Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant
Track List:
Giant
Funny Ways
Alucard
Isn't It Quiet and Cold?
Nothing at All
Why Not?
The Queen
Growing anticipation
This is one that has been an album I have wanted to listen to for a while, it was recommended to me on a prog rock forum so I am expecting prog of some variety. I don’t recall listening to any of the songs on the album before.
Giant
This song is an introduction to the band it would appear. They seem to be describing the band's assembly into a giant. I find the horn fanfare seems to be used to cover the transitions for the percussion, I wonder if this was intentional for the song or a crutch to help allow a more seamless transition. The band declared “We are the giant and we are here. Seems like a ballsy intro piece to their debut album.
Funny Ways
The soundscape is way more like Emmerson, Lake, and Palmer than I had anticipated. More of a traditional symphonic band sound for the first half. We get the jazzy organ at the bridge. I think the lyrics are a commentary on self sufficiency and reliance upon society. The narrator is declaring independence and his ability to learn and survive in his own way. By the end of the song he realizes that his stubborn refusal to adapt to society has caused him to lose touch.
Alucard
Alucard is Dracula backwards. Song about vampires? Vamps and Giants? Vampiric giants? That intro is really neat. The lyrics almost sound like they were recorded and played in reverse, they just sound different. I really like the instrumental parts of this song. Well with the second verse I think vampiric giants might be the correct call here. I really enjoyed that song and it deserves to be listened to by more people.
Isn't It Quiet and Cold?
This has an interesting driving beat, the song is in ¾ or 6/8 it would appear and has a bit of a waltz feel. I think the lyrics talk about being a widow or widower.
Nothing at All
The song has a drifting wondering sound, and seems to almost mimic the mental image of the gently flowing river the protagonist is observing. The story is of a woman who misses an ex who she broke it off with. She feels hopeless but would not admit it to him if he were to be here. There is a 3.5 minute drum solo. The piano plays what may be a classical piece or something that is made to sound like a classical piece. The drum solo is representative of so many emotions. I couldn’t begin to try to narrow it down. I really like this one, it’s different.
Why Not?
I really like the bridge and the changes it brings to the song, very different from the rest. I think the song is saying to be true to yourself, if you lie to yourself and end up believing it then you are doing yourself a disfavor because you know it’s a lie but you believe it. I dunno it’s been a long day and my brain is getting tired. I like the outro, it goes much heavier.
The Queen
A take on God Save the Queen. I wasn’t expecting that.
Afterwards
Well that was not quite what I expected. It was quite good, but still not what I expected. I will likely explore more of the band’s music. I appreciated the mix between contemporary symphonic sounds and contemporary rock sounds.
