Search - Gentle Giant :: King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Gentle Giant

The Band of the Bands - LIVE!!!!!

Marcello Beckert Zapelini | 09/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gentle Giant was a hell of a band. They could play more than 30 instruments. There were five vocalists. Their songs were complex, beautiful, sometimes rough, sometimes gentle (this is true!). This one ranks among their best works. Listen to "So sincere" (the best recording of this tune), to "Funny Ways" (this one would make a giant cry), and to "The Runaway", and you will agree with me!"

That's the recording regarding a famous radio concert witnes

Lethe | Milan, Italy | 01/04/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"That's the recording regarding a famous radio concert witnessing the "Power and the Glory" Tour..of course it was one of their best performances live, even though not all the fans agree about the quality of such gig and the performance itself of G.G., which someone doesn't regard as their best example on stage...their approach was easier here, in comparison to the old complex arrangements (according to their previous baroque music and classical structure of the songs). But even though They played in the vein of the traditional rockers here,the present live was not inferior for instance than "Live Playing the Fool" (dated 1976), despite of this latter being a little bit "scholastic" in the execution, also regarding the controversial recording which wasn't so clear...of course a few unforgettable tracks like "Knots" or "The advent of Panurge" (tracks#6 and 7) make us soon forget the defects within this radio performance, which was played with a lot of energy anyway. Unfortunately this time the exaggeration concerning the vocalism (which sometimes seems out of tune) is really able to disturb me just a bit.

Nevertheless- however- the instrumental parts were so powerful,even when They played simple energic rock...Nowadays the music witness has been picked up by Echolyn (despite of their new "avant-gard" pop arrangements of these latter, today less baroque) and I should say by the Hungarian After Crying too, especially when They forget an emulating approach in the vein of King Crimson and F. Zappa: well actually all these bands have been often able to maintain the polyphonic complex arrangement,as it's regarded typical for the "G.G trademark", but the British masters of this music genre in the early seventies were the first ones and you cannot underrate this fact...so the producers are always forgiven for the choice of editing a radio concert by means of the "King Biscuit Flower Hour" label,especially considering a lot of "sound" purists all around the Recording Studios often ready to criticize and...nevermind cause at the end you could also add another half star at least!"