Why not more ratings for Gentle Giant albums?

Prog_Traveller wrote: If that is true then YES is a second division band because they weren't as big as Pink Floyd or Genesis.

Have people here actually looked at the sales statistics for the various groups mentioned? Would probably be interesting, especially if you examine them over time.

Gerinski wrote: As Roger said, I don't think we have to blame the young generations, GG were already comparatively unappreciated in the 70's. I myself had Octopus for many years and didn't care for it nor did it motivate me to buy any other of their albums, it was only quite some years later, somewhere during the 90's, that I became aware of their cult following and gave them another chance and finally I got them and now I like a lot much of their music. Together with my progger friends we must have had albums we loved by many dozens of bands, and yet none of us were fans of GG until we rediscovered them much later. It is only since relatively recently that I see them mentioned as one of the 'big 10' or so. I think their popularity among proggers has grown over the years.

The.Crimson.King wrote: Gentle Giant was the first prog band I ever saw (July 76) and they blew me away...of course Yes came on 20 minutes later and blew me even further away

To me their polyrhythmic vocal harmonies deserve to be respected for the musicianship, but at the same time I find them hugely annoying. An acquired taste that I've never acquired. They'd have parts of songs that would have a cool medieval thing happening, but then the vocals would kick in and aargh!! What is their purpose? I think one big part of their problem was and continues to be that Prog fans are not as enamored by vocals as much as instrumentals.

Edited by HackettFan - December 01 2013 at 23:05

Dean wrote: Gentle Giant were not even a third tier band globally, even in the Nursery Cryme/Foxtrot era Genesis out-sold them on album and on tour by a considerable margin. At the height of Gentle Giant's US popularity in 1975 they were opening for bands like Golden Earring, Peter Frampton and Foghat while Genesis were headlining.

Edited by The.Crimson.King - December 01 2013 at 23:55

Gerinski wrote: Prog_Traveller wrote: Typically GG do fit in as part of the big five(I'm going by other prog sites where I've read this). Typically the big five is: YES GENESIS King Crimson Gentle Giant ELP   Your 'typically' is very atypical. Perhaps some sites say so in retrospect, but GG would have never been listed as big five in the 70's. GG bigger than Oldfield, Camel, Tull, Renaissance, all the Canterbury guys, VdGG, Supertramp etc? are you kidding?

Absolutely not. GG had an album "free hand" which made it to number 48 which is more than I can say for any of the bands you mentioned except for maybe Supertramp. And yes they most certainly were bigger than VDGG in the US at least. VDGG had no charting albums and only played one show. GG toured extensively in the US.  Also, it has been suggested that GG were playing the same venues as Genesis was and were as big as them(before Steve Hackett left). While I won't go quite that far the fact is they were playing 1,500 to 4,000 seat venues in the US around the same time Genesis were. Maybe Genesis were filling those seats a little better than GG but the fact remains GG were a pretty big cult band in the seventies and just behind the more mainstream acts(just behind KC).

From wikipedia:

Studio albums

• Gentle Giant (1970), Vertigo
• Acquiring the Taste (1971), Vertigo
• Three Friends (1972) (#197 US), Vertigo, Columbia
• Octopus (1972) (#170 US) Vertigo, Columbia
• In a Glass House (1973), Vertigo/WWA
• The Power and the Glory (1974) (#78 US), Vertigo/WWA, Capitol
• Free Hand (1975) (#48 US), Chrysalis, Capitol
• Interview (1976) (#137 US), Chrysalis, Capitol
• The Missing Piece (1977) (#81 US), Chrysalis, Capitol
• Giant for a Day! (1978), Chrysalis, Capitol
• Civilian (1980) (#203 US), Chrysalis, Capitol

At first i didnt like them - but then I kinda acquired the taste 

I started listening to prog in 1977, and was lucky enough to see Genesis at Earls Court in that year! - That started my love of symphonic progressive rock. However, GG were never on my radar for whatever reason - possibly because they didn't do extended tracks?? I remember looking at Octopus (Cover by R. Dean so it caught my eye) and seeing that all/most tracks were only four minutes (ish) long - I then picked up 1984 by A. Phillips and saw 18 minutes + for track length - so I spent my money on that vinyl instead. I recently listed to GG album 1970 and was singularly unimpressed apart from a few bits of lovely acoustic guitar....