Re: Gentle Giant CD's are here!

[duane@EBay.Sun.COM (Duane Day, I.R. - Applications Development)]

>Does the UK import of Playing the fool have all of the tracks from
>the vinyl version?  I just got a french import (Essential Records) 
>version and it is a single disk missing a few tracks from the original
>double album.  (I know that at least _Sweet Georgia Brown" is missing)
>from the cover  (I haven't listened to it yet).

This is the same release - I believe it is manufactured in France but I
got the impression that Essential was a UK outfit.  "Sweet Georgia Brown
(Breakdown in Brussels)" is indeed missing, but it is the only track that
is.  The songs are labeled differently that they were on the vinyl release;
for instance "The Runaway" and "Experience" which lead off side 3 of the
vinyl constitute one track (the two songs are connected by a transition)
and together are labeled "In A Glass House" on the CD.  (_In A Glass House_
was the album on which the two songs originally appeared.)  More bafflingly,
"Just the Same" leads into "Proclamation", and the two are indexed on the
CD as one track.  However the label calls this track "Just the Same" and
calls the next track "Proclamation/On Reflection".  The second track of
the CD is just "On Reflection".  The "Octopus Medley" is labeled on the
CD as "(Octopus) The Boys in the Band" but it does include, in addition to
"The Boys in the Band", the acoustic guitar duet containing "Raconteur,
Troubadour", the abbreviated version of "Knots" and "The Advent of Panurge".
Just like the record, except that the CD sounds a lot better.

I added up the running times given on my vinyl version, subtracted "Sweet
Georgia Brown" and came up with the exact running time of the CD, so I'm
pretty sure it's all there - just labeled very sloppily.  And "Sweet Georgia
Brown" is pretty dispensable, although given the fact that 80 minute CD's
are a reality now it is too bad they didn't include it (it would have made
the total length just under 80 minutes).

Now, pray for the immediate CD release of "Free Hand"...