OUT OF THE FIRE

The main problem with this album is the fact that all tracks appear to be taken from LP sources. Once you get past that, it's easy to appreciate the performances. The sound quality is certainly better than most of the recent "official" live releases, which sound like bootlegs.

This 2-CD set contains two BBC live concerts from 1973 and 1978. The 1973 concert is previously unreleased. The 1978 concert is the same one released as In Concert (BBC Radio 1), but it is complete (including Funny Ways) and has the songs in the right order. Contrary to Rick I find the sound quality very good like most of the BBC recordings.Maybe a little bit dry, but that fits quiet well with GG.Totally out of the woods contains only studio material while Out of the fire contains "real" concert recordings.Now a lot of people think that GG lost quality at the end of the 70's. They should listen to the 1978 concert.They never played these tracks so good as hereand the Missing Piece tracks have more edge than on the record.

An Excellent Double Live Set Album

Giant on The Box DVD was really a tipping point for me to have couple of spins of Gentle Giant albums including this double live set and also Playing The Fool, King Biscuit Flower Hours and Totally Out of the Woods. This double live set contains two performances that span from different timing: Disc one is the band's 1973 performance recorded 16/11/73 at the Golders Green Hippodrome, transmitted by BBC Radio 1 8/12/73. (Ehm. what a lucky people the Londoners were - having this excellent show transmitted over radio! I could not imagine if I were Londoner - I would be very happy listening the BBC for satisfying my prog ears!). Disc two was recorded at the same place but with different time, i.e 5/1/78 and transmitted by BBC TV 21/1/78 and 19/8/78. Congratulations to Londoners! Well, I'm lucky too as I have the double CD set as well even though I could not see on screen.

Listening to Gentle Giant music for nearly thirty years, I guess, it's been a rewarding experience especially when it was triggered by special event such as: watching the legendary DVD of the band's 1974-1975 performance! Every live set of the band has always been interesting to enjoy as even they have similar set list but the music is different and most importantly: the live ambience is different! It applies to this album; even though I have listened to the other live albums I still find this album is different and very entertaining. The only drawback that I have with this one is the uneven volume and mixing of the music - it's not excellent as the other live set. But it does not mean that the show was not good at all. It's terrific!

Disc One - 1973

"Anyway .. you can get up from the seats now . You are listening to in concert - my name is Mike Cunning - I want you to welcome please . Gentle Giant!" followed with a weird music that combines keyboard and guitar, bass, drums and vocals (unfortunately not really clear and disturbs the true voice of Derek) with "Way of Life". For those who love keyboard buzz, this track is for you. It continues with next classic track "Funny Ways". The next one "Nothing At All" is the best track that represents my favorite for this performance. Oh boy .. the melody is so nice, touchy and memorable! It flows naturally and some segments the melody is killing me. Well, I could only describe it using my locality language (sorry) it's called "mbrebes mili" (it's actually something like tears in my eyes due to hearing such a melodic segments of the music. It did happen to me. Well, probably I'm too melancholic. Yes, music often makes me like this. ). From the opening guitar fills and keyboard work continues to the first lyrical part "Now she sits by the riverside. Watching the waters glide by, With a sigh. And the things she put faith in. Are ripples just waving her by. With a sigh" . oh my God . what a killing melody! The guitar work is truly stunning! The music flows naturally into kind of blues-rock followed with some sudden change to quieter passage. Really nice! The solo drum and solo vibraphone are excellent.

Disc Two - 1978

"Hello! Welcome on radio one in concert . Would you welcome please - with their last single which was called 'Twoo Weeks In Spain' - Gentle Giant!" Jreng! The show stars off with a hard-driving rhythm of the single "Twoo Weeks in Spain" in a very energetic way combined with some funky break during quieter passage. It flows beautifully to legendary "Free Hand" that starts with a nice combination of guitar, keyboard and bass and ends-up with punchy keyboard solo that brings the vocals enter the music dynamically. Derek sings so fast like an angry person. The other classic track "On Reflection" si also performed excellently. What's new is the inclusion of the band's poppy song "I'm Turning Around" from the band's "Missing Piece" album (1977). It's a good change after couple of complex stuffs, really. "Playing The Game" is also very interesting song where it starts with a funny intro featuring keyboard, bass, drum and guitar in sort of funky style. Disc Two concludes with a straight forward track "Mountain Time".

In summary, I would say that this is an excellent addition to any prog collection. The only little drawback is on the mixing of audio quality but it does not make the overall performance not good at all. It's an excellent show. Recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours,

GW - Review #324

"You'll find an answer, You've got to believe in your own way of life. So you'll have to find an answer, You'll have to find a way, Try to find, Try to find." - taken from "Way of Life" of Gentle Giant's "In A Glass House" album. (hm.. I've been waiting so long my amazon order of the 35th Anniversary remastered series .).

Review Nº 762

"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*)