Octopus - Gentle Giant - 1972
Personell:
Derek Shulman - Lead vocals, Alto Saxophone.
Raymond Schulman - Bass, Violin, Guitar, Percussion, Backing vocals.
Phillip Shulman - Saxophones, Trumpet, Mellophone, Lead and backing vocals.
Gary Green - Lead guitar, Percussion.
Kerry Minnear - Keyboards, Moog synthesizer, Vibraphone, Cello, Percussion, Lead and backing vocals.
John Weathers - Drums, Percussion, Xylophone.
Gentle Giant is my favorite of the lesser known prog bands, and this is probably my favorite album from them. Gentle Giant made their debut in 1970, formed by the Shulman brothers, they were known for their very unique sound even for a prog band, their rich vocal harmonies and consistant use of counterpoint, polyphony and several other classical techniques, the band consisted entirely of talented multi-instrumentalists who all contributed greatly to the bands rich multilayered but very playful sound. They're compared to Yes for their eclectic range of styles and for their symphonic compositions, but other than that they don't sound like Yes or any other prog band. Contrary to the prog stereotype theres no showboating between the musicians, and the chemistry is just magic, one common element in their music is a technique called racketing which is a melody that carries itself through one instrument at a time, which is especially notable here. Gentle Giant have an eclectic sound but their sound from album to album never changed much, but it's a sound that at least for their first several albums never wore thin.
And this, their fourth album, is one of their finest, it's the first to feature John Weathers on drums (who brought a more solid drum sound than previous drummers, and an interesting personality overall) and the last to feature Phil Shulman, who left the band around the time of this albums release.
The songs here are actually not very long for a prog band, clocking around just 3 or 4 minutes, but they manage to get everything done.
The Advent Of Panurge: Fantastic opener, but I can barely describe it, it fluctuates between so many styles and moods, yet it's a short and rather simple song for Gentle Giant, some classical here, some psychedelic rock there, sounds gimmicky when I describe it like that but you just need to hear these guys yourself, their sound is just way too hard to describe.
Raconteur Troubadour: A lovely medieval kind of ballad with a baroque style string arangement, excellent song that marries different classical elements together for a surprisingly poppy outcome.
A Cry For No One: Compared to most 70s prog bands GG do have some traditional rock elements that pop out of nowhere every now and then, so in addition to their more progressive stuff they're still not above doing a simple classic rock song. Though this is a pretty good one, and theres still a lot of prog going on and some cool twists.
Knots: One of the bands most memorable songs, and for good reason. Their really odd vocal harmony style is in great form here, starting out as an acapella that eventually builds up into a great catchy pop song with many twists. Sounds like the oompa loompas on lsd, f*cking love it.
The Boys In The Band: Great instrumental, great showcase for the band, Weathers especially lets loose with some great drums, great use of brass and moog too.
Dog's Life: A ballad, about a dog. :-/ GG never take themselves too seriously, especially here, a silly but likable little song.
Think of Me With Kindness: The real lowpoint of the album, it's not bad, but just a rather dull sappy piano ballad, dosen't really fit in here at all.
River: But this sure as hell puts everything back on track, this is a brilliant closer and easly my favorite track on the album. Great violin riff, with some great organ and "wind" like moog effects. Somehow the song progresses into a very psychedelic section with beautiful vocals and eerie moog, and then somehow leads to a bluesy guitar solo (whih feels a little out of place but is still a really good solo) before coming back. An awesome atmospheric piece.
Maybe I'm a bit too specific in describing the music and not anything else about the songs (like the lyrics or meaning, don't f*cking ask me), but hey, you should take a gander at some of the progarchives user reviews, they're no help at all, they just go on about every needless detail and talk about how a song isn't good because the "guitar and drums are not in the appropriate time signature".
Theres no excuse for any prog fan not to have this album, it's an essential for sure. One of my absolute favorites.