The Gentle Giant I don't own - is any of this essential? [Archive]

Progatron

11-05-2012, 05:19 PM

rcarlberg

11-05-2012, 05:25 PM

Have not heard any of the ones you mention, but of the live albums and boots of GG I have heard, I'd say none of them are essential. When they played live, they were very, very faithful to the studio versions -- but less precise and in poorer sound. YMMV

I have GG On The Box, a DVD comp of live TV performances from 1974-5, and although it was interesting... I don't know if I'll ever play it again.
http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/118/cover_4852131682005.jpg

florentine pogen

11-05-2012, 05:30 PM

Get Civilian and forget the other titles you mentioned. Civilian is great for what it is and much better than Giant for a Day. In fact, I like Civilian more than their self titled debut.

wideopenears

11-05-2012, 05:31 PM

Those are the ones I don't have...including Civilian as well. I do like Out of the Woods, and Playing the Fool....I think they've got a certain energy that is different than the studio versions.
I'm particularly interested in the GG at GG vid.....do I need it, if I have Giant on the Box...??

trurl

11-05-2012, 05:32 PM

When they played live, they were very, very faithful to the studio versions -- but less precise and in poorer sound. YMMVWow, you think so? I tend to think of GG as one of the bands that reworked their arrangements the most live- even more than King Crimson, discounting improvs. I've not heard any of the releases mentioned either but I find almost every note they ever played essential. BTW, I would say get Civilian somehow- it's not prog per se, maybe, but it's a good album. More worth owning than Giant For A Day imho.

florentine pogen

11-05-2012, 05:32 PM

Giant on the Box is all you need.

wideopenears

11-05-2012, 05:34 PM

Oh, I don't have Giant for a Day....I stopped at The Missing Piece.

trurl

11-05-2012, 05:35 PM

Oh, I don't have Giant for a Day....I stopped at The Missing Piece.GfaD is the only one (besides *maybe* the debut) I would classify as for completists only.

Progatron

11-05-2012, 05:42 PM

I should mention that I know Civilian quite well, and I like it and agree that it's much better than GFaD (I don't prefer it to the debut album though!) I just don't actually own it since I don't want to buy the twofer version when I already have Playing The Fool. And yes, Giant On The Box is fantastic. Do I understand, then, that none of those titles I listed are particularly necessary additions?

florentine pogen

11-05-2012, 05:46 PM

You are correct, sir.

Progatron

11-05-2012, 05:50 PM

You are correct, sir.

Gotcha. So other than Civilian (is it ever going to be reissued?), my collection is as complete as it needs to be.

Guitarplyrjvb

11-05-2012, 07:02 PM

Yeah, I'd also recommend Civilian. Giant for a Day is probably the winner of the contest "Lousiest Album by a Band I Love". I was shocked at how horrible it was!

aplodon

11-05-2012, 07:10 PM

Do I understand, then, that none of those titles I listed are particularly necessary additions?

If you like Giant On The Box, you should definitely get GG at the GG!

jkelman

11-05-2012, 07:46 PM

H. When they played live, they were very, very faithful to the studio versions
Seriously? Compare Any most of the studio versions of material on Playing the Fool and what was terrific about Giant was how UNfaithful they were to the studio versions. they rocked more, and arrangements were significantly altered.

No Pride

11-05-2012, 07:50 PM

When they played live, they were very, very faithful to the studio versions
That couldn't be farther from the truth. NO prog band rearranged their material more for their live shows than GG. The studio albums are great, but they had a lot of overdubs that couldn't be performed live. And more importantly, they give you no idea how hard they ROCKED as a live band.

Both of their official DVDs, Giant on the Box and GG at the GG are well worth having!

Meme Prog Mutation

11-05-2012, 08:50 PM

Civilian was the only GG album I had - and traded in. Dr. Progresso had a good GG summary. Here is the page from the refurbished site we'll be rolling out soon: http://tc-soar.cloudaccess.net/dr-progresso/85-dr-progresso/136-gentle-giant.html

Tom

yogibear

11-05-2012, 09:10 PM

some think the "king biscuit live" thing is better than playing the fool. the out of the woods and totally out of the woods comps are both supposedly really good with rare and un released cuts from all their sessions. i stopped after "interview" since they changed direction due to rekkid company pressure to have hits. lol

soundsweird

11-06-2012, 01:10 AM

I'd get the GG at the GG DVD, the Out of the Fire live BBC 2CD (disc one's a concert from 1973, disc two has the same 1978 concert as the GG at the GG DVD), and the King Biscuit live CD. I couldn't justify upgrading my "Out of the Woods" CD to the expanded "Totally Out of the Woods" 2CD, but you may feel otherwise.

Digital_Man

11-06-2012, 01:14 AM

Civilian is pretty solid and definitely recommended for the completist or hardcore GG fan. If you are one of those snobby prog fans who insists on all their albums to sound like a bands earliest most progressive material then you should probably skip it. It is however a pretty decent rock album with emphasis on the rock but with some mild prog elements and some recognizable GG qualities(mainly in the vocals). They probably could have put out a better swansong but as it is it's not bad and easily better than GFAD.

Progatron

11-06-2012, 08:26 AM

Again, I am quite familiar with Civilian already, I just don't actually own a copy because it is out of print and I don't want the twofer edition with Playing The Fool.

the Out of the Fire live BBC 2CD (disc one's a concert from 1973, disc two has the same 1978 concert as the GG at the GG DVD)

Ohhhh, that sounds good! I'll keep an eye out. That's also several votes now for GG At The GG. Another possibility - after all, I am itching to get some more GG and I'm running out of quality options!

I couldn't justify upgrading my "Out of the Woods" CD to the expanded "Totally Out of the Woods" 2CD, but you may feel otherwise.

Nah, that's what I figured too. I quite like Out Of The Woods but I don't know that the extra material is that necessary for me personally.

ItalProgRules

11-06-2012, 10:33 AM

Get Civilian and forget the other titles you mentioned. Civilian is great for what it is and much better than Giant for a Day. In fact, I like Civilian more than their self titled debut.

Seconded. CIVILIAN is a great album, no matter what Ray Schulman says!

VinylRulz

11-06-2012, 01:56 PM

The "GG at the GG" DVD is essential IMNSHO, despite the less than enthusiastic audience. There's nothing like watching the band in action! Though I have all the rest you mention, I would recommend them only to completists.

Dan

Facelift

11-06-2012, 03:33 PM

"Essential?" None of them. But, of those, I would say that Civilian is definitely worth checking out for the open-minded GG fan. Some people really like it, but it doesn't sound much like GG, even the GG of GfaD.

Jimmy Giant

11-06-2012, 04:02 PM

I never got in on the Civilian arguments in past threads. Pretty heated debates.
This was the first GG album I heard at a time I was growing up on (now) classic rock. It IS a classic rock album, not overly progressive at all. Only the voice similarity shows a link to the GG of old. I think the songs are great and it's still my favorite from them. The few titles that preceded this are my least favorite.
I also thought the merging of Civilian and Gentle Giant into the single title artwork was pretty brilliant. Wonder how many people missed that?

ItalProgRules

11-06-2012, 04:22 PM

Progatron

11-06-2012, 06:45 PM

Seconded. CIVILIAN is a great album, no matter what Ray Schulman says!

Oh, has he made negative remarks about it? I haven't really read a lot of interviews with the GG guys, at least not recent ones. I wonder what he thinks of GFaD? I mean, Civilian has some great tracks on it - just look at "Convenience (Clean And Easy)" - what an opener! Whereas GFaD has... what... "Spooky Boogie"? I actually would have been happy for them to continue in the Civilian vein, at least for a couple more albums. They could have done some really interesting stuff in the 80s.

Ray and Derek are very interesting guys, and are (or at least, were) immensely talented. From what I understand, it was the two of them with Kerry Minnear who wrote the vast majority of the material. I guess Gary Green was more of a player rather than a contributor to the writing/compositional process.

Anyway, it's settled - I'll be grabbing GG At The GG, I'd love to watch some more live Giant!

Polypet

11-06-2012, 07:07 PM

Wow, you think so? I tend to think of GG as one of the bands that reworked their arrangements the most live- even more than King Crimson, discounting improvs.

absolutely true. their re-arrangements of the material were brilliant and a hallmark of their live shows. i disagree that it was lacking in sound quality also. the shows weren't especially lacking, even if some of the live recordings were. Playing the Fool, for example, has a perfectly fine sound. most of the others less so but that's no fault of the band. they were looser live in all the best ways, most of the time. being live and pulling off the tunes they were playing, needless to say, some shows were more on than others. as a rule though, they kicked ass live (and i saw them many many times).

as for the albums - both Civilian and Giant for A Day have good material on, imho. Giant for a Day has a couple of my favourite Giant tunes on it.

that said, if you want the full set of studio albums they released, you should have those two certainly. all of the last 3 are underrated, i think.

Live In Stockholm '75 is quite excellent - a blistering show really. it's a good snapshot of the hard rocking nature of the band live.

Kim

No Pride

11-06-2012, 07:08 PM

Anyway, it's settled - I'll be grabbing GG At The GG, I'd love to watch some more live Giant!
They were touring behind "The Missing Piece" at the time, so the setlist isn't quite as "classic" as "Giant on the Box." But the sound and visual quality is far superior. I'd highly recommend it!

Polypet

11-06-2012, 07:22 PM

GG at the GG is a fabulous package, yeah :)

Progatron

11-06-2012, 07:28 PM

Live In Stockholm '75 is quite excellent - a blistering show really. it's a good snapshot of the hard rocking nature of the band live.

Interesting! Perhaps I'll add this to my next order from Lasers Edge since Ken has it in stock. He also has King Alfred's College, but so far nobody has weighed in on that one.

They were touring behind "The Missing Piece" at the time, so the setlist isn't quite as "classic" as "Giant on the Box." But the sound and visual quality is far superior. I'd highly recommend it!

That's okay, I like The Missing Piece. I do consider it a half-step down from the 1970-1976 albums but it's got some great stuff on it. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I actually don't skip anything on it - when I'm in the mood for that album, it's a beginning-to-end spin. The live In'terview tracks would be welcome too, since I love that album. I also hear there's a band commentary track? I'd love to hear that!

NorthNY Mark

11-06-2012, 07:55 PM

Seriously? Compare Any most of the studio versions of material on Playing the Fool and what was terrific about Giant was how UNfaithful they were to the studio versions. they rocked more, and arrangements were significantly altered.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. NO prog band rearranged their material more for their live shows than GG. The studio albums are great, but they had a lot of overdubs that couldn't be performed live. And more importantly, they give you no idea how hard they ROCKED as a live band.
Both of their official DVDs, Giant on the Box and GG at the GG are well worth having!
I agree that the live versions are very different from the studio versions. I'm probably in the minority, however, in finding Playing the Fool far less interesting or satisfying than any of their classic studio albums. As you both correctly point out, the live versions "rock" more, which is the last thing I look for in Gentle Giant. To me, what was best about them was their balancing of the harder elements of their sound with the more delicate contributions of (especially) Kerry Minnear. and I find that balance to be completely lost on PtF.

DaleGtr

11-06-2012, 08:22 PM

Of the live recordings out there I'd say only Playing the Fool and Giant on the Box are essential. I have a few others but, as stated above, some of the recording quality is lacking. Still, I'll end up with all of them by the time I'm done buying cds! :)

Mister Triscuits

11-06-2012, 08:28 PM

He also has King Alfred's College, but so far nobody has weighed in on that one.

Fascinating for the inclusion of some unreleased material, but the sound quality is really bad.

ProgArtist

11-06-2012, 08:29 PM

Nah, that's what I figured too. I quite like Out Of The Woods but I don't know that the extra material is that necessary for me personally.

Years ago I sold "Out of the Woods" and bought "Totally Out of the Woods". The extra 20 minutes really isn't anything special. Two repeats of songs, one unfinished demo, and The Runaway.

I recently bought "Scraping the Barrel", which is a follow up to "Under Construction". I'm glad I have both, but they are more of a peek inside GG's compositional process than something to listen to again and again.

Rand Kelly

11-07-2012, 07:21 AM

For me, Giant on the Box was a true revelation. I never totally "got" GG till I saw them live. Seeing how they did what they did really changed my feelings towards this band from "like" to "love." I always thought they came off somewhat po-faced on record, but certainly not on stage, they didn't.

My main problem with GOTB is that Gary Green is criminally ignored by the camera,unless Gary asked for that knowing players would want to steal his licks.

jkelman

11-07-2012, 09:41 AM

My main problem with GOTB is that Gary Green is criminally ignored by the camera,unless Gary asked for that knowing players would want to steal his licks.
I doubt that would be the reason....more likely, the camera focused on the band's co-leaders and singers because, well, they were the band co-leaders and singers. I love Gary's playing, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing that you can't lift from any of their recordings (as our recent 12 year-old friend proved quite clearly!), so not wanting folks to see him for that reason? Not likely.

ItalProgRules

11-07-2012, 10:09 AM

Oh, has he made negative remarks about it? I haven't really read a lot of interviews with the GG guys, at least not recent ones. I wonder what he thinks of GFaD? I mean, Civilian has some great tracks on it - just look at "Convenience (Clean And Easy)" - what an opener! Whereas GFaD has... what... "Spooky Boogie"? I actually would have been happy for them to continue in the Civilian vein, at least for a couple more albums. They could have done some really interesting stuff in the 80s.

Ray and Derek are very interesting guys, and are (or at least, were) immensely talented. From what I understand, it was the two of them with Kerry Minnear who wrote the vast majority of the material. I guess Gary Green was more of a player rather than a contributor to the writing/compositional process.

Anyway, it's settled - I'll be grabbing GG At The GG, I'd love to watch some more live Giant!

Yeah. PROG Magazine a couple issues ago had some quotes regarding CIVILIAN. Derek liked it, Ray did not.

RobT

11-07-2012, 06:41 PM

There certainly seems to be a wide variety of opinions as to which might be "essential." I think it depends exactly how obsessed you are with them. In my case I would say pretty much. That said the sound quality on some of the "official boots" is pretty questionable and since there are so many better sounding live recordings the may be superfluous. GG at the GG is great in my mind and Civilian is worth owning.

Progatron

11-07-2012, 06:57 PM

There certainly seems to be a wide variety of opinions as to which might be "essential." I think it depends exactly how obsessed you are with them.

Agreed. I'm enough of a fan to want every album (C'mon, I bought the 35th. anniversary series remaster of GFaD - how unnecessary is that purchase? :lol) but I don't know that I would need something like Scraping The Barrel.

and Civilian is worth owning.

I know! :rofl but it can't be owned. Not as a standalone CD, anyway, unless you want to pay outrageous prices on Ebay or something.

Yeah. PROG Magazine a couple issues ago had some quotes regarding CIVILIAN. Derek liked it, Ray did not.

LOL I subscribe to PROG and have every issue but the very first one! I feel like I thoroughly read each one, just goes to show how anything can slip by you. Coincidentally, I just had them all out the other night because I wanted to re-read the 'Round Table' 3-part discussion. Funny how often throughout the years that Ian Anderson has mentioned the backstage Gentle Giant fights he overheard while on tour with them.

Anyway, I'll have to check out that article again, I must have either missed it or forgot I even read it (quite possible).

no.nine

11-07-2012, 09:43 PM

some think the "king biscuit live" thing is better than playing the fool.

I'm one of them. Better performance, better quality recording. Best "Experience" guitar solo that Gary Green ever played, too!

As far as live renditions go, Out of the Woods is also great. And it's another fine quality recording, as was usually the case with the BBC. These tracks are live-in-the-studio, and have some overdubs IIRC, but follow the live arrangements of the tunes. Totally Out of the Woods expanded on it but the extra material which was added isn't worth specifically seeking it out for.

My main problem with GOTB is that Gary Green is criminally ignored by the camera,

Agreed, but the even bigger crime is how John Weathers is ignored by the camera on GG at the GG. As evidenced by GOTB, he's hugely entertaining to watch; he's a born comedian. But he's close to absent on GG at the GG.

trurl

11-07-2012, 10:22 PM

I know! :rofl but it can't be owned. Not as a standalone CD, anyway, unless you want to pay outrageous prices on Ebay or something.

NO EXCUSES!!!! BUY IT! COMPLY!!

:D

zutul

11-08-2012, 01:23 PM

There is also King Biscuit Flower Hour Live in Concert CD, which is good but not essential.

mozo-pg

10-24-2013, 08:15 PM

I'm bumpin' the Giant. That's all.

Progatron

10-24-2013, 09:03 PM

I'm bumpin' the Giant. That's all.

But that's NOT all. You're resurrecting a scenario where trurl barked orders and abused his prog brethren. ("A" scenario?", you query.) ... I thought there was safety. Now he has been prodded. I fear. I die.

Progatron

10-24-2013, 09:04 PM

^^^ Wow, my wife wasn't kidding. This IS killer wine.

trurl

10-24-2013, 09:11 PM

Oh I'm watching. And waiting. Yessssss.....

old school

10-24-2013, 09:37 PM

Civilian is not that good in my opinion. I would rather have Stockholm, both "Out Of The Woods". "Under Construction and Scraping The Barrel". King Biscuit Flower hour. Also Playing The Fool.

fictionmusic

10-25-2013, 01:33 AM

Wow, you think so? I tend to think of GG as one of the bands that reworked their arrangements the most live- even more than King Crimson, discounting improvs. I've not heard any of the releases mentioned either but I find almost every note they ever played essential. BTW, I would say get Civilian somehow- it's not prog per se, maybe, but it's a good album. More worth owning than Giant For A Day imho.

yup...I agree totally. In fact I MUCH prefer their live stuff over their albums.

Scrotum Scissor

10-25-2013, 05:43 AM

Perhaps you'd want to dwell into the rather vast forest of "Giant'ian" acolytes? Lots of fine acts to explore, and some of them really broke further into related (yet hitherto unexplored) terrain.

Zeuhlmate

10-25-2013, 06:30 AM

I grew up with GG's albums, looked forward to every next album release, they just got better and better - and must say that Civilian was such a dissapointment not to mention GFaD.
I you are looking for clever adventures, Missing Piece was the last with proggy elements, and Interview was for me their last truly all the way great album.

Playing the fool is interesting, I listen to it occasionally, but although they have great energy live and its fun to hear the diversions, its not essential for me.
You can get a radioshow-boot Hollywood 75 here for free http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=673
And you can read almost everything about GG and their releases here http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/Gentle_Giant_Home_Page - but you probably know that allready.

happytheman

10-25-2013, 08:42 AM

I've got Out of the Fire.. which without doing research must be similar to Out of the Woods.. Double album with some great live cuts from The Missing Piece tour I'm guessing..

PeterG

10-25-2013, 10:43 AM

Oh, I don't have Giant for a Day.

You're not missing anything! You don't need it. IMO one of their worst albums, if not the worst.

Brian Griffin

10-25-2013, 11:23 AM

I think the GG At The GG DVD is totally essential

Excellent quality, better than GG on the Box from a sound / picture standpoint

I like "Missing Piece" more than most seem to, and this tour was the first time I was really down front for a show

DVD totally brought back how jaw dropping they were live, switching out instruments several times during songs, playing their asses off

BG

Dedatolo

10-25-2013, 11:37 AM

whatever Gentle Giant IS essential, period. :-)

PeterG

10-25-2013, 11:45 AM

whatever Gentle Giant IS essential, period. :-)

Totally disdagree with that. I think if you've got Acquiring the Taste, Octopus and Three Friends you don't really need anything else, I say that as a person who seriously dislikes live albums.

No Pride

10-25-2013, 12:31 PM

I was wondering how this thread became a 3 pager so fast until I opened it and realized it's origins were almost a year old. DOH!

I think if you've got Acquiring the Taste, Octopus and Three Friends you don't really need anything else, I say that as a person who seriously dislikes live albums.
Throw in In a Glass House, The Power and the Glory, Free Hand, Interview and The Missing Piece and I'd agree with you. ;)

Except you need Playing the Fool too. I say that as a person who likes live albums.

gregory

10-25-2013, 12:39 PM

Nothing essential in proposed list, IMO.
But...
If you are a GG completist, or you feel you had grown to a fan phase, - on Totally Out Of The Woods you'll find a nice early GG track, 'City Hermit'.
For their early songs, you better get "Under Construction'(1997) CD, which contain very early GG stuff, songs that never been published before, some are very nice.
As for Civilian worshipping here, I wouldn't affiliate. Definitely not the part of GG essential stuff. GG connotates with Fellini - they recorded 8 and a half worthy studio albums.
From debut to second side of Missing Piece, one by one.

wideopenears

10-25-2013, 12:40 PM

I think Playing the Fool is one of the best live albums by anyone, anywhere, any time.

No Pride

10-25-2013, 01:13 PM

I think Playing the Fool is one of the best live albums by anyone, anywhere, any time.
I KNOW it is. :D

Guitarplyrjvb

10-25-2013, 01:22 PM

The only thing that bugs me about live Giant is that you get the obligatory recorder interlude. Big whup! I get that they can all play recorders and other instruments. Why insert this into the middle of a dramatic concert? It's almost as bad as sitting through a John Bonham drum solo!

Dave (in MA)

10-25-2013, 02:16 PM

I like live albums, but on what I have from GG (King Biscuit, Playing the Fool, On the Box), the vocals make me cringe.

old school

10-26-2013, 08:40 PM

Totally disdagree with that. I think if you've got Acquiring the Taste, Octopus and Three Friends you don't really need anything else, I say that as a person who seriously dislikes live albums.
That statement tells me you do not have a good understanding of Gentle Giant. One of the most outrageous quote's I have read in a long time.

Progatron

10-26-2013, 08:59 PM

That statement tells me you do not have a good understanding of Gentle Giant. One of the most outrageous quote's I have read in a long time.

Certainly a head-scratcher, although the three albums he mentions are probably my favourite. I loved the period with Phil Shulman in the band. But I also love the next several releases in the catalogue, surely up to and including In'terview and at least half of The Missing Piece. But everyone's opinions and tastes are unusual. I may be in the minority that I place The Power And The Glory near the bottom of the list though. There's no rhyme or reason to these things, it just has never appealed to me the same way the rest of them (up to In'terview) do.

zombywoof

10-26-2013, 09:55 PM

I may be in the minority that I place The Power And The Glory near the bottom of the list though. There's no rhyme or reason to these things, it just has never appealed to me the same way the rest of them (up to In'terview) do.

You are in the minority, but you aren't the only one. ;)

Progatron

10-26-2013, 10:26 PM

You are in the minority, but you aren't the only one. ;)

:D Come on over, we'll throw on In A Glass House and ruminate.

old school

10-26-2013, 11:56 PM

Certainly a head-scratcher, although the three albums he mentions are probably my favourite. I loved the period with Phil Shulman in the band. But I also love the next several releases in the catalogue, surely up to and including In'terview and at least half of The Missing Piece. But everyone's opinions and tastes are unusual. I may be in the minority that I place The Power And The Glory near the bottom of the list though. There's no rhyme or reason to these things, it just has never appealed to me the same way the rest of them (up to In'terview) do.

I agree with everything you said but put TPATG way up there. I know people have different opinions but when three albums are mentioned and most of the catalog is missing it sounds very strange to me. And then missing some very good live albums is inexcusable.

Barniac

10-27-2013, 10:11 AM

I thnk you have more than the essentials already. Great band (probably my favourite of the era) but after Interview they sank like a stone with Civilian just about hitting rock bottom (pun intended).

Rand Kelly

10-27-2013, 10:47 AM

If you like Giant On The Box, you should definitely get GG at the GG!

Agree 100%.

No Pride

10-27-2013, 03:51 PM

gregory

10-27-2013, 04:12 PM

I think this might be possible, the existence of a GG fan, whos favorite is GfaD, I believe it's not just a philosophical assumption)

old school

10-27-2013, 04:13 PM

I'm always amused by the fact that even when we all like the same band, we rarely agree on what their best work is. I think that TPatG was their best studio album, but I'm fine with anybody who disagrees. Now if anybody thinks GfaD is their best, I might have to get evil with them. ;)

GFAD and Civilian are stinkers! And in my opinion half of Missing Piece sucks. Other then that the rest of the studio albums are auto buys.

JKL2000

01-17-2018, 06:25 PM

adap2it

01-17-2018, 08:19 PM

Is the 35th Anniv edition of In a Glass House from Alucard sonically better than the Road Goes on Forever version?

Also, I have a copy of Giant on the Box and I can't tell if it's the original release or the one included extra material. It's Alucard Alu-gg-03 and has a DVD and CD, but I can't tell if that's the original or the reissue that came out soon after. I see there's also a release from DRT Entertainment but the only difference seems to be the packaging and that one has an interview from VHI with Derek Shulman.

Lost track of which is better than which Jed, however, I can say with confidence to stay away from the DRT releases. The Alucard releases are excellent sounding and are as good if not better than other releases. I would add that when it comes to music that I LOVE, and Gentle Giant is my true love in music, no reworked versions released have ever made me love them more.

JKL2000

01-17-2018, 09:10 PM

Lost track of which is better than which Jed, however, I can say with confidence to stay away from the DRT releases. The Alucard releases are excellent sounding and are as good if not better than other releases. I would add that when it comes to music that I LOVE, and Gentle Giant is my true love in music, no reworked versions released have ever made me love them more.

I certainly love the DVD I have, some of the best archival video there is, IMO.

Progbear

01-17-2018, 09:15 PM

I’d say that nothing after Interview is essential, including Playing the Fool, which is nice to have but not a must. They heavily rearranged stuff for live performance, which is certainly interesting, and props to them for being able to handle such intricate music live. There’s an entire-band drum solo during “So Sincere” which I’m sure worked better in person than at home in your living room.

After that...Missing Piece is half-good—not great, but good. Most people never get that far, because the good half is at the end, and the first half is dreadful. Civilian has its fans. I am not one of them; why would I want to hear some tired old prog band at the end of their life doing a really poor, half-assed attempt at this kind of music when I can listen to Elvis Costello [for example] doing it well? I like it even less than GFAD, which at least had “Words to the Wise,” an appealing and catchy piece of prog-pop (the less said about the rest of that album, the better, though).

Zaragon

01-18-2018, 12:39 AM

All of their studio albums have a 65%—90% ratio of worthwhile tracks. Queue up the red-listed titles on this list (https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Zaragon/albums_from_england___g/2/) that you aren't already familiar with — highlight title>right click>Search Google for "song title" — to hear for yourself.

Frankh

01-18-2018, 01:42 AM

What? WHAT?! Working All Day non - essential? My good, good man. I take considerable yet good natured exception!

Wait!! Ha-WHAT?! LOL

River, too?!

...still believe I maintain my good nature, but my good, good man! Surely you jest!

Frankh

01-18-2018, 07:23 AM

Wait, wait lol...

Think I've got the color coding figured out, now...

...don't I?

The magenta, with a smile... = good stuff, no?

lol

I am easily confused.

Progatron

01-18-2018, 08:30 AM

Bear in mind that this thread is over five years old. In that time, I have acquired Civilian and GG At The GG, as well as more recent titles Live At The Bicentennial and Three Piece Suite. I think my collection is fairly complete for my tastes now. I do consider Scraping The Barrel from time to time, but I just don't know that I'd listen to it much.

Zeuhlmate

01-18-2018, 09:35 AM

JKL2000

01-18-2018, 11:02 AM

Sputnik

01-18-2018, 11:06 AM

For many years Working all day was my favorite song from that album.Actually still is mine. Not that I don't love just about all that album, but something about this track just works for me at every level. Funny it's considered a lesser GG piece by many, but so it goes.

Bill

adap2it

01-18-2018, 12:04 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVWFqwTXLOY

Never get tired of listening to any of the tracks on THREE FRIENDS great sax & organ and everything else...

Progatron

01-18-2018, 05:36 PM

Three Friends is a 100% winner from beginning to end IMO, and falls smack dab in the middle of my holy trinity of GG albums. :cool

bill g

01-18-2018, 05:56 PM

I have all the GG studio albums except Civilian (long out of print as a single disc edition). I've also got Playing The Fool, Out Of The Woods - BBC Sessions and the excellent Giant On The Box DVD/CD. I absolutely love these guys but I don't know if I really need more, or just want more. :lol

Of the following notable omissions in my collection, are any what you would class as essential? (I know there are a few other live albums/compilations but I know they aren't necessary.)

Totally Out Of The Woods
GG At The GG DVD
Scraping The Barrel box
King Alfred's College Winchester
Live In Stockholm '75

Thanks for any and all help, Giantheads!

GG at the GG was recorded around the time of The Missing Piece, so contains 5 tracks from that album, topped by the wonderful 'Memories of Old Days'. I believe the only pre-Power & The Glory track is 'Funny Ways', so a lot isn't here, but they do a great version of 'Playing The Game' and 'Free Hand' is completely different-the middle section is replaced by something new. Overall I find it thoroughly enjoyable-including the new 'set up' music by Kerry.

bill g

01-18-2018, 06:14 PM

I was wondering how this thread became a 3 pager so fast until I opened it and realized it's origins were almost a year old. DOH!

And here I just posted, thinking the same thing and after the fact realized that it is now 5 years old!