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Odd24 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 18 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 199
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 Topic: Gentle Giant
Posted: August 07 2005 at 17:29 |
I wanted to say this for some time and I think this is the right place to say it:
Give it back - Gentle Giant
ok I'm completely astounded that no one has said anything about this song! wow....this is the best REGGAE SONG I've ever heard in my f**king life. Bob Marley, eat your heart out 
That interview cd of Gentle Giant really has some stunning surprises...
  Timing - Gentle Giant
Wow, I was blown away by this song, just had to say it...these guys are so incredibly amazing...
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Right down the line
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richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28059
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Posted: July 09 2005 at 04:55 |
ELP generally recorded much longer tracks than GG who seemed content to stay with songs at around 5-8 minutes long .I've found GG quite a struggle to listen to.I am a fan of bombast in prog and love to hear great hammond rifts and fast 'technical' drumming so GG's understated music is quite strange to my ears.I've only had the 2 CD compilation up to now but I've just ordered In A Glass House and Power And The Glory and I'll see how I get on with those.Certainly an intriguing band at the very least. BTW I've got the 'Giant On The Box' DVD ..an absolute must for every prog fan whether a GG fan or not! 
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: July 09 2005 at 03:57 |
Well, I'm very curious about live footage of both Gentle Giant and ELP, so in the end I see myself buying both.
As for GG and ELP: I think Trouser is a bit right: the GG albums I own have no weak tracks, and some of the ELP albums I know do have weak spots, but... I really do like the ELP highlights very very much. And I mean VERY much 
I think ELP's 1st (eponymous) album and BSS have no filler at all. And the Tarkus Suite is a work of pure genius. For me the latter is the best piece of music I ever heard, apart from Yes' Awaken.
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NetsNJFan
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 12 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3047
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Posted: July 09 2005 at 00:15 |
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^ Missing Piece could have been could, its like they gave up halfway and said f**k it!
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 31 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 5964
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:34 |
 NetsNJFan wrote:
Trouserpress wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
Trouserpress wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
^ but what entertaining Style it was! |
At times... I love their epics and more energetic moments. Greg Lake can get stuffed though. "Still... you-" "OH SHUT UP!!"
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ha ha ha so true, but the band needed the contrast, it was nice
hearing an acoustic instrument once in a while. It's funny
without these, ELP would have been a cult band most likely,
not on the huge scale they were. They only had one bona fide prog
hit, Karn Evil 9, and Fanfare (which isnt very good) I still hear
on the radio 
Still You Turn Me On is one of the better ones, it was by C'est La Vie and I Believe in Father Christmas that I started saying OH SHUT UP.
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I have a lower "cheese" threshold than you though, I think. 
Anyway, I stick by my assesment that ELP had many good moments but
these are outnumbered by their bad ones, unfortunately. Gentle Giant
however... 9 prog classics all in a row! That's gotta count for
something, right?
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my assement of ELP 4 masterpieces (BSS, ELP, Tarkus, Trilogy), 2 good albums (Works 1, Pictues), the rest is pure sh*t
yea I don't mind pop that much, I prefer it to reaaaaallllllly weird prog
how do you count GG having 9 classics?
wait wow it is 9, I just counted, I always knew those albums were
good but never made the connection that its 9 straight albums that's
amazing!
gotta love GG |
My assesment - BSS, Tarkus, Trilogy all quite good albums with some filler. The rest I can do without altogether.
And yep 9 straight classics. And I think The Missing Piece has some great material too, though I realise that this isn't such a popular opinion.
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NetsNJFan
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 12 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3047
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:27 |
Trouserpress wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
Trouserpress wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
^ but what entertaining Style it was! |
At times... I love their epics and more energetic moments. Greg Lake can get stuffed though. "Still... you-" "OH SHUT UP!!"
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ha ha ha so true, but the band needed the contrast, it was nice hearing an acoustic instrument once in a while. It's funny without these, ELP would have been a cult band most likely, not on the huge scale they were. They only had one bona fide prog hit, Karn Evil 9, and Fanfare (which isnt very good) I still hear on the radio
Still You Turn Me On is one of the better ones, it was by C'est La Vie and I Believe in Father Christmas that I started saying OH SHUT UP.
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I have a lower "cheese" threshold than you though, I think. Anyway, I stick by my assesment that ELP had many good moments but these are outnumbered by their bad ones, unfortunately. Gentle Giant however... 9 prog classics all in a row! That's gotta count for something, right?
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my assement of ELP 4 masterpieces (BSS, ELP, Tarkus, Trilogy), 2 good albums (Works 1, Pictues), the rest is pure sh*t
yea I don't mind pop that much, I prefer it to reaaaaallllllly weird prog
how do you count GG having 9 classics?
wait wow it is 9, I just counted, I always knew those albums were good but never made the connection that its 9 straight albums that's amazing!
gotta love GG
Edited by NetsNJFan
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 31 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 5964
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:22 |
I have a lower "cheese" threshold than you though, I think.
Anyway, I stick by my assesment that ELP had many good moments but
these are outnumbered by their bad ones, unfortunately. Gentle Giant
however... 9 prog classics all in a row! That's gotta count for
something, right?
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NetsNJFan
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 12 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3047
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:18 |
Trouserpress wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
^ but what entertaining Style it was! |
At times... I love their epics and more energetic moments. Greg Lake can get stuffed though. "Still... you-" "OH SHUT UP!!"
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ha ha ha so true, but the band needed the contrast, it was nice hearing an acoustic instrument once in a while. It's funny without these, ELP would have been a cult band most likely, not on the huge scale they were. They only had one bona fide prog hit, Karn Evil 9, and Fanfare (which isnt very good) I still hear on the radio
Still You Turn Me On is one of the better ones, it was by C'est La Vie and I Believe in Father Christmas that I started saying OH SHUT UP.
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10261
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:13 |
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I discovered Gentle Giant very early, age 9 or so, but then I listened
to prog more or less all my life My brother, who is 10 years older than
I am, started collecting prog when he was 16.
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 31 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 5964
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:12 |
NetsNJFan wrote:
^ but what entertaining Style it was! |
At times... I love their epics and more energetic moments. Greg Lake can get stuffed though. "Still... you-" "OH SHUT UP!!"
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NetsNJFan
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 12 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3047
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 19:06 |
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^ but what entertaining Style it was!
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 31 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 5964
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 18:56 |
felona wrote:
I haven't listened to Interview yet ... seems to divide the fans a bit? |
Yeah, but you'd love it Felona! Imagine the Free Hand album, only a little more extreme.
As for why our tastes change... I think it's a case of simple maturity.
The more one's exposed to progressive music the higher one's
appreciation for it becomes. It's not an easy genre to get into, and
for most people it's a slow process, but once you're in you're in and
there's no turning back!
Oh and Moogy - If I were you I'd got for Gentle Giant. The DVD's a
cracking package, GG put on an amazing show and you'll see songs
performed in very different ways than the studio albums. ELP were a bit
style-over-substance if you ask me.
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felona
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 12 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 521
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 18:12 |
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I haven't listened to Interview yet ... seems to divide the fans a bit?
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I was never really sure what I was waiting for. When the moment came I was looking away ......
The Church "After Everything Now This"
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NetsNJFan
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 12 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3047
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 18:03 |
^ for me, strangely enough, Interview was the first one that I REALLY liked, the others I thought were only OK. Since then, man, GG is easily in my top 10, maybe top 5 bands.
Edited by NetsNJFan
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felona
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 12 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 521
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 17:57 |
yes, it was Octopus that first hooked me in & wrapped me up with its tentacles ....
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I was never really sure what I was waiting for. When the moment came I was looking away ......
The Church "After Everything Now This"
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 17:50 |
felona wrote:
NetsNJFan wrote:
Trouserpress wrote:
FishyMonkey wrote:
I love GG, but they don't do anything spectacular for me..at least not on In a Glass House. Like I said in my review of that album, it's just good prog, nothing more, nothing less. It's creative, good songwriting, great usage of instruments, but there's nothing on In a Glass House that distinguishes it from other great bands. |
Except a unique approach to arrangements, pushing the envelope by recording a song with just vocals and tuned percussion, mind-blowingly tight performances and a general sense of sheer craftmanship. Oh, and very memorable tunes.
Yeah, nothing special about that album at all, is there?
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FishyMonkey, listen to the GG over and over and evetually it'll click and you'll go This is (one of) the greatest bands ever.
Glass House is a masterpiece.
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It is quite strange how first impressions are not always the last with GG. When I first heard GG a few years ago I actively disliked the sound (maybe because I wasn't listening to so much prog back then). But now they are one of my favourites . OK, Trouserpress (or anyone else who can help) I'd like your esteemed opinion on why our tastes change ... what exactly is it that "happens" in the brain to change   into   ????? Answers please!!!!!
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I really had to get used to Octopus. Now it's one of my favorite albums. In fact, listened to it tonight and was blown against the wall once again. It IS an acquired taste for some, so keep trying, all you GG - try-outers  . Although I did like Acquiring The Taste already the 1st time I heard. Still my fave GG-album, until now, that is.
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felona
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 12 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 521
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 17:41 |
NetsNJFan wrote:
Trouserpress wrote:
FishyMonkey wrote:
I love GG, but they don't do anything spectacular for me..at least not on In a Glass House. Like I said in my review of that album, it's just good prog, nothing more, nothing less. It's creative, good songwriting, great usage of instruments, but there's nothing on In a Glass House that distinguishes it from other great bands. |
Except a unique approach to arrangements, pushing the envelope by recording a song with just vocals and tuned percussion, mind-blowingly tight performances and a general sense of sheer craftmanship. Oh, and very memorable tunes.
Yeah, nothing special about that album at all, is there?
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FishyMonkey, listen to the GG over and over and evetually it'll click and you'll go This is (one of) the greatest bands ever.
Glass House is a masterpiece.
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It is quite strange how first impressions are not always the last with GG. When I first heard GG a few years ago I actively disliked the sound (maybe because I wasn't listening to so much prog back then). But now they are one of my favourites . OK, Trouserpress (or anyone else who can help) I'd like your esteemed opinion on why our tastes change ... what exactly is it that "happens" in the brain to change into ????? Answers please!!!!!
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I was never really sure what I was waiting for. When the moment came I was looking away ......
The Church "After Everything Now This"
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 17:35 |
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aegis
Forum Newbie
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 22
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 14:13 |
Trouserpress wrote:
Ooh yeah, Gentle Giant songs are HIGHLY catchy. One of my favourite things about them is how despite being very complex and odd their work was still very memorable and brilliant to sing along to! They're full of little contradictions like that, another example being that they never "show off" and spend hours soloing despite being masters at it.
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Definitely. Listen a few times and you are singing along to the most complex riffs. Great!
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Gentle Ronnie
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 540
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Posted: July 08 2005 at 13:51 |
Lyzarrd wrote:
The first GG I heard was Nothing at All and I was absolutely floored by it. Its very true to say that pracitcally everyone one of their albums is a masterpiece (at least from the 70s). |
Well, they disbanded in 1980, so there is nothing to check by GG after Civilian. Every album from the s/t to Interview is incredible though.
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Gentle Giant
