THREE FRIENDS

Historic preambles seem to be in vogue when writing reviews on this website, so here's a little one. After the groundbreaking "Acquiring The Taste", Gentle Giant decided to do their own take on the increasingly popular concept album. So they devised a concept about three childhood friends who go down their separate paths or something like that. The actual lyrical content of the album is pretty vague, and it would suffice to say that "Three Friends" was a bit of a failed concept. So if you're the kind of person who likes digging deep into concept albums to get a full immersion into the story, you probably won't care for this one, but personally I don't listen to concepts - I listen to music. So let's get on to discussing that, shall we?

The album certainly shows a transition in terms of sound from the band's past two adventures. Gone are the grim, nocturnal vibes of the debut and "Acquiring The Taste"; a lighter sound has taken its place. This is no doubt Gentle Giant's bluesiest album, and most soulful, perhaps harkening back to the Shulman brothers' days as "Simon Dupree and the Big Sound" in a way. You can hear this change right away in the introductory "Prologue", which grooves its way along through pleasant, but largely forgettable, melodies and riffing. There's an ever-so-slight jazz fusion undertone to their delivery; it sounds almost like something Camel would be putting out in a year or two (think "Six Ate").

Following the relaxed intro, "Schooldays" greets the listener to a very soft treat, with plenty of soulful vocals and tasteful vibraphone playing. Many credit this as one of Gentle Giant's most nostalgic tracks and it is an understandable fan favourite. With the first third or so of the album delivering very little punch, "Working All Day" comes along to spruce things up a bit. One would be wont to assume that this track is there to fill the spot of the archetypal heavy jazz rock Gentle Giant number that served as centrepieces on their first two albums, but it comes across as a tad flaccid compared to the assault of, say, "Alucard". No, that title really belongs to the side two opener: "Peel The Paint". This is the first track on the album that gets me genuinely excited to listen to it, acting as a strong analogue to "The House, The Street, The Room", though not quite as hectic.

The album ends off with a lukewarm blues jam on "Mister Class & Quality?" before concluding with its highest peak, the divine-sounding "Three Friends", a short 3 minute coda with a chord progression akin to ascending to heaven. In sum, "Three Friends" presents some very interesting and enjoyable material, but it's interspersed among a bit too much "filler", especially given the short length of the album to begin with. Still, this is an album that all fans of the early, more soulful, Gentle Giant should pick up, and not a bad starting point for those who are looking to get into the band but finding their more well-regarded albums too difficult. Good, but non-essential; 3 stars.