LIVE IN STOCKHOLM '75

According to Progarchives, "Live In Stockholm' 75" is the twenty-first live album of Gentle Giant and was released in 2009. The music was recorded by the Swedish Radio Ltd on 12th November 1975, and was taken from a live performance of Gentle Giant which took place in the Students Union, at Club Karen, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

1975 was a great year for Gentle Giant. It was the year of the release of their seventh studio album "Free Hand", an album considered by some their greatest masterpiece. It was also the culmination of a brilliant and meteoric musical career and that would be relatively short for a band as brilliant as they were. We may say that "Free Hand" was also their last masterpiece and which was from here that began their musical decline, although their next studio album "Interview" still is a great album. Anyway, their first seven studio albums are so great that is difficult to choose the best.

But, besides be a great year for them, it was also a very busy year for Gentle Giant. On January and February they were touring in U.S.A. On March, April and May they were writing and recording "Free Hand". On June they were busy on a couple of festivals and filming a T.V. special in Brussels, Belgium. On August they were back in America, on September in Europe, and they were also back and touring again in the U.S A. On November they started another European tour which took them 'till Christmas. So, it was in that context that appeared the recordings of "Live In Stockholm' 75".

"Live In Stockholm' 75" has seven tracks. The first track "Cogs In Cogs" was a track originally released on their sixth studio album "The Power And The Glory". The second track "Proclamation" was also a track originally released on their album "The Power And The Glory". The third track "The Runway/Experience" is a live performance of two songs "The Runway" and "Experience". Both tracks were originally released on their fifth studio album "In A Glass House". The fourth track "So Sincere" was a track originally released on their album "The Power And The Glory". The fifth track "Plain Truth" was a track originally released on their second studio album "Acquiring The Taste". The sixth track "Free Hand" was a track originally released on their seventh studio album "Free Hand". The seventh track "Just The Same" was also a track originally released on their album "Free Hand".

In this well recorded live concert, originally recorded for the Swedish Radio, Gentle Giant is in a great shape. Derek Shulman's live vocals are a revelation, losing none of their power and sincerity. Gary Green and Kerry Minnear are amazing as is usual and the bass playing of Ray Shulman was simply awesome, one of the best ever. Finally, strings by Ray and Kerry and percussion "madness" involve the whole band all over the show. The set list is quite good, though very similar to many of the other shows that most Gentle Giant's fans have heard from that period. The sound quality is surprisingly solid, easily better than many of the other recordings that have floated out over the years, and gives a great representation of the power of this band during that time period. This gig featured some songs from the then new album "Free Hand" like the title track and "Just The Same", plus older staples such as the complex "Cogs In Cogs", the mighty "Proclamation", the "In A Glass House" medley of "The Runaway/Experience" and the extended versions of "So Sincere" and "Plain Truth". "Proclamation" and "Cogs In Cogs" kick off a storming gig, the streamlined latter number being a particular highlight. Deep into the two lengthy numbers, "The Runway/Experience" and "So Sincere", the band break wildly free of their own loose conventions and hone jams that show why they remained aloof from the prog pack. In "So Sincere" and "Plain Truth", both feature some long percussion jams and a terrific violin solo from Ray Shulman.

Conclusion: "Live In Stockholm' 75" is, in reality, a great live album. However, in my humble opinion, it's a bit far away from the quality level of "Playing The Full", given the extremely high level of the live performance on that album. The reference for this band's live recordings remains "Playing The Fool". Who is familiarized with my reviews knows that I'm a great fan of that Gentle Giant's live album, and that I consider "Playing The Full", "Yessongs" and "Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends", probably the three best live albums released in the 70's. But, Gentle Giant's live is simply an amazing experience. And "Live In Stockholm' 75" isn't an exception. It's a very good live album for several reasons. In the first place, the choice of the songs is very good and belong to some of the best studio albums of them, particularly "In A Glass House", "The Power And The Glory" and "Free Hand". In the second place, the songs are in general performed live, substantially different from their studio versions, including even a drum solo, so typical of the live albums from the 70's. In the third place, the live performance of the band, without being brilliant, is very good and inspired enough to provide a great live show. So, "Live In Stockholm' 75" is, without any doubt, a great addition for any progressive collection and once more shows us the Gentle Giant's complex music, especially when performed live.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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