FREE HAND

For many people, myself included, it takes a number of listens to really 'get' a gentle giant because there a lot of musical complexity, but I would say that it is more hidden and you will not appreciate many of the best parts on your first listen. With that said, I have listened to Free Hand many times and I am yet to 'get' it. This album is actually pretty accessible for a non-prog fan, but whatever is making it such a great progressive album I must be missing. Parts of the album I like, occasionally I start to get annoyed by stuff like the clicking or parts of the vocals, but mostly there is nothing I can't stand about this album, just nothing I really like. I find In A Glass House to be a much better, more progressive album and I would recommend it as the best gentle giant album, with free hand not near the top. I suppose the band did a good job of making a more accessible album for people who aren't fans of prog, while still making a complex album, but many of the complexities are lost on me or unappealing. It feels like hard work trying to squeeze enjoyment out of this album, and I am ok with music taking a few listens to understand, but I don't want to have to work to enjoy it. I can hear the parts of this album that are progressive and that must be what make this album so appealing to some people, but I really have to work and search for them and once I find them, I don't enjoy the music any more for it. Perhaps one day the light will suddenly dawn on me and I will have to go back and change review, but for now I have given this album enough of a chance and I have to say that it is good, but certainly not essential.