Gentle Giant

Trouserpress wrote: felona wrote: Manunkind wrote: felona wrote: I've heard that many people do not like GG on first, second or even third listen ... that it takes some time to really appreciate ... was this true for you guys? I've only got 'Octopus', but I got into it straight away. If you're buying that one, get ready for one exhilirating ride. I won't even bother trying to describe the music from that album. Someone once said that talking about music is like singing about architecture. I agree completely, even more so as when it comes to GG, 'architecture' is the second word that springs to mind after 'music'.   From what's been said so far  I'm preparing my ears for a real workout ...are there any other bands comparable to GG that I  could listen to which might help  ?   Nope - like Yes, Gentle Giant are a band to compare other bands to, not the other way round. There is no major group one can compare them to.

This isn't 100% true. There was an obscure American band called Yezda Urfa sporting a similar sound and according to the mp3 I heard  

http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_BAN D.asp?band_id=355

and the reviews I read the 2 albums they released are a match for GG's best.

Gentle Giant are also the main source of inspiration for the Polish band Gargantua

http://www.gargantua.abc.pl/

(mp3s available on the site) and while the pupil hasn't surpassed the teacher, neither definitely needs to be ashamed!

Sorry but they really are amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just avoid the INTERVIEW remaster, there´s something wrong with that one:

From AMAZON.

The mistake is that what you are listening to is a remaster of the RIGHT CHANNEL ONLY, playing in mono panned to the center. I did A/B tests with the BGD issue of Interview and had a couple of friends who dig GG listen to it with me to confirm my suspicion. The way GG produced their albums was very unique, with interlocking layers often kind of corresponding with each other from speaker to speaker. This means that on this particular issue, you're only getting half of the layers, since the other half are on the missing left channel. For instance, the MAIN GUITAR RIFF that carries the last four minutes of "I Lost My Head" is COMPLETELY GONE. Half of the vocal layers on "Empty City" are COMPLETELY GONE. "Another Show" sounds the most confused due to this mistake--it sounds like you're listening to half a band.

Derek--PLEASE REMEDY THIS SITUATION!!! I have been wanting a definitive master of this album since getting into it a few years ago, and this ain't it! So far, the other three reissues sound AMAZING, LIGHT YEARS better than any other issue released beforehand. Please fix Interview !!

Get these remasters people, the sound quality on these, is stunning . Plus you get a few live bonus tracks as well.











Edited by Velvetclown

felona wrote: Manunkind wrote: felona wrote: I've heard that many people do not like GG on first, second or even third listen ... that it takes some time to really appreciate ... was this true for you guys? I've only got 'Octopus', but I got into it straight away. If you're buying that one, get ready for one exhilirating ride. I won't even bother trying to describe the music from that album. Someone once said that talking about music is like singing about architecture. I agree completely, even more so as when it comes to GG, 'architecture' is the second word that springs to mind after 'music'.   From what's been said so far  I'm preparing my ears for a real workout ...are there any other bands comparable to GG that I  could listen to which might help  ?

Nope - like Yes, Gentle Giant are a band to compare other bands to, not the other way round. There is no major group one can compare them to.

felona wrote: I've heard that many people do not like GG on first, second or even third listen ... that it takes some time to really appreciate ... was this true for you guys?

I've only got 'Octopus', but I got into it straight away. If you're buying that one, get ready for one exhilirating ride.

I won't even bother trying to describe the music from that album. Someone once said that talking about music is like singing about architecture. I agree completely, even more so as when it comes to GG, 'architecture' is the second word that springs to mind after 'music'.  

 

Edited by Manunkind

As soon as I can afford them.

Hehe... not for me! For some people it's a slow thing, for some people it's instant, for some they can listen to their records for a while, feel nothing, then one day BLAM! It clicks. The one piece of advice I can give you is DON'T GIVE UP ON THEM!

As you can see from the comments above, they're worth it.

felona wrote: I have heard that you need a PhD in music to truly understand what they were doing ... what does that mean ?

Oh you don't really... it can just get technical sometimes. Let us know when those CDs arrive!

I think without a doupt GG really was the best and most professional prog band ever.Unfortunatly,I too,was too young to ever see them live.Although there are a multitude of videos available...I was crazy enough to tatoo the giant's face on my back to remember forever the influence they had on my music perception.I love them because they pushed to the limit .All of the musiciens are multi-instrumentalist and they all sing really well.Can you ask for better?I would like to ad that Gentle Giant is the first band that made me enjoy ballads.It just so much to the edge in every musical way... I think that up to "Interview" every album is a "chef-d'oeuvre" and if you like GG,      GET THEM ALL!    THE BEST

There are so many shades and facets and glimmerings to their music. Did I use words that are not in the Oxford Dictionary? I'm not sure, but GG certainly did things that were in no one's musical dictionary. Their music is like diamonds. From each angle you get a different (and beautiful) reflection. The creme de la creme  of prog. The foie gras, baron Rothschild, Dom Perignon from a vintage ... oh well, James Bond would know. You get the picture ...

Their albums never get boring. There are always new places in the music to go.