THE MISSING PIECE

Now, it must be said, I'm inclined to love just about anything Gentle Giant ever released or even breathed on. Thus, with the following praise in mind, unprepared fans of the band's earlier work may get to this album, and a song like "I'm Turning Around," and laugh their pants off. This would be an unfortunate reaction. Okay, so there is definitely a shift in direction evident on this album -- there are less overtly "proggy" songs, more purely rocking songs, and a general lifting of the intense burden of creating "yet another insane experimental masterpiece!!!" that every album preceding seemed to bear. That said, what this album ends up doing is expressing the band's musical personalities in an especially direct fashion that will delight the true Gentle Giant fan, and they will especially treasure this music. "As Old As You're Young" is one of my favorite GG songs, with an uplifting and magical vibe that seems to me to be so essentially Kerry Minnear. "Memories of Old Days" is absolutely spellbinding, featuring layers of shimmering acoustic guitar and electric piano that fill the air with an almost palpable melancholy. "For Nobody" is a balls-out prog charger that leaves no doubt that the boys could never lose their edge. It's all the more remarkable to me that this is all contained in one album with such gems as the aforementioned ballad (!) "I'm Turning Around." If you've already been convinced of Gentle Giant's previous albums, don't entertain any doubt about this one -- there's nothing but goods to be found.