ACQUIRING THE TASTE

First released in the UK on Phillips Records subsidiary Vertigo on July 16, 1971. This is the album that proclaims rather convincingly that Gentle Giant is at the very heart of the progressive rock movement.

1. "Pantagruel's Nativity" (6:50) a peak song in the GG catalogue. Kerry Minnear's angelic choir boy voice is a bit pitchy but such a cool sound to employ within a rock song--definitely a progressive idea! The use of multiple motifs to create a kind of suite-like effect was also quite ingenious (something Italian band Premiata Forneria Marconi would soon pick up and perfect). Horns, choir, Peter Giles-like drumming, wooden flutes, Mellotron strings, virtuosic jazzy bass play and catchy earworm guitar riffs all merge into this Prog World classic. (14.25/15)

2. "Edge of Twilight" (3:47) Kerry Minnear is given the lead vocal in the second song in a row, this one using sounds and spaciousness to convey a moody, ancient stone castle (or monastery) feeling. Could this song have been an inspiration for the soundtrack music that Monty Python created for their 1975 film release, Monty Python and The Holy Grail? (9.125/10)

3. "The House, the Street, the Room" (6:01) Derek Shulman's grating scream-voice is quite a contrast to the one we heard from Kerry Minnear (and continue to hear as the antiphonal choir voices in the B-response to Derek's leads). The intermittent dispersal and use of many old and classical instruments throughout this song is interesting--giving the "house" an authentic feeling of having a multiplicity of themes for its rooms. The loud guitar wailing away with the Hammond and low bass notes in fourth and fifth minutes must represent the chaos of the street noises. Interesting and inventive if not exactly always pleasing to the ear or flowing smoothly. Like a house, a street, and even a room! (8.875/10)

4. "Acquiring the Taste" (1:36) Kerry experimenting with some of his new keyboards' sound settings, all with the obvious intention of creating a little song of "faux" anachronistic instruments. Clever if not exactly pleasant. (4.375/5)

5. "Wreck" (4:36) the band's attempt at trying on the mantle of bands like URIAH HEEP and BLACK SABBATH? But then in the second minute they shift into an entirely contrary motif of mediæval-sounding music. Part of the band provide backing chorus vocals that give an almost sea shanty feel to the music. And then surprise of surprises, the band moves from anachronistic music into a bombastic orchestra-embellished motif before finishing the song with the shanty-like motif. Interesting! (8.75/10)

6. "The Moon Is Down" (4:45) this song opens like an old-time café bar scene with its small "big band" sound, but then moves into some odd palettes for some "old" and yet Baroque 1960s-sounding motifs. Fascinating group vocals with some heart-wrenching melodies. Then, in the first half of the third minute, Gary Green's gorgeous GENESIS-like finger-picked acoustic guitar takes us into another world--a very pleasant, festive yet-bucolic world of mixed-styles (like visiting the harvest markets seeing men and women with their excited children and wise elders all interacting.) An absolutely stellar storytelling song. (9.75/10)

7. "Black Cat" (3:51) another song that surprises for its intricate and subtle strings contributions. Lead singer Phil Shulman has a voice as pleasant and beautiful as Kerry Minnear's. Gentle (9.3333/10)

8. "Plain Truth" (7:36) a song that sounds and feels firmly rooted in the same blues rock that JETHRO TULL had been exploring through their Aqualung albums (which was released in March, during the time of the initial studio recording sessions for this album). Even the open use of humour in the song's construction is so Tull-like. Meanwhile, it's the gentle guitar picking backing Ray's electric violin solo in the middle of the song that is the highlight for me. The alternating heavy and light dynamics for the band's song structures (and Derek's vocal stylings) begins with this song. (13.25/15)

Total Time 39:02

While a very enjoyable softer, more melodic, bluesy side of GG is present here, something about the sound recording--especially the vocals and drums--turns me off. Still, there are some great songs here--some of GG's most accessible ones, too.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of innovative and intricately-composed progressive rock music that announces rather assuredly that GG is in a league all their own.

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