THE MISSING PIECE

Another underrated album of the Giant; "The missing piece" came out in 1977 and it hasn't been well received by the fans since then. More as a low radar album than a total waste or a disappointing record, it features very good songs, probably not as experimental and with the ambitious quality of compositions that GENTLE GIANT had shown in earlier records, but let's take a look at what this album has to offer.

"Two weeks in Spain" is probably the most recognizable piece of the record, the melody is catchy and it has a simple riff that goes along this short song; there is not too much of an instrumental middle part as most of the songs of GENTLE GIANT (and almost any of the songs of "The missing piece" has one) but it certainly has originality in its own way, it is a nice introduction of what comes next.

"I'm turning around" is beautiful: a soft, relaxed, and even romantic song with an amazing organ line and a not too strong rock line for the chorus. "Betcha thought we couldn't do it" is a fast rock song, it doesn't give time to further experimentation, is concise, and ends fast, but its genuine style makes me want to repeat it over and over again.

"Who do you think you are?" is probably the song that I like the less in the whole record, kind of a slow funk song with the least creative and interesting musical passages, it's not a bad song but if I was very hurried and needed to skip a song of the album I'd choose this one. "Mountain time" is also a very recognizable piece of the record, the female chorus in the background is something really odd in a GENTLE GIANT song but in here it fits really well.

"As old as you're young" has a very joyful mood, it is not as good as a song from the 73-75 albums of GENTLE GIANT but it is probably the song in this album that got the closest to the sound the band had in those days. ​"Memories of old days" is absolutely fantastic: elegant, soft, and slow, this song is probably what someone would expect to close the album, the acoustic guitar arrangement is very relaxing.

"Winning" is a very energic song that includes some of the rockiest moments in the album; as well as "Design" did in "Interview", this song also contains very interesting percussive sections. "For nobody" is my favorite song in the album: GENTLE GIANT always ended their albums with the most dynamic and concise songs they had and this was no exception; once again, the sound of the song brings back a lot of the most classic style of the band, it would have fit really well in "The power and the glory" or "Free hand".

The opinions about this album are very diverse, but most of the time it is cataloged as one of the worst albums of the band and that is very unfair, it is true that the compositions have a very different sound from earlier records and also the lack of presence of instruments such as violins, xylophones or saxophones sometimes give the impression that the compositions are poor, well if you compare it with the most exquisite GENTLE GIANT albums, of course, this will seem to be a poor record, but if you think of it as a very unique record with its own original flavor this album is nothing of a waste, but a very nice acquisition.

SONG RATING: Two weeks in Spain, 4 I'm turning around, 4 Betcha thought we couldn't do it, 4 Who do you think you are? 3 Mountain Time, 4 As old as you're young, 4 Memories of old days, 5 Winning, 4 For nobody, 5

AVERAGE: 4.11

PERCENTAGE: 82

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

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