Gentle Giant - I Lost My Head (The Chrysalis Years 1975-1980) (4CD Box - 2012)

Artista: Gentle Giant

Álbum: I Lost My Head (The Chrysalis Years 1975-1980)
Año: 2012
Género: Progresivo ecléctico
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

Lista de Temas:
DISC 1:
FREE HAND (1975)
1. Just The Same
2. On Reflection
3. Free Hand
4. Time To Kill
5. His Last Voyage
6. Talybont
7. Mobile
Bonus tracks
8. 1976 Intro Tape (previously unreleased) (Bonus track)
9. Just The Same (John Peel session) (Bonus track)
10, Free Hand (John Peel session) (Bonus track)
11. On Reflection (John Peel session) (Bonus track)
12. Give It Back (International 7" mix) (Bonus track)
13. I Lost My Head (Bonus track)
DISC 2:
INTERVIEW (1976)
1. Interview
2. Give It Back
3. Design
4. Another Show
5. Empty City
6. Timing
7. I Lost My Head
THE MISSING PIECE (1977)
8. Two Weeks In Spain
9. I'm Turning Around
10. Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It
11. Who Do You Think You Are?
12. Mountain Time
13. As Old As You're Young
14. Memories Of Old Days
15. Winning
16. For Nobody
DISC 3:
PLAYING THE FOOL (LIVE 1976)
1. (a) Just The Same/(b) Proclamation
2. On Reflection
3. Excerpts from 'Octopus'
4. Funny Ways
5. (a) The Runaway/(b) Experience
6. So Sincere
7. Free Hand
8. Sweet Georgia Brown
9 (a) Peel The Paint/(b) I Lost My Head
DISC 4:
GIANT FOR A DAY (1978)
1. Words From The Wise
2. Thank You
3. Giant For A Day
4. Spookie Boogie
5. Take Me
6. Little Brown Bag
7. Friends
8. No Stranger
9. It's Only Goodbye
10. Rock Climber
11. Thank You (7" single edit A) (Bonus track)
12. Words From The Wise (7" single edit B) (Bonus track)
CIVILIAN (1980)
13. Convenience (Clean And Easy)
14. All Through The Night
15. Shadows On The Street
16. Number One
17. Underground
18. I Am A Camera
19. Inside Out
20 It's Not Imagination

Alineación:
- Derek Shulman/ vocals, saxes, alto sax, descant recorder, bass & percussion
- Ray Shulman/ bass, violin, acoustic guitar, descant recorder, trumpet, vocals & percussion
- Kerry Minnear/ keyboards, cello, vibes, tenor recorder, vocals & percussion
- Gary Green/ electric, acoustic & 12 string guitars, alsto & descant recorder, vocals & percussion
- John Weathers/ drums, tambour, vibes, percussion & backing vocals

Carlos Gancia nos comparte algo de una de sus bandas favoritas, me refiero en este caso a los geniales Gentle Giant, banda mítica si las hay, considerados por muchos de los mejores críticos como la mejor banda que haya pisado la tierra, dueños de una versatilidad única y con características musicales también únicas, inspiradores de multitudes de buenos grupos y siempre alejados de la fama, a lo largo del tiempo se han convertido en una banda de culto por excelencia, sinónimos de musicalidad y de buen gusto, de destreza, técnica envidiable, y creadores de grandes piezas. Señores, hacían falta en el blog cabezón y aquí los tenemos... ¿no los conocés? te cuento que ese error se puede subsanar fácilmente en este blog.

Empezamos musicalizando este post con un cover del tema "Just the same" de los Gentle Giant, interpretado por alumnos de la escuela de música Eskilstuna Musikskola de Suecia...



Según lo que comenta el señor Wikipedia:

Gentle Giant es considerada una de las bandas de rock progresivo más originales y eclécticas de los años setenta y del siglo XX. El nombre Gentle Giant —gigante amable, en español— se debe a la figura de Robert Wadlow, el hombre más alto registrado en la historia (medía 2.77 metros). Según dichos de sus miembros, el objetivo de la banda era expandir las fronteras de la música popular contemporánea a riesgo de tornarse sumamente impopulares.
Esa afirmación cambiaría a lo largo del tiempo. Aunque no consiguieron el éxito comercial de otras bandas contemporáneas de rock progresivo como Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes y Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gentle Giant fue considerada como una de las bandas más experimentales en el género, así como una de las más experimentales en los años setenta.

Wikipedia

Al contrario de los otros monstruos pilares del rock progresivo, como Genesis, Yes, King Crimson o Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant no fue contemporáneamente reconocido por sus pares ni por masivas audiencias, como lo que realmente fueron: una de las más exquisitas bandas, autores de las más elaboradas y complejas piezas progresivas de todos los tiempos. Es seguramente por este motivo que, 40 años después, sus creaciones han sido realmente valoradas y hemos visto su influencia en muchas bandas emergentes.
Aquí tendremos nuestro espacio, hasta hoy vacío, a la genial banda del gigante con cara de boludo (debo decir que ese gigante me genera algo de repulsión y que es mi personal mayor resistencia a adentrarle de lleno a la banda, una boludez que no tiene nada que ver con lo musical):

Musicalmente hablando, los Gentle Giant fueron perfectos. Sus composiciones, arreglos y virtuosismo son rayanos en lo divino. No es un producto masivo, de ahí que es verdad que desde esa óptica puedan haber pertenecido a un supuesto grupo del "banco de suplentes"; pero en realidad es un producto finísimo. Hay que aprender a degustarlo, sin embargo, pues su consumo inmoderado puede llegar a atragantar. La inclusión de matices provenientes del folk, del jazz y el soul, influencias de la música clásica del período romántico, la incorporación de timbres medievales y barrocos sumados a una lírica con perfil filosófico y hasta de crítica social, le provee a la música de Gentle Giant una riqueza inigualable.

Para que entren en tema, en el siguiente video el grupo coral brasilero del CEFAR interpreta la canción "Knots" de los Gentle Giant.

El blog cabezón, en otro de nuestros monumentales esfuerzos (en realidad la mitad de los esfuerzos también son de Carlos G. que será el que comparte los links) nos complacemos en proporcionar varias obras de esta genial banda para los gustos refinados.
Para quienes no conozcan a esta, una de las bandas de sonido más acadèmico de toda la historia del progresivo, los recomendamos enormemente, pues van a poder apreciar, por una parte, documentos históricos y por otra parte disfrutarán plenamente del exquisito sonido de los Shulman & Co.

Otro de los grupos británicos con contenido folk en sus composiciones. No de la misma forma de Gryphon que evoluciona desde la música tradicional hacia el rock, sino más bien como Jethro Tull creando una fusión entre el folk y el rock. Originarios de Glasgow, los tres hermanos Shulman unen sus talentos a los de un cuarto multinstrumentista Kerry Minear, un guitarrista Gary Green y un baterista Martín Smith, más un grupo de colaboradores para realizar este finísimo producto.

HLT

He oído muchos comentarios y no de cualquier perejil, de tipos realmente entendidos, que los encuentran mejores incluso que Yes y Genesis. Yo no pretendo comparar ni hacer una competencia, principalmente son distintos... pero... creo que Gentle Giant, a partir de su segundo disco comienzan a entregarnos las creaciones más complejas y elaboradas del rock progresivo de la época, con compases, tiempos, ritmos y multi-instrumentación que nuestras queridas otras bandas jamás se habían atrevido a experimentar. Incluso su música escapa bastante más allá de lo que conocemos como progresivo sinfónico y, en mi modesta opinion, no lo son. Mientras Genesis incursionaba profundamente en la pasión o Yes lo hacía en lo más puramente sinfónico épico, Gentle Giant se adentraba sin escrúpulos en el nivel más intelectual del rock. Es verdad, quizás un tema de Gentle Giant jamás tendrá un solo que nos erice los pelos como el de Steve Hackett en "Firth Of Fifth", o la fuerza compulsiva y demencial de un "Gates Of Delirium", pero sus temas tienen increíbles detalles, en la composición, en los arreglos, en la interpretación, o la grabación y producción, etc. por ejemplo, en "Edge Of Twilight", del "Acquiring The Taste..." ya en ese entonces se les ocurrió grabar al revés la reverberación de la caja, por ejemplo...

Es probable que Gentle Giant sea la más importante y al mismo tiempo, la más ignorada banda de rock progresivo surgida a finales de la década de los sesenta. A pesar de esto, o tal vez por estas razones, finalmente se convirtió en una banda de culto con el correr del tiempo.
Tal vez la única experiencia que supere la audición de su música sea apreciar la maravilla de su despliegue escénico. Músicos sumamente virtuosos, evidenciaban en sus conciertos sus dotes de multiinstrumentistas -entre todos sus integrantes tocaban más de 30 instrumentos diferentes- recorriendo su exigente repertorio con maestría.
Derivada del grupo británico de rhythm and blues psicodélico Simon Dupree and The Big Sound, banda formada por los tres hermanos Shulman, Gentle Giant surge como tal en el año 1969.
Después de grabar algunos simples de fuerte impronta psicodélica, comienzan su viraje hacia el todavía incipiente rock progresivo con su álbum debut de 1970, titulado simplemente Gentle Giant y producido por Tony Visconti. El disco fue recibido con duras críticas por parte de la prensa especializada y con indiferencia por el gran público. Sin embargo esto no restó ánimos a una banda que continuó una brillante carrera, aunque con altibajos, hasta 1980, año en el que finalmente se disuelve, no sin antes dejar una discografía original de 12 discos que recorren rock, música clásica y melodías medievales en dosis justas y con gran fuerza compositiva.

Progresiva 70s

A continuación, el tema "Freehand" de los Gentle Giant interpretado por los israelíes Bubble Bath...

La música de Gentle Giant está plagada de este tipo de detalles, por eso hay que escucharla lo mejor posible y observarla detalle por detalle.
Sobre si es mejor que otras bandas, pienso que esa epoca es irrepetible y que cada banda genero un estilo, enmarcandolos como los pilares de la música progresiva. Y eso es Gentle Giant, que tambien como Genesis, Yes, ELP, Jethro y otros, dejaron estampados sus estilos, que han sobrevivido con el tiempo, ya que las nuevas generaciones han tomado esas influencias y prolongarlas hasta el dia de hoy. Gentle Giant compuso música muy vanguardista, intrincada, y creo que el tiempo aún no le ha dado la valoración que se merecen.
Nosotros, en el blog cabezón, hacemos otra reparación histórica y gracias a Carlos les damos a conocer una de las mejores bandas de todos los tiempos, compartiremos unas maravillas musicales que no pueden faltar en este espacio.
La influencia de Gentle Giant se puede encontar en bandas actuales como Spock's Beard {sus primeros trabajos), Echolyn, Advent, entre otras. Eso si, nunca pudieron superarla.
Así que comienza el festival de Gentle Giant... y eso que aún no hemos terminado el festival de Caravan... y a todo esto ¿cuando es le Festival de Vendimia?...

Eso fue como introducción para quienes no los conocían. Sobre este disco, les comento que es una gloriosa caja con todos los álbumes de álbumes que los Gentle Giant sacaron con el sello "Chrysalis" entre los años 1975 a 1980, remasterizados y lanzados nuevamene al mercado en 2012, razón por la cual no vamos a publicar abiertamente sus opciones de descarga y usaremos nuestro ya famoso método de pedidos que empezó con el "Relayer" de Yes y es cada vez más popular y usado en esta casa cuando alguna publicación puede llegar a traer problemas. Los bonuz track de este box set más el material original lo convierten en un excelente regalo para los oídos.

A continuación, alumnos egrasado de la HSPVA (Escuela Preparatoria para las Artes Escénicas y Visuales de EEUU) haciendo su cover de "I Lost My Head", por supuesto que es un tema de los Gentle Giant.

Señoras, señores, hacen su incursión en el blog cabezón los geniales Gentle Giant, conózcanlos, disfrútenlos, y no se olviden de agradecer a Carlos que los quiere mucho.
Vamos con algunos comentarios en inglés, por las dudas de que lo dicho hasta aquí no alcance para convencerlos:

This is a glorious box set featuring all of the albums of Gentle Giant albums of the Chrysalis label from 1975 to 1980. As with any box set the tracks are hit and miss here but this is a wonderful way to get hold of 2012 remastered albums that have impacted the Gentle Giant catalogue over the years. The box set houses no less than 3 excellent albums in the form of the live classic "Playing The Fool", "Free Hand" and "Interview". The 1980 "Civilian" album is actually quite good and heavier than the usual GG, but of course you will have to trawl through the disappointing era with the mediocre "The Missing Piece" and the dreadful "Giant For A Day". One major drawcard to this box was the previously unreleased material and it is packed with tons of bonus tracks and all in remastered glory. The booklet is lavish and packed with info and pix of the band as you would expect. The musicians are legendary: Derek Shulman on vocals, saxes, alto sax, descant recorder, bass & percussion, Ray Shulman on bass, violin, acoustic guitar, descant recorder, trumpet, vocals & percussion, Kerry Minnear on keyboards, cello, vibes, tenor recorder, vocals & percussion, Gary Green on electric, acoustic & 12 string guitars, alto & descant recorder, vocals & percussion, John Weathers on drums, tambour, vibes, percussion & backing vocals. Here are my reviews of each disc, almost identical to my reviews of the original albums but worth revisiting for this excellent box of goodies.
DISC 1 FREE HAND (1975)
"Free Hand" is manic Gentle Giant compositions from end to end with trademark multi part harmonies and frenetic time sig changes throughout. It begins with glorious melodic mayhem on 'Just The Same' and then launches into the weird Gentle Giantism harmonies that sound like some parody of medievalism 'On Reflection'. The opening section is almost maddening in it's delirious harmonising but it soon breaks into some fabulous melodies with a nice gentle dreaminess that pleases my senses.
The best song is to follow with the title track, that I adore when I hear it on any compilation or the original album. The remaster is crystal clear and even better. The vocals of Derek Shulman are excellent throughout, strong and easy to comprehend. 'Time To Kill' is certainly a highlight with some chaotic signatures and wonderful musicianship. The pleasant chimes and acoustic guitars are a feature of 'His Last Voyage' before the very melancholy vocals echo along the melody line. The wah wah lead break is a great augmentation to the jumpy piano line. My least favourite track on the album is the sea shanty instrumental 'Talybont', but it's like a transition and fully instrumental.
The bonus tracks as with all GG remasters are very good and fill the CD nicely. On "Free Hand" there is previously unreleased '1976 Intro Tape', just an instrumental filler really, and from the John Peel Sessions 'Just The Same', 'Free Hand' and 'On Reflection', all different versions of these gems and nicely performed. Also we have 'Give It Back (International 7" mix)', a strange reggae riff and quite out of place commercial style for this earlier album though works nicely on "Interview", and 'I Lost My Head (7" mix)' is a very good song. All tracks are intriguing and worth a shot, though not to return to as often as side one of this release. The album is close to a masterpiece, at least side one of the original would be classed as such, but it kind of meanders along in side two, even sounding outdated, like some hippy trip to tune out to. In any case, this is one of the greatest GG albums and should be heard by every lover of eclectic prog. 4 shining stars.
DISC 2 INTERVIEW (1976)
"Interview" is another of the better Gentle Giant albums beginning with some incredible complex musicianship on the title track, certainly one of the greatest GG songs. This is followed by reggae mayhem on 'Give It Back' that sounds great remastered. Between the songs we hear little interview snippets as transitions from track to track that work very well for a concept. 'Design' is next that brings things down for me with the almost annoying multi harmonies that permeate each album. They love to indulge in this barber shop quartet style but I am not a fan so this is an acquired taste. It is quite amusing though especially with the sproings and boings of percussion and tinkling chimes that are comical. The tribal percussion at the end is great but overall this is just too demented for its own good.
'Another Show' is next with a fast tempo and maniacal circus music intro. When Shulman's vocals come in the song becomes heavier and I like the odd signature. This is as crazy as the band like to be, just pulling out one unusual tempo after another, but this will send some running for cover. The guitar is excellent here competing with the keyboards and weird xylophone percussion. 'Empty City' follows, with dreamy acoustics to allow us to breathe. There are tons of harmonies and some nice basslines on this one, but the album is not up to the quality of previous GG. Notably the interview snippets are absent and that would have been nice to make this album more consistent.
The interview snippet does return again just before 'Timing', another track with bizarre tempo changes and a circus like musicianship. It is difficult to latch onto a melody as there are so many ideas competing against each other. It is a lot of fun to listen to all this inventiveness though, and the violin solo is wonderful, later joined by a powerful lead solo, one of the best instrumental breaks on the album. 'I Lost My Head' is a longer track at almost 7 minutes, and I love it when it finally launches into the melodic last 4 minutes with amazing vocals and guitar powering out on an odd intricate meter.
Overall this is not a masterpiece GG albums, but it has some excellent tracks especially side one, where the band seem to use all their best material on many occasions and run out of steam towards the end. The last track though here excels and is one of my favourite GG songs. It is perhaps best purchased with the box set or with the double CD package with "Free Hand". 4 glittering stars.
THE MISSING PIECE (1977)
Gentle Giant's "The Missing Piece" is a transitional album made during 1977 as disco was beginning to be king and punk was alive and spitting. In comparison to the followup "Giant For a Day", this album is very good. However, gone are the technical complexities of the Giant only to be replaced with very simple three chord wonder melodic rock. I like the way it starts with its raucous and rather catchy 'Two Weeks in Spain', the Shulman brothers sound great and this one is infectious with some weird musicianship. It then goes steadily downhill with 'I'm Turning Around', a failed attempt at a ballad single, that did not trouble the top of the charts either side of the Atlantic. 'Betcha Thought we couldn't do it' is mediocre quasi-punk as is 'Who do you think you are?' and the nauseating hicksville of 'Mountain Time'. It picks up a bit with a more progressive approach with 'Memories of Old Days' that has a longer running time and even effects of children thrown in. The album even ends on something proggy with 'For Nobody' but this is rather a lacklustre album.
The liner notes attempt to explain or justify this mediocrity from a band we have come to admire over the years for their virtuoso complexity in prog. Ray Shulman explains; "it was a funny period of time; we were suddenly searching for an identity, what we ought to be, where we were going to fit in. There was a degree of pressure to make a more commercial album, and to be honest I can't even remember whether it was self-generated or from the outside; in any case, we'd always tried to avoid repeating ourselves, we were always looking for something new to do." The result is this rather poor effort and it certainly was the beginning of disaster for the group that would continue to decline on the ensuing GG catalogue. 2 little stars.
DISC 3 PLAYING THE FOOL (LIVE 1976)
Gentle Giant's live triumph is flawless musicianship. Gentle Giant's live album "Playing The Fool" is a treasure of prog rock at its most exquisite, intricate and whimsical. The sound captured live is quintessential Gentle Giant and almost works as a type of best of the Giant. There is enough variation on offer to make it a worthwhile addition to any collection. The best bits of "Octopus" are here, and tons of medley's and montages of Gentle Giant's inimitable style. The music is full blown prog revved to the max with wonderful soloing on descant recorder on 'Funny Ways', and soaring strings on 'Runaway/ Experience'. This set list is as good as I have heard from Gentle Giant. The brilliant 'Free Hand' and 'Peel The Paint' are played to perfection. 'Free Hand' is perhaps the best I have heard it with wonderful complex time sigs and Minnear's mind bending keyboards.
The original vinyl was a huge multiple vinyl release but it all fits very neatly on one CD and although there are annoying breaks in the tracks, it is great to hear this in one sitting without having to turn over one vinyl side after another. To quote the reviews in liner notes "this British band is just the cup of tea for aficionados who demand virtuosity, progress and originality in their mix," and "they are a musician's band who slowly hypnotise all." Certainly the stars were in alignment when the band played this concert. It is flawless.
The guitar on 'So Sincere' is jaw dropping for instance, and Shulman's vocals are spot on target. Many of these tracks are better than the original studio takes. I love how the band move from track to track seamlessly blending them in and pushing the boundaries with incredible harmonies and musicianship. John Weathers' extended tribal drum solo on 'So Sincere' is worth a listen too along with Minnear's vibes. The violin of Ray is also wonderful throughout, such as on 'Sweet Georgia Brown'. It really is an incredible performance from the whole band. It is hands down Gentle Giant's best album. 5 awesome stars.
DISC 4 GIANT FOR A DAY (1978)
I just got through this again for this review and it was a weary slog. This one is up there with "Love Beach" as the biggest sell out of a prog band in history. The music is accessible, the voices are clear and bright, the music is three chord precision but this is an appalling waste of talent. This album is so uninspired it is almost beyond reason. There are major risks taken with this one and GG are obviously trying to fit into the new wave music of 1978 when prog was snubbed but they are sapped of all their power and become insipid as an AOR band. They were never meant to play this type of sap so without the complexities, the concepts and sprawling instrumental breaks, there is nothing left in the cannister. This imposter band going by the name of Gentle Giant play some of the sappiest most boring repetitive drivel I have ever heard. I acquired this album as a double feature with "The Missing Piece" and that album certainly did have some great moments and really once that album is over I rip the CD out so that I don't have to be inundated with any of "Giant for a Day". It is also available with the fabulous box set "I Lost My Head". You gotta love the original packaging with that corny Giant mask! Did anyone cut up their album cover and wear that around the place? Madness! Attacking this album is like turning a cannon upon a budgie cage; you can't miss. Nothing on this is redeemable, and believe me I tried to find something. Let's look at some of these tracks, heaven help us!
'Words From The Wise' is over harmonised and sounds like Little River Band meets early Petra, except those bands have better songs than what is offered here. 'Thank You' is pop pap so boring it is unsettling. 'Giant For A Day' is perhaps the best track and is AOR but I liked some of the guitar riffs though I can't remember a single note. 'Spooky Boogie' should have been good as an instrumental but is really silly Halloween themed nonsense with a forgettable melody. John Weather's only solo composition 'Friends' is acoustic humdrum compost filler, and the last track 'Rock Climber' makes me want to throw rocks at the CD player to put this thing out of its misery.
The liner notes are the best thing about this; "ironically keyboard player Kerry Minnear's 'It's Only Goodbye' was written specifically as a single, but was never released as such." And the album "failed to elicit much enthusiasm when it was released", and stating the bleeding obvious, it "left long term fans dissatisfied." But best of all and most delusional I quote "the album's disappointing sales in no way reflect a lack of quality." I beg to differ because after hearing all the other excellent GG albums this is an absolute disaster and one to avoid unless you desire a rather expensive coffee coaster. The box set features 2 bonus extras 'Thank You (7" single edit A)', and 'Words From The Wise (7" single edit B)'. Are they an improvement on the original album tracks? Not at all. On reflection, and so sincere I can only say GG lost their head here. 1 mouldy star.
CIVILIAN (1980)
Hang on a minute. Gentle Giant had a 1980s album? Curiously this is not all that bad. Certainly it buries "Giant For A Day" and in some ways is more entertaining than "The Missing Piece". Shulman's vocals are terrific, the melodies are strong, the music is excellent and there are some wonderful moments to feast on. The problem is it's not prog. In any case the album was not half as bad as I had heard it would be. I received it really as a free with the excellent "Playing The Fool Live" album, and later with the box set "I Lost My Head". On these Gentle Giant releases there is usually great albums with mediocre albums, however "Civilian" is one of the better albums, especially for its release date when prog was declining.
Tracks such as 'Convenience', 'Underground', 'I am a Camera', and 'It's Not Imagination' are well worth checking out. Not so much prog master tracks but just solid AOR with attention to very accomplished musicianship. It is not the complex quirky Gentle Giant but a consistent melodic 80s commercial sound. 3 sparkling stars.
So at the end of this look back through the world of Gentle Giant we have the good the bad and the ugly as you would expect but this is a fantastic package, well designed, with tons of excellent songs and great liner notes. It is ideal for newcomers to the band and the ideal way to get hold of some of their more mediocre material without sacrificing too much on 4 jam packed discs. The live album is simply brilliant in itself and this box is definitely worth the effort. 4 genius stars.

Scott Tuffnell

Y ahora sí, después de tantos covers (ojo, podría poner muchos otros covers de agrupaciones de todo el mundo interpretando temas de esta gente), traigo a los propios Gentle Giant interpretando "Funny Ways"... como para que los conozcan y les vean las caras...