GENTLE GIANT

I started my acquiantancy with Gentle Giant by listening to this album. It was a wise move, because the band developed very well from this, and the starting point was very, very encouraging. In fact the opening track ("Giant") is the only one that I don't really like that much. "Funny Ways" turned out to become a sitter for their stage set, and after having seen "Giant in the Box" dvd, I appreciate this little tune even more, because the group's musicianship was on a very high level already on this debut album.

"Alucard" is the other of my absolute favourites from this record, the other being "Nothing At All". The former is genuine power-prog piece with vocal intervention that makes me shiver, and the latter's main melody is simply fantastic. The drum solo is a finished version of King Crimson's counterpart in the "Moonchild". The Franz Liszt quotation shows that the band really wanted to introduce something original here. "Isn't It Quiet And Cold" is a beautiful, folky song, where as "Why Not?" is another powerful piece with some nice blues guitar playing by Gary Green. "The Queen" is a good way to finish the album, as the band used to end their gigs abroad by playing the national anthem of the land in question.

"Gentle Giant" is a very promising album, and a suitable way to get to know the band. However, you should start listening to Gentle Giant only when you are looking for that extra artistic spice and that bands like Genesis or Pink Floyd lack.