EDGE OF TWILIGHT

A very very generous compilation of Gentle Giant 1970-'74, covering almost completely the 6 first albums excluding In a Glasshouse, from which there's nothing. The missing songs are 'The Queen' (Gentle Giant), 'Black Cat' (Acquiring The Taste), 'Prologue' (Three Friends), 'Dog's Life' (Octopus) and the title track of Power & the Glory. So, this is almost like having 5 albums, except that the track list is not album by album which would have made sense. Anyway, this was the thing that made me like GG in '97 (I had listened some 2LP compilation 7 years before and I wasn't ready then to 'acquire the taste') - and which still seems to be almost all I need. I have taped In a Glasshouse too, and some later albums I haven't liked.

Also the sleeve notes about the band's history etc are well written. I won't try to describe all the music here. One has to experience it himself/herself. Some words: challenging, complex, unique, clever, witty, sometimes very tender (Kerry Minnear is my favourite singer in GG) and sometimes quite raw and ballsy, but never chaotic. Already the wide selection of instruments make GG special. This 2 CD package is definitely a good purchase for those who don't care so much about having separate original albums.