My review of Gentle Giant’s super-mega-box (30 discs!), Unburied Treasure, today at All About Jazz. And be warned: it’s a long one!
Of all the so-called progressive rock bands that emerged in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, Gentle Giant has, perhaps, been the most misunderstood, and the one which failed to reach the same deserved commercial heights of its creatively innovative brethren, like King Crimson, Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Of the bigger names from that time, only Van der Graaf Generator could be considered in the same breath when it comes to missed commercial success opportunities, and even that group has fared better, if for no other reason than that it resumed active service in 2005 and continues to release new music and, occasionally, to tour to this day.
Still, there was (and remains) no band that sounded quite like Gentle Giant; even today, its influence on today’s more reductionist progressive rock scene represents a group that has, at times, inspired contemporary groups: imitated and cited, to varying degrees, but never quite capable of being copied. Transatlantic/former Spock’s Beard co-founder and solo artist Neal Morse, Flower Kings and, alongside Morse, fellow Transatlantic co-founder Roine Stolt, Steve Hackett/Agents of Mercy’s Nad Sylvian, Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt, Steven Wilson, Big Big Train, Gungfly’s Rikard Sjöblom, Premiata Forneria Marconi’s Franz di Cioccio, Tim Bowness and many others have all sung high praises of Gentle Giant’s decade-long, unparalleled innovations, documented over eleven studio sets and one live album. Plenty of lesser names, too, collected on recordings like <em>A Reflection</em> (GORGG-O-Sonic, 2008), continue to be inspired by and fan the flames of the Giant’s reputation in the 21st century as one of the finest (and, certainly, most inimitable) bands to emerge from progressive rock’s infancy.
Why were Gentle Giant’s attempts to garner the greater commercial success it deserved during its final couple of years met with such abysmal failure, despite an extant reputation for creative excellence that mirrored (and, in some cases, exceeded) contemporaries like Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer? It can easily be argued that Gentle Giant’s failure and ultimate dissolve was, sadly, the direct consequence of deserting its most ardent fans (and, it could equally be argued, itself) by shifting gears in an attempt to achieve greater commercial success and adapt to a changing musical landscape, becoming something it most certainly was not.
Still, Giant’s attempt to become more commercially viable was also the understandable consequence of slogging it out on the road as much (or, in some cases, more) than many. As the band, beginning in 1971 but with greater emphasis between 1974 and 1977, toured quite relentlessly, it watched groups like Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and, most notably, Genesis become increasingly/massively successful, selling millions of albums and filling increasingly sizeable venues. Not that Giant didn’t have its share of success but, compared to its contemporaries, the group always seemed to have to work harder and tour harder to get what it did (not, however, suggesting that these other bands had a cakewalk).
Despite some surprisingly bad decisions beginning, in part, with the contrasting shift of 1977’s The Missing Piece (Chrysalis/Capitol), it’s an absolute truth that Gentle Giant’s name and reputation remains significant fifty years after it first rose, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of R&B-turned-psychedelic band Simon Dupree & the Big Sound in 1970. Giant’s debut, Gentle Giant (Vertigo, 1970), may not have achieved the iconic, game-changing success of King Crimson’s 1969 debut, which shook the music world (and beyond), n the Court of the Crimson King (Island). It was, nevertheless, a strong first shot across the bow of creative rock music, and a portent of even greater things to come.
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Originally Posted by jkelman
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