Comus says: Be a Gentle Giant for Seven Days! - Music Banter Music Banter

Go Back   Music Banter > The MB Reader > Editors Pick
Register Blogging Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Welcome to Music Banter Forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with over 70,000 other registered members. After you create your free account, you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 1,100,000 posts.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-24-2010, 08:36 PM   #41 (permalink)
gun whales
 
gunnels's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Knoxville/Nashville, TN, USA, NA, E, S, LC, MW, Known Universe
Posts: 1,713
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by gunnels View Post
Since I'm on a DL'ing rampage atm I think I'll get Octopus a try.
...and nearly a year later I'm back with an opinion!

It fucking rocks. Gentle Giant are definately the 'funnest' 70's prog group. They have a big sound without ever sounding pompous or bombastic, show their technical abilities without wanking, and write pimping tunes.
It's very hard to dislike them.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sequoioideae View Post
Fuck your hashtags, they have no power in this realm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FETCHER. View Post
I'm awfully sorry I'm not as good at writing pretentious posts as you are.
Let's Play TF2 Sometime.|Unrepresentative Last.fm.|Puns, Pokemon, and Miscellany
gunnels is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-07-2015, 05:57 AM   #42 (permalink)
Juicious Maximus III
 
Guybrush's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Scabb Island
Posts: 6,525
Default

Really old thread here and it might take ages before Comus reads this, but having progressed beyond the seven essentials, I have to say I feel the idea that they have but 7 great albums is wrong.

I've yet to really get into Giant for a day and Civilian (their two last albums), but I like Interview (came after Free Hand) a lot and feel that one should at least be included in the GG greats. I'm sure Comus would like it had he included it for this thread. Playing the Fool also has some great music on it although you arguably do have some filler there.
__________________
Something Completely Different
Guybrush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2020, 09:32 PM   #43 (permalink)
Music Addict
 
The Booman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 52
Default

Two Weeks in Spain just gets stuck in your head for days on end. It's just too catchy.
The Booman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-26-2022, 07:28 AM   #44 (permalink)
I'm sorry, is this Can?
 
Comus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,988
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Guybrush View Post
Really old thread here and it might take ages before Comus reads this, but having progressed beyond the seven essentials, I have to say I feel the idea that they have but 7 great albums is wrong.

I've yet to really get into Giant for a day and Civilian (their two last albums), but I like Interview (came after Free Hand) a lot and feel that one should at least be included in the GG greats. I'm sure Comus would like it had he included it for this thread. Playing the Fool also has some great music on it although you arguably do have some filler there.
I have to disagree here, Interview is good, but not great and doesn't deserve a spot here alongside the rest of their true greats. I recently put on Interview and I feel even more correct in my assessment. There's something about it that just falls flat for me and it misses the beats that makes their earlier work so great. Maybe ten listens in a concentrated time might make me change my mind, but for now I feel like I've heard Interview enough to have my opinion.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepy jack
Quote:
Originally Posted by antonio
classical music isn't exactly religious, you know?
um
last.fm
Comus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2022, 02:53 AM   #45 (permalink)
Juicious Maximus III
 
Guybrush's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Scabb Island
Posts: 6,525
Default

It's been quite a while since I listened to it now (see my post is from 2015), but I still think it's good and Give It Back in particular seems like a stroke of genius. It's so strikingly original and in such a GG way.
__________________
Something Completely Different
Guybrush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2023, 07:25 AM   #46 (permalink)
Music Addict
 
Synthgirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2023
Location: Cheeseland USA
Posts: 154
Default

Their first album is my favorite. I feel like it's a pure, distilled blast of everything that makes Gentle Giant great. Octopus is a very close second. And Interview and The Missing Piece are a definite step down from the first seven but I do like them.

I want to thank you, Comus, for making this thread, since it was the reason I got into Gentle Giant back in 2009. The way you wrote so enthusiastically about them made them feel like a band I absolutely needed to check out, and I've been a huge fan basically ever since.
Synthgirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2023, 08:25 AM   #47 (permalink)
From beyooond the graaave
 
Queen Boo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: The state that proudly brought you Disco Duck
Posts: 1,513
Default

My ranking of the big seven.

1. Octopus: Basic bitch pick for number one I know but this one really is unbeatable, every single track here is a certified banger, though Think of Me With Kindness took me a long time to appreciate. Shame this is their only album with both Phil Shulman and John Weathers.

2. Acquiring the Taste: Some days I may even prefer it to Octopus, it may not be quite as tight or consistent but the vibe is really what makes this one special, it has a very melancholy feel to it that none of their other albums have, perfect night time album.

3. Free Hand: The beginning of the band's shift into a slicker, poppier direction but the prog is definitely still here and damn if this isn't their most fun album, their knack for catchy melodies has reached it's zenith here, just a total blast to listen to.

4. Gentle Giant: This one will always have a special place in my heart, it was their first album I listened to in full and that opening track was what made me fell in love with this band at first listen, bold of them to kick things off with what sounds like it could be their own theme song. As a whole this is a bit rough around the edges compared to what followed, the second half does kinda drag a bit, that first side is perfect though.

5. Three Friends: Probably the most slept on of their early albums which is a damn shame, I guess being followed up with Octopus didn't help. It's their most bittersweet album, the first two tracks really capture this feeling of childhood and nostalgia, the following three tracks are about the alienation of adulthood and the last track (which was accidentally combined with the outro of the previous track on my CD version due to a time marker error) is a beautiful lament for that lost friendship.

6. In a Glass House: There was a time when this was damn near my favorite but it has fallen off for me a bit, it still has a lot of beautiful moments but it feels a little disjointed compared to their other classics, it's hard to say why, I think they were struggling to find a new direction when Phil left and it sounds a little more sparse than it should.

7. The Power and the Glory: Tbh this has always been my least favorite of the big ones and it still is but it has grown on me, John Weathers drumming is probably at it's best here, but I dunno compared to the rest it feels like it's missing something, I think there's too much lead vocals from Derek on this one and some songs (especially The Face) he's really singing outside of his range and it gets grating. The first side is great but the second side dosen't do it for me as much.

All in all they're all pretty f*cking great though.
__________________
https://www.twitch.tv/drrobuttnik

Quote:
Originally Posted by boo boo
A whole bunch of stupid sh*t that I regret
Queen Boo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2023, 11:02 AM   #48 (permalink)
Juicious Maximus III
 
Guybrush's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Scabb Island
Posts: 6,525
Default

I'd rank them similarly, only I'd lift Free Hand up top.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Synthgirl View Post
Their first album is my favorite. I feel like it's a pure, distilled blast of everything that makes Gentle Giant great. Octopus is a very close second. And Interview and The Missing Piece are a definite step down from the first seven but I do like them.

I want to thank you, Comus, for making this thread, since it was the reason I got into Gentle Giant back in 2009. The way you wrote so enthusiastically about them made them feel like a band I absolutely needed to check out, and I've been a huge fan basically ever since.
Who were you on the forums in 2009?
__________________
Something Completely Different
Guybrush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2023, 04:15 PM   #49 (permalink)
Music Addict
 
Synthgirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2023
Location: Cheeseland USA
Posts: 154
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Guybrush View Post
I'd rank them similarly, only I'd lift Free Hand up top.



Who were you on the forums in 2009?
Nobody, haha. I used to read the forum a lot back then, but I never made an account until now. I elaborate a bit more in my introduction thread.
Synthgirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2023, 03:55 PM   #50 (permalink)
Groupie
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 4
Default

I like all Gentle Giant equally but for some reason I like the Simon Dupree material (especially the album) better.
oldcurmudgeon is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Similar Threads



© 2003-2024 Advameg, Inc.