Guybrush

Introduction :

Members on this album :

Gary Green - Guitars, percussion
Kerry Minnear - All keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, cello, Moog, lead and backing vocals
Derek Shulman - Lead vocals, alto saxophone
Phil Shulman - Saxophones, trumpet, mellophone, lead and backing vocals
Ray Shulman - Bass, violin, guitar, percussion, vocals
John Weathers - Drums, percussion, xylophone

The very much celebrated Gentle Giant are much loved here on MB and should require no introduction with the prog crowd, but here's one just in case. They're an early british prog band that started when the multi-instrumentalistic Shulman brothers joined up with the also multi-instrumentalistic Gary Green and Kerry Minnear - and then drummer Martin Smith (see members). Gentle Giant are renowned for their virtuosity, complexity, creativity and somewhat unique style. Basically, they were a bunch of guys talented with a wide range of instruments who had a knack for making music with odd hooks, twists and turns™. According to a proclamation in their second album Acquiring the Taste's album sleeve, the band wanted to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular". Unfortunately, that goal was lost when they buckled under pressure after the punk wave, but despite some sad efforts to appeal to the masses later on in their discography, their first 7 albums are all widely regarded as prog gems.

Octopus from 1972 is their fourth album and their last as a sextet. It also featured a change in lineup from the previous album, changing drummer Malcolm Mortimore for John "Pugwash" Weathers who would stay with them for the rest of their discography. Weathers is one of prog's ugliest men, but still quite charming and strangely iconic. Aside from a diversity in instruments, all members except Mr. Pugwash do vocals on this album. The album name "octopus" is a play on words combining "octo" meaning eight and "opus" which means musical composition, reflecting the 8 tracks on the album. The UK cover art seen above was done by Roger Dean for great prog justice.


Song for Song Review :

Advent of Panurge comes on without warning, delivering the first lyrical line as soon as you press the play button. "There coming over Charaton Bridge" - then some strange noodlings before the second line is delivered. If you're new to Gentle Giant, this may already weird you out a little. The song continues to bring some awesome vocal performances before it dives headfirst into an tight, jammy groove as Weathers comes in with the drums, building up suspense through twists and turns™ until it reaches what might be the refrain. Describing every song in detail will have me writing a bigger wall of text than I think anyone would enjoy reading, but this song is amazing and possibly my album favourite. It has several little themes that work well together for dynamic perfection. The song is about the friendship between Pantagruel (a giant king) and Panurge, two characters from François Rabelais novel series "The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel" from the 16th century. If you like GG and this sounds familiar, it's not their only song to be inspired from these works - as is f.ex the opening track of their second album "acquiring the taste".

Raconteur Troubadour is a more medieval-inspired song where lead singer Derek basically takes the role as a troubadour come to the village square. It is a perhaps just a little bit more straightforward than the opening track, but still sure to confuse first-time listeners. However, loveable as it is, it's another top track from this album.

I Cry for Everyone is a rock song with drums and a guitar riff from the get-go. Of course it has all of the Gentle Giant creativity thrown in. When I first got to know this album, I thought of it as a bit of filler, but the more I listen to it, the more I love it. The song is inspired by the work and beliefs of the absurdist Algerian-French author and philosopher Albert Camus.

Knots is gods-damned brilliant! It opens with some amazing vocals and the whole thing is just splendidly catchy. This might be the strongest contender for the best track on the album for me. It's based on the book "Knots" by psychiatrist Ronald David Laing who wrote about mental illnesses, particularly psychotic experiences. I found a live performance where they play the song which I will embed here for your enjoyment, but beware that the version they play here is not like the studio version from the album. There's a lot left out and a lot thrown in, such as a bit from "Edge of Twilight" which is a song from their second album. The vocal parts are all Knots though!




Despite crappy sound quality and Pugwash not doing much - If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

The Boys in the Band won't let anyone down either. It starts off with someone laughing and a coin being spun on a table before it bursts into life with an instrumental piece that has more twists and turns™ than a bucket of eels. Aside from the frantic first theme, there are more relaxed parts with moog, saxophone and more. Excellent!

Dog's Life is the shortest on the album and is a lovely, slightly melancholic song about a dog's life which I guess is quite a departure from some of the other topics touched upon.

Pat him on the head, give the dog a bone;
Use a friendly tone, he won't leave you alone.
No one understands like old faithful.

The verses in particular are quite enjoyable and all in all, another excellent tune.

Think of Me With Kindness is a piano ballad which my GF loves. I love it too and of all the songs on the album, this is perhaps the most emotionally evoking piece. However, it's not this kind of stuff Gentle Giant is most famous for. Yet it's still accomplished and beautiful with occasional GG twists™.

River grabs a hold of me from the start. It's arguably the rockiest song on the album and has a great violin riff before sung lyrics join the mix. It also contains a fleeting middle part with some lovely singing and a blues-rocky last half with accompanying guitar. It is not a contender for favourite for me, but still a good track and a nice way to end a great album.


Review Summary :

I'll start with the negative first. The only thing I can find to really complain about is that Octopus seems to lack focus or wholeness. My other prog sixes reviewed so far, Caravan's For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night and Yes' Close to the Edge, have songs that are conceptually similar and sound like they belong on their respective albums. Gentle Giant's discography doesn't seem quite as conceptual in general and their sound didn't change that much so some of the songs on Octopus sound like they could just as well have been on one of their other albums. Also, they generally don't evoke the kind of emotions and imagery some of the other classic prog albums do.

However, this is made up for by Gentle Giant's unique, delightful and fun sound. They were amazingly creative and many of the catchy hooks in this album (there's a lot of them) are so weird and so unique, yet so effective. All the tracks are good and there are more ideas floating around than you can shake a very large stick at - and they're all good! Generally speaking, GG must be a wealth of inspiration for young proggers today and Octopus is often viewed as having been released at the start of their peak period.

However, this is not for the prog-squeamish. If you don't like progressive rock, I'm sure you're gonna hate this and if you don't like albums you have to listen to a few times before they start to stick, then you might as well steer clear of this and likely the rest of GG's discography. However, as usual with great prog albums, once you get into it, it will just keep giving and giving .. and this is one of the best! It is an altogether brilliant and fun album.


Toretorden's Treasure Trove score : 6/6


Favourite tracks : Advent of Panurge, Raconteur Troubadour, Knots, The Boys in the Band, Dog's Life


Additional Notes :

This album has also been reviewed by Boo Boo in Boo Boo's Prog Stash thread and was mentioned in Comus' thread Comus' 1001 albums you should listen to before you die. Also, if you like Octopus, check out Anteater's review of Gentle Giant's second album Acquiring the Taste from 1971 in his journal.

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