Gentle Giant - Free Hand (1975)
 

Hey there!

This is the discussion thread for Gentle Giant's 7th studio album Free Hand. The album was homework in the Prog & Fusion Album Club in March 2011, but anyone can join in the discussion.

Here's a quick description of the album :

So, whatcha think? :)

I gave this a very good .. but now I'm thinking I should've gone for Brilliant :p: Why didn't I? Hm.

Anyways, I love this album. There isn't a song on this album which isn't great. As a Gentle Giant album, it rocks out perhaps slightly more than previous offerings, but their great audible enthusiasm on Free Hand just sucks me in. Still, to accuse this of being less proggier doesn't make sense to me. It's still Gentle Giant. It's still got more hooks than Hellraiser and more twists than a bucket of hagfish.

My favourites are the 5 first tracks. Not bad considering there's 7 tracks total. My secondmost favourite has changed a bit over time from Just the Same to Free Hand, but now I believe it is Time to Kill. The coolest track, though, and indeed one which I consider to be one of Gentle Giant's finest songs ever, is On Reflection. Like knots from Octopus, it has some amazing A Capella which is really such a Gentle Giant staple. But Whereas Knots mostly worked as some kind of awesome experimentation, On Reflection just works on more levels. It's A Capella, but it's also a beautiful ballad and before the end, it amps up with a little rocky outro. As a song to showcase Gentle Giant, it's perfect in that it contains elements of just about everything I love about them.

So, this is indeed a brilliant for me :) Soon as I change the poll at least.

I really really liked it, but feel I need to give it one more thorough listen. My entry point into Gentle Giant which I've never got the chance to fully explore. Really top shelf stuff.

I voted 'good.' I wasn't exactly enamored by it, but I certainly enjoyed the album as a whole. I also felt that the album had a much folkier sound to it than Gentle Giant's other albums. This was shown by songs, such as "Talybont" (which had a more medieval sound to it) and "On Reflection" which was my favorite track and that, like tore said, is an A Capella song. Although, it did towards the end use a few instruments like the flute, violin, and xylophone(?). I also thought that "Mobile" was an interesting song as well. It had that classic prog organ that we all know and love, but it also had a sort of Irish feel to it with the use of the violin.

"good" here also

much prefer the debut. "Acquiring the Taste" or "Octopus" (my fave).....

Hey I'm new here, but I have to say this was one seriously infuential album during my teen years. Even to this day it remains a classic and I still play it quite often. I like it perhaps just slightly less than The Power And The Glory - but nonetheless, I voted "brilliant" anyway.

I am of the firm belief that if you really like any other Gentle Giant album and don't think this one compares well, then it's just because you haven't given it enough listens :p:

I've listened to it several times (as well as a good bit of Gentle Giant's other albums). Technicality-wise, it definitely holds its own with their other great albums, but enjoyability-wise it doesn't (at least in my opinion). I'm with Il Duce on this one. I enjoyed Acquiring the Taste and Octopus much more, but that doesn't mean I didn't like this album.

Listening to it the second time, and enjoy it throughly. Probably one of the strongest opener songs I've heard on any album. Just a very strong album through and through. I also really like how the songs flow from song to song in one solid motion.

Edit: Or the first two songs for that matter... Still, fantastic little intricacies in these songs. One part that even sounds like they took a break playing, and picked up the Atari for a round. A ton of neat little things to be found in the cavalcade of melodies thrown at you.

Another cool thing about Gentle Giant is how well they played their stuff live :D

Those guys could fricken jam, but what dorks! "Free Hand" is a gem of an album, and is almost my favorite of the 2nd phase of the band, if it weren't for the last couple of songs which are a letdown in relation to what preceded...five of the most melodic and accessible songs from the classic seven album period. Even though very tuneful, the first 3/4's of "Free Hands" also boasts some of GG's tightest prog. musical sty-lings. A very satisfying release.

Half the charm of prog. When your music is that badass, who needs to wear a leather jacket, and be the Fonz? Shame so few people get that.

That would be even dorkier. I thought GG had the prog-look down when they had the longer flowing hair and that hippie medieval mystical garb.