Following the release of TP&TG Giant had changed labels, signing with Chrysalis Records. Up to this point Giant was writing music strictly for their own fulfillment, whether or not it was popular. They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations in that regard, even at the pinnacle of the Prog era, when bands such as Yes, Jethro Tull, and Emerson Lake & Palmer were selling out arenas and selling millions of records, Giant toiled in relative obscurity (In fact I even saw Giant open for Yes in '76 in a 12,000 seat arena in Portland, and while I was blown away, most paid scant attention to their set). Their next offering was a first attempt to be a little more commercially viable, but at the same time staying true to who they were. This would not be the case after 1977.
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Free Hand became the first (and in fact the only) Giant release to crack the US Top 50 album charts at #48. They left the dissonance of songs like "Knots" and "So Sincere" behind, but maintained their trademark Giant arrangements of both instrumentation and vocals, and while few Giant faithful would pronounce Free Hand as their absolute finest work, nearly all would still give it good to very good marks within their amazing catalog. I would give Free Hand a solid 9 on the Giant scale 10.
Free Hand Opens with "Just The Same", fingers snap in a staccato rhythm, Green's guitar and Minnear's keys enter in a counter-rhythm, then drums bass and vocals kick it in what would be unthinkable timing for most bands but par for the course for Giant
Then one of their greatest vocalisms, which is really saying something, "On Reflection" keeps away from the dissonance of songs like "Knots" but is every bit the poly-vocal arrangement and is as signature as any Giant song could ever hope to be. Nobody, NOBODY but Giant could have pulled this off.
And JIC you think this is studio wizardry, they could TOTALLY do this live, as will be demonstrated on my next review.
The next track concludes side one, the title track leaves NOTHING behind in the polyrhythm and evolved arrangement department. The lyrics are a little bitter but this would hardly be the first or last such instance.
Side two begins with maybe the most dated sound on any Giant album, the gameplay sound of
pong. Then once the instrumentation of "Time To Kill" begins, full-on classic Giant rhythmic counterpoint here...
Then one of my favorite ballads, done sea-shanty style, in the whole Giant catalog, the gorgeous "His Last Voyage", featuring my pick for the prettiest bass guitar track ever laid down on tape
Then the magnificent instrumental "Talybont", done in medieval style. Again, no one else in music does it like Giant
This great album concludes with another flawless track, "Mobile"
After Free Hand was released, record company executives began sticking their filthy money-grubbing hands into Giant's affairs, Free Hand started to sell a little but bands like Yes, Tull, and ELP were making millions and Giant was still unprofitable. This will be reflected two reviews from now on an album which was released in 1976 but somehow missed by your humble author. The next album I would experience would be a 1977 double-record live album, one of the least produced, truest to the concert experience live albums ever made, and one which told the young Paul Smeenus that there were as yet undiscovered albums in the Giant catalog. Playing The Fool is next