Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant was a British band considered to be one of the most original progressive rock bands of the 1970s. Inspired by old philosophers, personal events, and the works of François Rabelais, the group's stated purpose was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular."Quoted from the liner notes of Acquiring the Taste.

History

Gentle Giant was formed by Derek, Ray, and Phil Shulman in 1970 after they dissolved their soul/pop band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in 1969. The brothers joined with Gary Green, Kerry Minnear, and a succession of drummers to produce a series of twelve albums throughout the 1970s, finally dissolving quietly in 1980.

Their earlier albums tended to be more eclectic and experimental in form. By 1974, as they started to gather an American following, they chose to simplify their songs (which, compared to other rock artists at the time, were still very complex) to gain a wider audience. Both The Power and the Glory and Free Hand reached the Top 50 in the US.

By 1977, as the fashion trends in the music market shifted toward punk and New Wave, the band chose to simplify their music even more to become commercial. In 1979, the band relocated to America to record their twelfth and most mainstream album, Civilian, after which the group disbanded.

Renaissance

There has been a renewed interest in Gentle Giant since 1990 with new fan clubs, new releases of live concerts and previously unreleased material, several tribute albums and a failed 1997 attempt by fans to convince the members to perform a reunion concert. Several recent progressive rock bands have said to have greatly been influenced by the music of Gentle Giant, including Spock's Beard and Echolyn.

In 2005, to celebrate the band's 35th anniversary, a series of digitally remastered and specially packaged CDs of their later albums were released, also featuring unreleased live tracks (of varying quality) as bonuses. Many of these albums (most notably, In a Glass House) were previously near-impossible to purchase in North America without resorting to imports. The re-released albums are: In a Glass House, The Power and the Glory, Free Hand, Interview, The Missing Piece, Playing the Fool and Giant for a Day.

Sadly for fans, the rights of the band's catalogue are scattered among many companies, not all of which are keen on re-releasing the albums properly. In particular, the first four albums have yet to receive a just CD release. For example, the title track on Acquiring the Taste begins with an obvious artifact, possibly due to a damaged master tape, on virtually all current CD and vinyl releases. The 1996 compilation Edge of Twilight includes the correct version of the song.

Musical attributes

Gentle Giant's music had many aspects in common with other progressive rock bands of the time:

Rapid, changing tempo
Non-standard time signatures
Complex melodies, frequently contrasting harmonies with dissonance
Unconventional use of numerous classical and medieval instruments
Musical structures typically associated with classical music, like the fugue in "On Reflection" and the madrigal "Knots."
Multi-part vocal harmonies
Complex lyrics
Concept albums (on the occasion)

One Gentle Giant album listed a total of 46 instruments in the musician credits.

Personnel

Derek Shulman - born Derek Victor Shulman, on 11 February 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Kerry Minnear
Ray Shulman - born Raymond Shulman, on 8 December 1949 in Portsmouth, England.
Gary Green
John Weathers (drums 1972 – 1980)

Early members

Phil Shulman (1970-1972) - born Philip Arthur Shulman, on 27 August 1937 in Glasgow Scotland.
Martin Smith (drums 1970 – 1971)
Malcolm Mortimore (drums 1971 – 1972)

Discography

Original chronological releases

Video

Giant on the Box (DVD) (2005)
GG at the GG (DVD) (2006)

Box Sets

Under Construction (1997)
Scraping the Barrel (2004)

Notes

External links

British musical groups Progressive rock groups

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