ACQUIRING THE TASTE

Aquiring the Taste is Gentle Giant's second album, and probably their most ambitious. The album is aptly titled, as one will truly need to acquire the taste in order to truly appreciate it. That being said, I would only reccomend this for seasoned Gentle Giant listeners. It opens with the beutiful "Pantagruel's Nativity", featuring excellant singing by Kerry Minnaer. "The Edge of Twilight" follows, and again Kerry delivers haunting vocals, with some interesting instrumentals thrown in. The next two songs, "The House, the Street, the Room" and "Aquiring the Taste" are much weaker. The next song, "Wreck" is interesting; I see it as a drunken sea shanty with medieval undertones. It's a good song, and Derek's vocals are particularly strong. What follows is one of my all-time favorite Gentle Giant songs, "The Moon is Down". It begins with great vocals, and contains a stunning instrumental passage that gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. "Black Cat" has its moments, particularly the introduction, but overall it's one of the weaker songs on the album. The final track,"Plain Truth", is forgettable; there's nothing really compelling in it musically or lyrically.

This could have been a 5 star album, but due to the presence of some weaker songs, I can only give it 4 stars. Overall, however, it is a phenomenal work that belongs in every prog fan's collection

Highlights: Pantegruel's Nativity, The Moon is Down, the Edge of Twilight, Wreck

Lowlights: The House, the Street, the Room; Plain Truth