CIVILIAN

Civilian is the last album before Gentle Giant broke up. It sounds completely different to all the other albums. It is not as complex as the albums from 1970 to 1976 and it is not as soft as the other both later Gentle Giant albums. You can clearly hear the typical 80's-sound.

Civilian is a concept-album about the downfall of the individual in the rank and file. It also criticises the increasing monitoring per states and superficiality of the media that came up at the time the album was released. So topics that are still up to date.

Most of the songs on this CD are very rocky, the beautiful, calm "Shadows On The Street" and the psychedelic "Inside Out" excluded. Though this album rocks a lot, I have to annotate that the complex and squiggled elements which form Gentle Giant's distictive style, are missing. This album was not made for a listener who wants to be astonished about all the little ideas and intricacies. It is made for a listener who wants to dance to the music or wants to hear it in the background. Alltough it is a nice pop-album!

Anyhow it is no more progressive rock. However, I give it solid three stars!