Best of Gentle Giant
Regler: Max tre låtar per album.
Minst en låt per album.
Ordning=Väl vald, men som vanligt EJ rangordnad.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/267WHJQ3bXGXhdmheeHePl?si=c9b453e87836470e
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. The band stated that their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular",[2] although this stance was to alter significantly with time.
Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from philosophy and the works of François Rabelais and R. D. Laing.
1. Låt: Pantagruel's Nativity
Skiva: Acquiring the Taste
Årtal: 1971
Kommentar:
"It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary music at the risk of being very unpopular. we have recorded each composition with the one thought - that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this.
"From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts on blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste."
2. Låt: Funny Ways
Skiva: Gentle Giant
Årtal: 1970
Kommentar:
Kallas i folkmun(läs; inbitna Gentle Giant-nördar med yvigt skägg och centimetertjocka glasögon) för Gentle Giant for beginners/In the court of the Crimson King in the form of Gentle Giant. Rent jävla brilljant med andra ord. Fantastiska Funny Ways är låten där Gentle Giant för visar vad de kan göra. Den är absolut inte på något sätt och vis någon sorts stöpt "Gentle Giant så här låter vi" -ljus, men den ligger före (i låtordning) alla andra knepiga mästerverk på plattan. Där är Alucard kanske annars det bästa exemplet.
Is their any other song that better illustrates Gentle Giant's signature style? Xylophones and violins are part of this lengthy, four-movement composition that is defiantly anti-commercial. Thrown in to an album that includes cello, saxophone, trumpet, and tenor horn playing along with the more traditional rock instruments, and we have a group which introduced itself to the world with a presence that lived up to their name.
3. Låt: The Advent of Panurge
Skiva: Octopus
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar:
"The Advent of Panurge by Gentle Giant appears to tell the story of a man named Panurge who crosses Charaton Bridge and encounters someone who is both poor and rich. This encounter prompts a series of questions about identity, origins, and the desire for assistance. Panurge reveals that he is unable to speak due to thirst and asks for help. He expresses a need for companionship and offers to stay with his newfound friend in return.
4. Låt: Peel The Paint
Skiva: Three Friends
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar:
Peel the Paint rightfully deserves its place as one of the more popular songs by the group, as it demonstrates the best of the dynamic sound within the group. Very careful vocals near the start, meticulous strings and rolling organ all ending in a lovely, explosive rock and roll piece with crazy guitars, ominous horns and a full-on drum freakout. -tmwing
"The song "Peel the Paint" by Gentle Giant is about the idea that, no matter how much progress is made, humanity will always struggle with the same internal battles. The lyrics suggest that the artist is striving for change and peace but finds it difficult to make progress. While the "brush" symbolizes self-expression or creativity, the "savage beast" underneath all of the coats of time symbolizes our instinctual human behavior and how it can often get in the way of personal growth. The message of the song is that, as humans, we need to recognize our inner struggles and not be blinded by a false sense of progress. Ultimately, we should be vigilant against destructive emotions and forces in order to move forward." -songtell.com
Panurge eventually discloses that he is from Hell, identifying himself as the namesake of the track. This revelation may suggest that he has experienced significant hardship or struggles in his life, leading to his association with a place associated with torment." -Songtell.com
5. Låt: In a Glass House
Skiva: In a Glass House
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar:
"The song seems to literally depict a man living in a glass house as a metaphor for the mind itself." -msmoxwilliamson
No God's a Man, The Face är suveräna och Valedictory (progressivt återanvändande av låt) och Power and the Glory duger också.
"We have no option but to listen to Tool morning, noon and f**kin' night, it's Tool this, Tool that! You know, it's really funny. The other night my son said to me, "I went to see Tool last night, Dad, and saw this great band who opened for them, a band called King Crimson." I said, "Oh yeah, I've heard of them." I was like, if you like King Crimson, you probably want to listen to Yes, then you might want to listen to a band called Gentle Giant. He says, "Really?" And he comes back to me the next day and he says, "I got a chance to listen to the Gentle Giant album. It's fucking great music. How did you know about them?" Oh, I've only been around for fucking 35 years. " -Ozzy Osbourne
6. Låt: Playing the Game
Skiva: The Power and the Glory
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar:
Cogs in Cogs är Gentle Giant på volym 11.
"This is a noisy, aggressive piece of work that really brings life back to the album (that isn't to say that I have not liked the songs leading up to it. Just that it gives the album a nice dynamic boost)
About three quarters of the way through we get a semi-dreamlike sequence that has the keyboards playing a repeated phrase while underneath we have layered vocals and another keyboard playing a slow melody and the bass playing a simple but effective repeated motif.
We then move back into the follow the leader riff, which may be one of the things that makes me like this song so much.." -Mark Winstanley
Cogs in Cogs är bra, men bräcker inte Playing The Game.
"Playing the Game always sounded as if it came out of Robin Hood to me. Such a playful, wistful vibe, though the lyrics are anything but. Definitely one of the group's best songs, a nice beat all the way through, a lovely middle section by Minnear, and lively and energetic drumming that is put simply perfect in the mix." -tmwing
7. Låt: Free Hand
Skiva: Free Hand
Årtal: 1975
Kommentar:
"There are so many things going on in this fantastic piece - one of the most amazing ones of their entire catalogue to me - I'm at a loss for words, to say nothing of musicological science! I can't think of a single other band who could make music so danceable and funky and at the same time so demanding both harmonically and rythmically (the sub-division figures inside the "dance beats")..." -Parlo Fax
"Free Hand... For all the Derek Shulman critics out there, who else could have sung a thing like that? Tom Jones on acid?" -Parlo Fax
8. Låt: Empty City
Skiva: Interview
Årtal: 1976
Kommentar:
Plattan jag på riktigt trodde var en "intervju-skiva" tills för typ några månader sedan. Albumet startar bra med titelspåret. Sedan följer ett riktigt reggae-bottennapp i Give it Back. Lite som jag känner. Ge mig tillbaka min tid som jag förlorade när jag lyssnade på skiten. Design fortsätter. Vokal gymnastik som inte berör. Another Show är intensiv. Helt ok låt, men utan att ge mig något skäl till att lägga till den i listan. 4 bra låtar i Interview, Empty City, Timing och I Lost My Head får vi i varje fall. Svagaste albumet hittills.
"It's so fucking weird...You just gotta think of it as a cheezy 70s flick, then you'll be blown away." -gobodog
9. Låt: AlucardSkiva: Gentle Giant
Årtal: 1970
Kommentar:
The surreal lyrics, terrifyingly cold dark vocals, stomping riff, and wild dissonant guitar soloing make this the best track on the album by far... -Foxtrot53
10. Låt: Black Cat
Skiva: Acquiring the Taste
Årtal: 1971
Kommentar:
Edge of Twilight är det perfekta soundtracket till sin egen titel. "This track starts as an atmospheric tune. We have Kerry Minnear's delicate vocals laying on top of some semi-ambient orchestration. Some reverse effects come in on the second verse. Pay attention to the excellent bass line underneath all this. The next section has a very haunting feel, and an almost horror movie sound to it. This track really does reflect its title. It has a very twilight feel about it." -Mark Winstanley
Den platsar dock inte på denna best of. Det gör inte heller den fantastiska Moon is Down, eftersom Acquiring The Taste är en sådan fantastisk platta. The House, The Street, The Room är en fantastisk låt från start till mål. Lyssna bara på det fantastiska gitarrspelet efter 2:45 i låten. Hatten av! Det hjälper dock inte. Black Cat är perfektion. PERFEKTION! Plattan avslutas med Plain Truth som även den är fantastisk. Acquiring the Taste är snudd på perfekt. Inte en enda dålig låt, knappt en dålig sekund. VÄRLDSKLASS!
11. Låt: On Reflection
Skiva: Free Hand
Årtal: 1975
Kommentar:
"I don't hear this album as commercial, as some will say, if "On Reflection" is even remotely commercial then I am actually a hamster living in the belly of a fossilised Whale." -Mark Winstanley
12. Låt: Aspirations
Skiva: The Power and the Glory
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar:
The concept album focused on an individual who means to do good using political power. He finds himself tempted to abuse the power, as have all of those who have come before, and ultimately becomes what he fought against.
Skiva: Gentle Giant
Årtal: 1970
Kommentar:
Nothing At All känns given här. Fantastisk låt, men va fan gör trumsolot där i mitten av låten? Det blir bättre när trummorna joinas av piano i någon sorts frijazz/avantgarde-parti, men jag hade i ärlighetens namn klarat mig bäst utan...Gitarrspelet på Why Not är makalöst!
Skiva: Acquiring the Taste
Årtal: 1971
Kommentar:
The song is about a ship that is sinking and the people on board who are about to die. The protagonist is describing how the sea is taking them down and how they are losing everything, including their lives, their loved ones, and their possessions. There is a feeling of sadness and despair throughout the song as the protagonist witnesses the ship and its passengers being consumed by the sea.
Skiva: Three Friends
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar:
Three Friends från 1972 rivstartar med Prologue, en av Gentle Giants finaste stunder (de är många). Schooldays fortsätter. Första halvan är glad och glättig. Låten handlar om tre kompisar och hur kul de hade när de var i skolan. I andra halvan byts stämningen ut och blir mörk. Vännerna splittras...Den halvan är suverän och förtjänar en plats på best of:en, men det är benhård konkurrens. Prologue slår den inte. Working All Day är inte lika stark sångmässigt, men instrumentellt är det fortsatt makalöst bra. Mister Class and Quality är en uppvisning i musikaliskt brilljans och Three Friends avslutar plattan förtjänstfullt. Zappa känns nära...
A concept album, Three Friends deals with three childhood friends whose lives take them very different places. However, each of the three friends are unsatisfied with their new lives. The closing song ends the story on a cliffhanger; whether or not the three friends ever reunite is never revealed.
16. Låt: Mister Class and QualitySkiva: Three Friends
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar:
"We start off with some noodling and that naturally rolls into the fantastic riff that this song is built on. Musically, to some degree, this track points to some albums down the track a bit. It uses some real modern jazz type ideas and still retains an undeniable groove... If we read into the lyrics, this guy is telling us he uses people to get where he needs/wants to be, but the upshot is that he can't really trust anyone, because he figures everyone is the same, and he has no real friends." -Mark Winstanley
Skiva: Octopus
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar:
Octopus was allegedly named by Phil Shulman's wife Roberta as a pun on "octo opus" (eight musical works, reflecting the album's eight tracks). "We started with the idea of writing a song about each member of the band. Having a concept in mind was a good starting point for writing. I don't know why, but despite the impact of The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia, almost overnight concept albums were suddenly perceived as rather naff and pretentious"." -Ray Schulman
"For some reason, I think it certain quarters, progressive was seen as too pompous and overblown, and it should be blown away, and all that kind of stuff. But it was music of its time, and really music has developed ever since psychedelia in the late '60s, people just wanted to more and more push the boundaries of what they call popular music. And starting from the early '70s, we were on that wave."
18. Låt: The Runaway
Skiva: In a Glass House
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar:
På förhand en bubblare för undertecknad. Jag har helt klart lyssnat på och fastnat mest för de fyra första plattorna. Övriga plattor har fått en rejäl chans att komma i kapp i och med skapandet av detta musikaliska dokument. Phil Schulman har lämnat jätten när "In a Glass House" ska spelas in. Bandet själva är inte nöjda med resultatet, men fasen älskar plattan. Den fantastiska The Runaway öppnar albumet och är i det närmaste perfekt. Bara ljudet av krossat glas förstör detta mästerverk.
"GG sacrifices their awe-inspiring vocal harmonies in favour of making possibly one of my favourite riffing albums of all time. It's still complex as hell, and there are riffs that are criminally infectious scattered throughout..." -DisgruntledPorcupine
19. Låt: Friends
Skiva: Giant for a Day!
Årtal: 1978
Kommentar:
Gentle Giant har officiellt blivit Yes. Lyssna bara till Words From the Wise. Fruktansvärd skiva. Friends och balladen It's Only Goodbye är längst ifrån att vara sämst.
Skiva: Octopus
Årtal: 1972
Kommentar: Octopus är överjävligt bra. Varenda låt förtjänar att vara med. Tur det finns regler att förhålla sig till. Raconteur Troubadour, A Cry For Everyone, Knots är jättebra. På vilken dag som helst skulle jag kunna säga att det är Gentle Giants bästa låtar. Hur kan de då inte plats här? Ja, du... Dogs' Life är Gentle Giants svar på Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows. Think of Me With Kindness är en fin "ballad", men av höjdpunkterna är avslutande "River".
21. Låt: I Lost My Head
Skiva: Interview
Årtal: 1976
Kommentar:
The only band to make me apprehensive about an impending apocalypse, question my sanity, and make me believe that God is in the shape of an octopus with 38 tentacles. -kylejohnson7
Skiva: In a Glass House
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar: An Inmates Lullaby är en transportsträcka, en fin sådan dock. Lite som Gentle Giants egen Tour De France. Way of Life följer och är en knepig en även för att vara GG. Det splattras riff till höger och vänster. Otåligt. Det känns forcerat och på något sätt oklart. Riffen är hårda, stundtals hårdrockiga. Låten är trots bristerna riktigt fin, men inte bra nog för en best of. Låten Experience ligger precis på bristningsgränsen till att bli pretentiös, något som borde vara svårt även för ett band som Gentle Giant. Nära bristningsgränsen=suverän. A Reunion är den perfekta låten att återhämta sig i. Barock folk i bästa skrud med fantastisk fiol som följeslagare.
"Experience" is more classic Gentle Giant, with lots of contrast between odd-metered violin/guitar riffs, medieval-sounding vocal harmonies and a simple repetitive bass riff. Gary Green's mid-song guitar solo, while not the proggiest thing on the album, is glorious for its razor-sharp tone, a perfect helping of slappy reverb, and the way it fits so well over the aforementioned bass riff." -ElliotGKnapp
23. Låt: Memories of Old Days
Skiva: The Missing Piece
Årtal: 1977
Kommentar:
Two Weeks in Spain startar upp albumet. Den hade nog passat bättre på Yes-Drama än på ett GG album...Im Turning Around låter 80-tals Genesis. Två hyfsade låtar. Vid låt 3 Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It börjar jag fundera på om det kan bli spretigare än så här. Jösses, vilken dret till låt. Who Do You Think You Are? är Karibienskjortablues. Ungefär vad Rainbowfansen tyckte när Blackmore anställde Graham Bonnet som nya sångare. Påminn mig om att jag ska sälja denna platta. Termen "artrock" har aldrig känts smutsigare. Ta mig hem!
"You can't say they didn't warn us. On Gentle Giant's Interview - the studio album before this one - the band showed signs of wanting to experiment with musical sounds beyond the scope of the prog spheres they'd comprehensively conquered on their run of albums from the self-titled debut to Free Hand. (Give It Back, with its hints of reggae influences, was perhaps the biggest clue there)." -Warthur
Memories of Old Days är en vacker, lång ballad, men sen börjar skiten igen. Winning får mig att vilja förlora. For Nobody tar oss tillbaka till Yes-Drama. GG:s Tempus Fugit får avsluta denna besvikelse till platta. Summa summarum så har vi 3 ok låtar i Two Weeks in Spain, Im Turning Around och For Nobody. Bäst är dock Memories of Old Days. Nästan synd att den är så lång bara.
24. Låt: ProclamationSkiva: The Power and the Glory
Årtal: 1973
Kommentar:
Fans from around the world celebrate their love of music and Gentle Giant with their renditions of "Proclamation" from the album "The Power & The Glory".
This video also marks the first time in 40 years that all members of Gentle Giant appear on screen and play together in a 'virtual reunion'.
Some notable contributors also make an appearance such as Jakko Jakszyk of King Crimson, Billy Sherwood of Yes, E.L.O. bassist Lee Pomeroy, Dan Reed of the Dan Reed Network, Richard Hilton of Chic and Mikey Heppner of Priestess.
Music is a universal language that brings people together. Thank you to all the fans around the world for helping to make this happen.
-The Boys in the Band
25. Låt: Shadows on the Street
Skiva: Civilian
Årtal: 1980
Kommentar:
"Genesis trying out post-grunge may have been an embarrassment, but can you believe Gentle Giant trying out post-punk is actually somewhat decent?" -DoomZappo
"A very good band that was ahead of most of those groups at the time - they were quite exceptional." -Peter Banks from Yes
26. Låt: Timing
Skiva: Interview
Årtal: 1976
Kommentar: Albumet stressades fram. Det skrevs på bara några veckor och bandmedlemmarna jobbade separat. Bland annat fick keyboardisten Kerry Minnear sitta och skriva partier till låtar i källaren medan övriga var på övervåningen och spelade in plattan.
"For the most part, though, it was business as usual. Before committing anything to tape, the material would be played through live in the studio. Alterations were made, arrangements agreed upon, then the time-consuming process of actual recording began." -
27. Låt: His Last VoyageSkiva: Free Hand
Årtal: 1975
Kommentar: Allmänt känd som Gentle Giants sista bra album. Falskt anklagade för att vara kommersiell. Byte av skivbolag och bortslipning av de vassaste kanterna i soundet från Power and the Glory snarare. Det finns ett gäng bra låtar här, inte minst titelspåret, Time to Kill, On Reflection, His Last Voyage och Mobile. Det är nog egentligen bara Just the Same och Talybont som inte är 4+.
Gentle Giants bästa album:
1. Acquiring The Taste
2. Octopus
3. In A Glass House
4. Free Hand
5. Gentle Giant
6. Three Friends
7. The Power And The Glory
8. Interview
9. The Missing Piece
10. Giant for a Day
Derek Shulman (lead vocals, bass guitar) was one the guys who signed Dream Theater for Atlantic (1991). Tack Derek!