OCTOPUS

An album with more than 100 reviews doesn't need my one for sure, but with my nickname I couldn't resist to add one.

Somebody thinks this is the best album ever released by Gentle Giant, other say their best is Three Friends: two very different albums, however.

Octopus has the incredible characteristic of songs which contain a lot of things concentrated in few minutes. There is the medieval arrangement of "Raconteur Troubadour", the rock (hard for its time) of "A Cry for Everyone", the acapella choir of "Knots", the experimentalisms of "The Advent of Panurge", the Canterbury of "Dog's Life". The Caravan-like "Think of me With Kindness" (At least in the first half of the song).

It's like a soup of the best ingredients of the golden age prog. The only negative thing that I can find are the tracks fading out. Something absolutely not needed in an album that's 35 minutes long. Regardless this, and because of the huge variety of sounds and ideas, this is a milestone of progressive rock.

It's shortness just makes me wishing more, specially because my favourite track is "River", which closes the album with its violins and strange signatures. Its sudden end is a chock. I might have preferred a fadeout this time. This is another strength of this band: they never give you something that you can expect, and the ability to surprise is one of the most important skills in music.