Re: Gentle Giant

[utcsri!kato@GAFFA.MIT.EDU]

> From: sun!toto!duane@seismo.CSS.GOV (Duane Day [Do you guys know _Proud Mary_?])

> Well, now that I know where all the people with great taste in rock
> are, let me ask you this: are there any other Gentle Giant fans out
> there?

Me me me me me!

> If it's hard to imagine half the band playing in 6 and half the band
> playing in 7 (some one beat behind the others at that) ...

Well, not exactly ...

I got interested in GG very late - probably after they had broken up.
I was able to pick up "Gentle Giant", "Acquiring the Taste", "Three
Friends", "Octopus", "The Power and the Glory", "Freehand" and
"Playing the Fool (live)" on Capitol re-issues for $4.99 (Cdn) each. I
later dug up used copies of "The Power and the Glory", "Freehand" and
"Octopus" to get the inner sleeve with lyrics. I was also able to find
british copies of "In a Glass House" (which was never released in
Canada - anyone know why?) and "Giant Steps" which is a compilation
album and contains the non-album track "The Power and the Glory".
Needless to say, I really like the material on these albums.

Perhaps the most impressive point of the band is their musical
ability, especially in terms of arrangements. The albums contain some
of the weirdest vocal harmonies (I think this is Minnear's forte) ever
heard.  Also, the live album contains versions of album tracks where
the instrumentation os completely different - guitar plays the
keyboard lines, keyboard plays the vocal lines, etc. There is even an
acoustic guitar duet of pastiches from the various songs on the
"Octopus" album.

> Finally, since you people seem to be more well-informed about your
> musical heroes than anybody except maybe the Deadheads, does anybody
> know what any of the members of GG are up to now?  I'd really
> appreciate any information at all!!

I know nothing that can be verified. A salesman at a local used record
store and big GG fan claimed to have known them slightly, and as of
1979 or so, the Shulman bros. had all become milkmen in rural England.

kato - kato@csri.toronto.edu