Search - Simon Dupree :: Part of My Past

Surprisingly good! Really!

Mark J. Dye | Saint Petersburg, Florida | 03/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've ever wondered what Gentle Giant was up to BEFORE Gentle Giant, this 2 disc CD reveals all. Derek's voice is here in all it's glory, the instruments are all here, violin, trumpet, saxophone, keys, guitars, drums, percussion, even vibes and marimba as well as Mellotron, and the orchestrations and arrangements are tasty and well thought out. No, you're not going to hear any songs that are much like Gentle Giant, but what is here is VERY good. They run the gamut from calypso and Motown to The Beatles and even Chicago! Just as you'd expect from Gentle Giant, they always seem to find a way to do things a little differently than their peers. The strangest thing about this music, is every time I listen to it, I like it better! Sound familiar? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for Gentle Giant fans."

A "big sound" for Gentle Giant founders Derek, Phil and Ray

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 02/20/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Everyone has to start someplace and in the case of Gentle Giant it was Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. The Shulman brothers had already knocked around in a variety of R&B bands in the 60's including The Howling Wolves and The Road Runners before their manager decided they needed an even more distinctive name (it just happened that the name Dupree was important in the city that the band had their roots in)and Simon Dupree and The Big Sound was born.



Although later key Gentle Giant members Gary Green, Kerry Minnear and John Weathers weren't a part of Simon Dupree, the key members Derek, Phil and Ray Shulman were. The band had one massive hit with "Kites" a truly awful song that the band improved with the most psychedelic arrangement they could imagine including a female actress saying random Chinese words during the song. The band's first and only album "Without Reservations" is included here as well as the more R&B material that the band tackled prior to "Kites" ascending the charts. We also get cuts that were intended for the band's second album (never released)which features a then unknown keyboard player (who also wrote one of the songs)by the name of Elton John (he was filling in for the band's regular keyboard player who was out ill and the band came very close to adding Reg Dwight as he was known then to the line up).



We also get the faux Beatles track "We Are The Moles" which the Shulman's recorded under the pseudonym The Moles. Rumor at the time had it that it was The Beatles with Ringo singing lead. Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett revealed that it was Simon Dupree and The Big Sound. The song plays as a clever parody of The Beatles "I Am the Walrus" (and was later parodied by XTC under THEIR assumed identity The Dukes of Stratosphear with the song "Mole from the Ministry" which managed to poke fun at both songs). This deluxe collection includes the stereo and mono versions of the band's only album, a nicely detailed booklet (although the print is a bit small and the background for the songs/credits makes it very difficult to read).



The remastering by Peter Mew is pretty good overall and his use of digital noise reduction isn't quite as heavy handed here as some other releases (most notably "Aqualung"). Essential for Gentle Giant fans although be prepared--it doesn't sound ANYTHING like GG."