Music Banter - View Single Post - The Anthill - Anteater's Reviews of the Curious & Obscure
View Single Post
Old 04-25-2009, 06:33 PM   #54 (permalink)
Anteater
Certified H00d Classic
 
Anteater's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bernie Sanders's yacht
Posts: 6,129
Default

Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste (1971)



Track Listing

1. Pantagruel's Nativity (6:50)
2. Edge Of Twilight (3:47)
3. The House, The Street, The Room (6:01)
4. Acquiring The Taste (1:36)
5. Wreck (4:36)
6. The Moon Is Down (4:45)
7. Black Cat (3:51)
8. Plain Truth (7:36)

"Acquiring the taste is the second phase of sensory pleasure. If you've gorged yourself on our first album, then relish the finer flavours (we hope) of this, our second offering. It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary music at the risk of being very unpopular. We have recorded each composition with the one thought - that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this. From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts on blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste."

- Gentle Giant
Linear notes from ATT


And so we begin with a pretentious proclamation and a giant tongue salivating, along with the music industry's ginormous ass sticking up towards the tongue. The year is 1971, a year often overlooked by progheads (bar Yes's Fragile) in favor of the the next few when many staples in the genre would hit shelves everywhere. Weirded out yet? Well don't be; Gentle Giant's sophomore record, Acquiring The Taste, just happens to be what the title infers...a flavour that may freak you out at first lick, but with time grows over you like moss. Strange, angry in a Bartok way, and sometimes even quirky in its medievel styling blues/jazz-rock layerings, this is high-grade stuff even when compared with the works of other bands in the same ballpark, though it is somewhat inaccessible. Still, like Demi Moore, this is the kind of stuff that gets better with...well, more listening!

In regards to the tracklist itself; Gentle Giant's musical approach has oftentime thematically borrowed ideas from French satirist Francois Rabelais, such as the character Pantagruel for "Pantagruel's Nativity", and their appreciation for that man's views shows in the music itself. The opening section is particularly awesome, as the keyboards and Moog actually sound like guitar here. You also have several meditations on melancholia and the night here in the tracks "Edge of Twlight" and "Black Cat", both wonderful; the former is thoughtful, the latter something like R&B crossed with chamber music. The title track is another high point; although real short, it manages to milk freaky keyboaring for all its worth; it'd be perfect for some Atari game soundtrack back in the arcade days. And this is only the beginning!

Overall, I am of the opnion that this is a particularly striking album and recommended to people who are looking for something less than conventional from a band already quite well known for being offbeat. Like it or not, at least you'll be impressed, if not surprised.

Album Verdict: 6/7


Pantagruel's Nativity (Opening track)
__________________
Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Quote:
Originally Posted by OccultHawk
I was called upon by the muses for greatness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
I'm bald, ja.

Last edited by Anteater; 04-25-2009 at 08:59 PM.
Anteater is offline   Reply With Quote