nod.
I agree, however I voted for both equally 
Back to Top
micky View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: October 02 2005
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 46833 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote micky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 14 2018 at 06:22
harder vote than one might suspect.. comparing the first 4 of ELP to the first four of GG.. for both dropped significantly after..

ELP by a hair... not as consistent .. but the highs were higher.. and with multiple highs.. and even the lows were highly entertaining.
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20624 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 14 2018 at 08:00
The first ELP album is one of my all time favorites for  a number of reasons.......and the next 3 ain't bad either.
While I do like several GG albums (especially the early ones...) none of them rank in my all time top ten favorite prog things......so I'll give the vote to the Three Amigos.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
iancat87 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 19 2018
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Points: 119 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 09:49
I think Gentle Giant is better: their classic era had a string of consistently good or better albums. ELP's classic era has like... two high points in the debut and Brain Salad Surgery, but I think the rest is largely crap.

ELP always felt like they were trying to showoff, instead of writing actually good material. GG is goofy and fun a lot of the time, but the whimsy is appreciated. But seriously, I think their output is consistently better than most of ELP's work.

re: whimsy -- Let's not forget that King Crimson were Donovan fans and used to cover "Get Thy Bearings" in their early days.
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20624 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 12:46
^Really...Donovan fans..?  Fripp...? Never read that anywhere but they did  cover that one song.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
iancat87 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 19 2018
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Points: 119 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 12:58
Gotta start somewhere. Obviously they were all Beatles fans too.
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
Back to Top
AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 02 2016
Location: Philly burbs
Status: Offline
Points: 18300 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 13:03
This turned out to be closer than I thought it would be.
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20624 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 13:08
^Everybody was a Beatles fan..........but did you read that about Donovan or are you speculating because they covered that song...?

btw...I saw Donovan at a small local folk club in Valparaiso Indiana in 1996.....we spent some time talking to him after the show and he signed some albums for us. Nice man.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
iancat87 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 19 2018
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Points: 119 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 13:17
^Maybe "fan" is a strong word to say about Fripp and the gang in regards to Donovan. But I really wouldn't be surprised if they appreciated his music enough to call themselves fans when they were so young back then.

So I'm speculating a bit, but I mean... they thought enough of him to cover "Get Thy Bearings." Just speaking as a musician myself, I wouldn't include a cover in my set unless I really liked the song and thought enough of the artist.

On the other side of this speculation is the counterargument that they covered it because they liked it and needed something "relevant" in their early live shows to clue in some new audiences.

*edit: Also good on ya for hanging with Donovan. I'm not much of a fan of the guy, but I always dug some of his stuff.


Edited by iancat87 - May 02 2018 at 13:18
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
Back to Top
ForestFriend View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: February 23 2017
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 680 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ForestFriend Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 02 2018 at 15:53
I've always thought the inclusion of Get Thy Bearings had something to do with the fact that Pictures Of A City has almost the same sax riff. Almost seems like a little prank they're playing on the audience, e.g. "didn't they already play this song?".
My prog band - Boreal Kinship
Back to Top
Mortte View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member


Joined: November 11 2016
Location: Finland
Status: Offline
Points: 5538 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mortte Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2018 at 02:24
Maybe Donovan wasn´t as much covered in the sixties as Beatles or Dylan, but quite much anyway. Just remembered Vanilla Fudge´s great cover from the "Season of the Witch" and Purple´s cover from "Lalena". And Butthole Surfers did "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the nineties.
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20624 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2018 at 09:08
^The Fudge's version was certainly the creepiest...but I always liked the version from Super Session with Cooper Bloomfield and Stills.
Also ck out Hillage's version of Hurdy Gurdy Man from L.


Edited by dr wu23 - May 03 2018 at 09:15
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
iancat87 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 19 2018
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Points: 119 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2018 at 09:10
^Super Session rocks, so underrated and overlooked.
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
Back to Top
zwordser View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 04 2008
Location: Southwest US
Status: Offline
Points: 1383 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote zwordser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 03 2018 at 13:10
Hmm... first time I think I've ever voted "both equally", but it was my first impression, and the more I think about it, Yeah they're about even!
Z
Back to Top
richardh View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28070 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7 hours 30 minutes ago at 22:04
ELP
Back to Top
Octopus II View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: May 21 2023
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 10484 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Octopus II Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 4 hours 9 minutes ago at 01:25
Both equally. Smile
Back to Top
Psychedelic Paul View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: September 16 2019
Location: Nottingham, U.K
Status: Offline
Points: 40275 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Psychedelic Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 2 hours 2 minutes ago at 03:32
I may be In the Hot Seat for saying I prefer that album over any Gentle Giant album, but that's the Hand of Truth. Embarrassed



Edited by Psychedelic Paul - 1 hour 59 minutes ago at 03:35
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.201 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.