OUT OF THE FIRE

"Out Of The Fire" is the sixth live album of Gentle Giant and was released in 1998. "Out Of The Fire" is a double live album with two different live concerts performed and recorded in 1973 and 1978 by the BBC radio. However, they were only released about twenty years later. Fortunately, as it's written on the sleeve notes, some of the tapes have been found in the later years, and the two live concerts have been rescued and been included on this double live album.

Both live concerts were performed at the Golders Green Hippodrome. The first was recorded for the BBC Radio One, in 16th November of 1973, a few weeks later after the group had returned from a European tour. Although the program lasted for one hour, we have only approximately 35 minutes of live material. The other live concert was recorded for the BBC TV 5, in 5th January of 1978, and the show is part of the "Sight And Sound In Concert" series. Fortunately this time we have here the full show given by Gentle Giant. In this second live concert Gentle Giant gave a full hour live show.

"Out Of The Fire" has eighteen tracks. CD 1 has five tracks. The first track "Introduction" represents the band's presentation made by the BBC presenter in 1973. The second track "Way Of Life" was originally released on "In A Glass House". The third track "Funny Ways" was originally released on "Gentle Giant". The fourth track "Nothing At All" was also originally released on "Gentle Giant". The fifth track "Excerpts From Octopus" as the name indicates, are live excerpts taken from "Octopus". CD 2 has thirteen tracks. The first track "Introduction", such happened in the concert of 1973, represents the band's presentation made by the BBC presenter in 1978. The second track "Two Weeks In Spain" was originally released on "The Missing Piece". The third track "Free Hand" was originally released on "Free Hand". The fourth track "On Reflection" was also originally released on "Free Hand". The fifth track "I'm Turning Around" was originally released on "The Missing Piece". The sixth track "Just The Same" was originally released on "Free Hand". The seventh track "Playing The Game" was originally released on "The Power And The Glory". The eighth track "Memories Of The Old Days" was originally released on "The Missing Piece". The ninth track "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It" was also originally released on "The Missing Piece". The tenth track "Special Presentation By John P. Weathers", as the name indicates, is the presentation of the band made by their drummer John Weathers. The eleventh track "Funny Ways" was originally released on "Gentle Giant". The twelfth track "For Nobody" was originally released on "The Missing Piece". The thirteenth track "Mountain Time" was also originally released on "The Missing Piece".

Another batch of footage from the BBC archives, this time two concerts in front of the public, which were later used to fill a BBC radio show. As I mentioned before, the first CD contains quite successful recordings from 1973. This would include a terrifically fast version of "Way Of life", a somewhat shortened version of "Funny Ways", "Nothing At All" with successful drums and glockenspiel interludes and the usual sovereign medley "Excerpts From Octopus" deserves a special mention. The contents of the second CD, a BBC concert from 1978, had already been published in 1994 as "In Concert" in a somewhat shortened version. In this concert, the band played older songs as well as some from their then new album "The Missing Piece". The second CD has several gems including an intricate version of "Playing The Game" and an aggressive rendering of "For Nobody". The classy twin acoustic guitars of Green and Shulman grace the wonderfully reflective, "Memories Of Old Days". Despite that, six of ten tracks on this second CD are from their current album at the time "The Missing Piece", with a more standard rock shift, but still with a high energy level. As the band reckoned they had much better chances in Europe and in the USA, this was Gentle Giant's last concert in Great Britain.

Conclusion: "Out Of The Fire" is a double CD consisting of two completely different live shows, recorded for the BBC, separated by five years. So, it's fair to talk about both live concerts separately. The BBC concert of 1973 is a short live show with about 35 minutes and only with four tracks. The band was very energetic and brilliant. The live concert is almost acoustic, sometimes seeming an unplugged live concert, especially because the live versions of "Way Of Life" and "Funny Ways". This is particularly important, because this two live versions haven't been include on any live album before. The quality sound isn't bad, but has some problems, particularly with its mix. The BBC concert of 1978 is a more traditional live show, very energetic but much shared between the band and the audience. The live concert is focused on their most recent studio album, at the time, "The Missing Piece", with passages of their previous albums "Free Hand" and "The Power And The Glory". In this concert, the band proves to be in a great shape. Unlike the 1973 concert, the sound is very good, like most of the BBC recordings. With the release of this double live album, Gentle Giant proves they were a great live and a versatile band, on their live shows, apart the year in which those concerts were performed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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