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

[Progatron]

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.

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!

[rcarlberg]

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.

[florentine pogen]

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]

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]

When they played live, they were very, very faithful to the studio versions -- but less precise and in poorer sound. YMMV

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.

[florentine pogen]

Giant on the Box is all you need.

[wideopenears]

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

[trurl]

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]

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]

You are correct, sir.

[Progatron]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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-pr...tle-giant.html

Tom

[yogibear]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

"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]

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]

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.