FREE HAND

Free Hand was one of the first Giant songs I heard (after proclamation off Power and the Glory). I found it really catchy (which isn't something I often cherish in music) and very original. I could never really grasp the drumming - it seems Weathers opens the high-hats on every beat...and more. I bought the album, and I was really surprised. This was some of the first Giant I really heard (heard as in the sense of "listened to". Giant is a band that must be "listened to" as opposed to being "heard"). I really enjoyed it, with the perplexing musicianship and outstanding sound quality. This is some of the most complex, most baffling music ever published. The special thing about this band is that no one else could ever play any of their songs.

A great track is Talybont, with its thousand-and-one keyboard voices, and the folk-ish percussion. It's very intriguing and it carves a world of its own. His Last Voyage is also very beautiful, but On Reflection is my favourite song off this album. It's very poetic, and is some of their most sophisticated, layered and complicated music. Vocal harmonies have never been so complex as Giant's, and On Reflection is one of their proudest moments. Live performances of this song were outstanding, beginning with a classical opening.

This is a great album, and is one of the more accessible Giant albums (though Gentle Giant is not a band worthy of noting for their accessibility...)