Track Listing

1. Giant
2. Funny Ways
3. Alucard
4. Isn't It Quiet and Cold?
5. Nothing at All
6. Why Not?
7. Queen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1246 in Music
• Released on: 1990-05-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Customer Reviews

Nice debut from one of prog rock's greats
You can think of Gentle Giant's 1970 debut like you can Genesis' Trespass or the first two albums of Yes: just dipping their feet in the waters of the prog world, with a sound maybe not totally living up to their full potential, but definately worth having, after you get a few of their following albums. Prior to Gentle Giant, the Shulman brothers (Phil, Ray, and Derek) were in a band called Simon Dupree & the Big Sound. Of course there was no one named Simon Dupree (Simon was actually Derek Shulman). They released an album in 1967 called Without Reservation and had a hit with "Kites". Being from 1967, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't expect much of that GG sound here. As I hadn't heard that album, I'm sure it's more of a historical curiosity. Of course the Shulman brothers wanted to pursue something more ambitious (especially after King Crimson gave us In the Court of the Crimson King), and formed a band with guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist/vocalist Kerry Minnear, and drummer Martin Smith, and the band became Gentle Giant. They recorded and released their debut in 1970 on the "swirl" Vertigo label. Being a debut album, many bands hadn't quite had their sound or style mastered, and Gentle Giant was no exception. That meant many of the band's over-the-top quirky complexity hadn't surfaced yet. But you can see some of that like on the opening cut, "Giant". I also like the Mellotron solo as well. "Funny Ways" features some great violin work, and Kerry Minnear's trademark "medieval"-sounding singing. "Alucard" (that is, "Dracula" spelled backwards) features vocal harmonies that make me think that Queen had heard their share of Gentle Giant albums in their lifetime. Also interesting to note is the presence of synthesizers, usually as just incidental noodling between cuts. Remember this was 1970 when synthesizers were still mainly big modular Moogs, and most recordings then were still classical Moog (like W. Carlos' Switched-On Bach), except for the stray rock album (i.e. Beatles' Abbey Road, or of course, ELP, who also released their debut in 1970). "Isn't it Quiet and Cold" is a rather lighthearted number, with Minnear singing again. It's quite a contrast to the more sinister "Alucard". "Nothing At All" starts off as a rather pleasant acoustic number and nice pleasant vocals, but the problems start surfacing with the drum solo and the classical piano. At least to make it interesting was Martin Smith (their drummer at the time) added on some phasing, but then the song returns to how it started, in that pleasant laid-back fashion. "Why Not" is one of the more rocking numbers, but there's a more medieval-sounding part in the middle part complete with recorders. The last song, "The Queen" is basically a rock version of "God Save the Queen", played on guitar. I don't think that was the best move for the band, but it could have been worse. This might not be the best place for Gentle Giant newcomers to start (try Three Friends first), but still this album is full of great material, and worth having.

The Mighty Gentle Giant
What do you get when you cross the madrigal, folk-rock of Jethro Tull with the avant-garde, experimental leanings of King Crimson, and you add a dash of classical influences for extra measure? You get Gentle Giant. Always sitting next to Genesis in the music store bins, but never achieving the massive success of Genesis or other well-known progressive rock groups, Gentle Giant were certainly an acquired taste, but for the progressive rock fan who's open to the band's complex time signatures, arrangements, and vocal harmonising, there is great music aplenty to be found in their work, as the band recorded 11 studio albums (plus one live album) between 1970 & 1980. The group, led by vocalist Derek Schulman & keyboardist Kerry Minnear, were a terrific progressive rock outfit that deserved much bigger success than what they got. They never rose above cult status (and they're one of the few progressive bands to never make a comeback, either in the 1990's or now), but their impressive catalog of albums speak for themselves. If you love prog rock, then you'll certainly love Gentle Giant.Their self-titled debut from 1970 is an excellent album that displays quite plainly what this group were all about. The title track is a powerful blend of all of the band's Tull/Crimson/classical influences rolled into one. "Funny Ways" is a lovely song with fine singing & string arrangements. "Alucard" is an awesome prog-rocker. "Isn't It Quiet And Cold?" is the lightest number on the album, an acoustic/classical confection, but it works wonderfully. The exquisite, Traffic-esque "Nothing At All" is an all-time Gentle Giant favorite. "Why Not?" is a cool guitar-rocker, and the band finish the album with a short-but-amusing rendition of the British anthem, "The Queen." Gentle Giant may have lacked commercial success, but at least they had---and still have---a devoted following, not to mention a recording contract that allowed them to make a dozen albums in their decade-long lifespan. Their self-titled disc from 1970 is the first of the bunch, and an awesome opening salvo from this fine progressive rock band that should not be overlooked.

Excellent debut
Although not their best album, yet an indication of things to come. As with any of their first eight albums, this one takes at least five - six attempts to just start liking it. The complexity of their composition and rhythm as well as their at-ease use of the entire spectrum of incompatible musical genres makes it difficult to comprehend it instantly. But don't give up, you will be well rewarded in the end. My favorites are Nothing At All/ Why Not. Nothing At All is really beautiful, both music and lyrics. In the slow balladic mainline, very melodic and quite simplistic, the vocals are accompanied by a good acoustic guitar in a very romantic manner (the lyrics reflect the mood too) and then interrupted by a great rock-n-roll theme, teasingly quiet at first, it lures you in and goes forte with dual guitar and high-pitched vocals. That, in turn, flows into a drums' solo, and this is one of those rare cases when drums sound like a musical instrument (if not like an entire band). And right in the middle of it comes a piano, classical-sounding in the beginning and turning into avant-garde, along with the drums, the most unlikely combination of the two, nearly perfect in its juxtaposition. Why Not springs out of the previous one, even the introductory line is non-standard - full band on the second iteration. A catchy rock theme is followed by a medieval one and then by a good guitar solo. First time a medieval theme is used in their composition. The final jazz-rock instrumental resembles Deep Purple's Lazy (rather the other way around, Machine Head was released in 1972, two years later). Definite Five Star