OCTOPUS

Octopus was my first initiation into Gentle Giant therefore I may be a bit prejudiced. I am not typically an aural fan of the 1970's with a few exceptions as I find the era to have typically poor production values. I am an audiophile and this is important to me. Octopus smashes conceived notions of 70's production - crisp, clear, a great justice to the music. And speaking of the music here, provocative, avante garde, bizarre, medieval - jazz - rock??? Obviously there was extreme talent in this gathering of friends. One favorite here is The boys in the Band, this is from 1972??? Can you imagine any of todays acts pulling off technical prowess and sheer audacity of goofiness that this song shows? Anyone that is open - minded with progressive music give this album a spit, 4 1/2 stars.......