Should Gentle Giant have continued after Civilian?

Giant for a day is a bit like open your eyes by Yes in that if it was released by another band nobody would think it was that awful. It's a half way decent pop/pop rock album with maybe some mild prog touches and gentle giantisms but it's a far cry from their proggy past. I actually like a few tracks on it especially the instrumental "spooky boogie." "Word from the wise" has some very good vocal harmonies and there's maybe a few other things too such as the catchy "little brown bag." Most of it is admittedly not that memorable but it's still worth checking out if you are a GG completionist or even a big fan. Just don't expect vintage prog GG.

I agree with you about the others. Both are maybe a bit uneven but with some solid moments. It's hard for me to pick one over the other. I possibly prefer civilian but not by much. The band could have gone out with a weaker record. At least this one doesn't have a song called "alien afternoon" on it. 

I agree. Of course if they went in the direction of Genesis then people would complain endlessly(like they do about later Genesis) but you can't please everyone and a paycheck is still a paycheck. 

Anyway, I finally voted and I voted "yes."

Because they weren't selling any albums, that's why.

Critically acclaimed, but never commercially successful. i hated them in the 70s: they were just too weird. It took me 20 years to "get" them and I bought all their albums, but too late to benefit them.

Giant For a Day is the only one I have any real negative feel on. I agree, the rest have their moments and aren't nearly as bad as people make them to be.

Two Weeks in Spain, Mountain Time, I Bet You Thought We Couldn't Do It, For Nobody etc. all catchy and that's just The Missing Piece!

It seems that about half of the album(the second half)was geared towards their established fan base while side one was more about exploring different territories including more pop oriented stuff. 

They're one of those bands you can go back over their discography and still get something out of their albums, even ones you're familiar with and even if they're not one of your favourite bands. Some bands after a few listenings there's not much more you can out of them. Not Gentle Giant.