This song is the definition of undefinable. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. And it fucking rocks! Thank you so much for watching y'all! It means the world to me, it really does. If you want to help support the channel, please consider liking this video and subscribing to the channel. If you would like to make a request or just send a one time donation, here's how! @L33Reacts - PayPal $LeeMann3011 - Cash App WWW.PATREON.COM/L33REACTS Thank you so much. A donation of any amount will get your named added to the supporter video that plays at the end of every video.
The irony of a British band in America playing "Yankee Doodle" as a recorder trio (iirc, a soprano, an alto and a baritone recorder) interlude in a song based on story by a French writer is hilariously multicultural in the best way!
This is actually the final part of a longer thing they did called "Excerpts from Octopus," Octopus being the album, but from the same live performance in Long Beach, California. Should watch the whole thing. It will not disappoint.
I grew up in this era , my older Brother and friends lived in the Boston area and saw every great Prog and Rock band many times all trough the 1970s into the 80s !! Gentle Giant was one of the very Best Live acts ever, all are "Multi-instrumentalists" with major chops & skills !! Alway great fun with tons of energy for their many complex musical arrangements. One of Classic Progs very Best bands !! 👍🎶🎼🎸🎹🎤🥁🎻🎷🎼
They were so outrageous! The keyboardist also plays cello, the singer also plays bass and sax, the bassist also plays violin and guitar. They can shift gears so fast. My favorite albums were Free Hand and Interview.
Loved how overwhelmed you were when you realised that they'd segued into "Yankee Doodle" as a recorder quartet! And then that incredible bass line kicks back in...
Interesting tidbit: On the studio version of this song, instead of going into that recorder passage, there's a midtempo vamp by the band while the singer mumble-sings in an invented language. I'm not kidding.
Gentle Giant: 'Playing the Fool' - One of the best Live Records of all Time, here: 'Octopus' and 'In a Glass House. This Live Perfomances blow you Away. promise you! Gentle Giant was perhaps the best Prog Band of all Time! They played literally hundreds of Instruments. The Boys are been not of this World! They are Genius! 😀Kind Regards Heinz.
The Funkiest and most entertaining on stage of all Progbands for a band without the high tech stage effects like YES!!!! Saw them twice in small venues bc they were undeservedly wildly underappreciate even though they were one of Top Prog acts of all time. You've still only scratched the surface
Saw them live in 75 for the first time didn't know who they were was blown away went out the next day a got 3 friends the day after that it was octopus GG has been my favorite band since.
One needs to have a firm handle on Octopus to grasp the profundity of this live performance...This is note for note like the studio album...GG are Prog Royalty.
As much as I love both versions, it absolutely is not note for note the same, and they almost never played the songs the same live as in the studio version. There's an entire woodwind section in this song featuring Yankee Doodle that is no where in the studio.
@@AquaticDot :)...I should have said; "Sans the Yankee Doodle"...And, while it's true, it's not perfectly note for note; It has most of them in there.....As a fellow prog head; you should know how we do...:)
@godbluffvdgg Fair play. I wasn't sure what you meant because some prog bands like King Crimson were pretty meticulous about being able to play picture perfect to the studio version. In any case, I do agree that it's close, and honestly I like the parts that are unique in each performance. It makes the piece feel more alive and it's clear that the band is having a ton of fun with their performances. On an unrelated note, love the VDGG love in your username. Godbluff is probably my favorite from them. What's your favorite from the album?
@@AquaticDot :)...Nice to see a fellow VDGG lover... On Godbluff, I love Scorched Earth , it's sort of a personal motto...What's your favorite? As much as I love the album; Still Life- is my favorite of theirs...Childlike Faith in Childhoods End made me love them all so many years ago...I also love Hammill's growling on La Rossa... And Still Life, itself gave me an entirely new perspective on living forever...:) Tied with Still life; Pawn Hearts is so profound too...Plague OLHK and Lemmings are peak Hammill... What's your favorite GG album? Three Friends for me...
So, new subscriber here. There's a band called Stick Men that was started by Tony Levin back in 2010. He has played bass and the Chapman Stick for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, among many other bands. Stick Men also features Pat Mastelotto on drums who also was in King Crimson since 1994. Rounding out the trio is Markus Reuter on the Touch Guitar, something he invented himself. They have their own UA-cam channel which has several live performances. I would suggest starting with any of the following: Danger in the Workplace / Swimming in T Breathless Schattenhaft Mantra
Thanks for playing a clip of my favorite band. They were without a doubt the best live band I have ever saw... and heard! Drummer John Weathers was as good as any of the top tier drummers of the day. A+ One other thing: the term PROG was NOT used in those days to describe bands of this ilk. We used adventuresome, ambitious, avant-garde, but NOT prog. The term Prog was applied in retrospect, around the late 80's or early 90's. Gentle Giant created music they wanted to record and perform and were not influenced by any other band. GG was absolutely original. They were themselves.
Having been fortunate enough to see the best of the best bands live in the early 70s as a teen....NO ONE touched Gentle Giant live! Not Yes, not ELP, King Crimson, not Hendrix, Zappa etc, not the tops at the time. I was lucky seeing them 3 times.. They and others were amazing, all different. But....Others couldnt do studio work live like GG, with such perfection Every time and the variety of insane musicianship was incredible. It was evident on stage how much they loved what they were doing and your reaction was like most , open mouth, .a big smile on your face, even some open laughter at the rollercoaster ride they took you on. I finally fixed on one word that describes the way Gentle Giant made me feel..JOY! I left their concerts with my cheeks literally tired from smiling. Love them still, and Rip Ray Shulman ❤
Hey my man.i rocked this shit in 1975. Chi town. Giant was some awe some Prog. Mainstream. For us young concert going mind expanders! Good times A HORSE OF MANY COLORS. CAN YOU DIG UT!!!
Gentle Giant were actually my favorite prog-rock band. I've seen many great bands live, with world class musicians. GGiant played together as a unit as good as anyone - even Zappa's bands. The definition of greater than the sum of its parts - and they certainly could play individually. In the 80s I felt similarly about Oingo Boingo.
I never appreciated Gentle Giant at the time of this concert, of course, I don't believe they ever played in Arizona. But I sure appreciated them now! An amazing amount of talent on that stage.
The sound was not very good, but so fun to see them play. Seems to be very few live videos (ever made)! Gentle Giant, a lot of Zappa's music (actually father and son), some staff around John McLaughlin, Robert Fripp, Mats & Morgan - most of the music that is really hard to play, and entertaining! Yes, continue with Gentle Giant. Octopus album. "Three Friends" is a concept and should be done in one step (35 min). "Free hands" may be their best. Never ending. We are only waiting.
As Zappa concludes in Joe´s Garage : of all things worth gaining - "Music is the best!" Funny detail - GG never defined themselves as "prog" or something. They did what they wanted to do and wondered, which direction it will take them to. The "Giant" advertisement in the background was an ironic statement to the fact that they not felt that way, but their bandname derived from this particular stories of Panurge, Pantagruel and so on, including various strange giants - originally published by french renaissance-writer and humanist Francois Rabelais. But you´re absolutely right - if you´re looking for some funk in so-called prog rock, you´re in the right place. It´s one reason why I prefer GG towards other undoubtedly very good prog-bands of the time. Look for "Free Hand live" - I´d call it "funk-prog".
"Where did that come from?" That son is the result of a classical music education. Kerry Minnear specialized in Renaissance era music, which is why Gentle Giant's music has so much polyphony and counterpoint. Also, after GG broke up in the early 80's the lead singer here (Derek Shulman) went on to a career in the music biz, where he discover Bon Jovi and Pantera. So there is hope for a life after being in a rock band! I'll also add props for drummer John Weathers. The band had good drummer prior to John, but they played in a more stereotypically early 70's jazzy style. As you can imagine, that softer and more subtle approach was sort of drowned out by the rest of the band. I know it's easy to be blinded by all the instrumental wizardry going on in a band like this, but one reason this lineup of GG lasted as long as it did and did so well (relatively, anyways) was because JW's drumming was rock solid, earthy, and grounded. He gave the music a much needed steady kick up the backside which balanced out the intricacies coming from the front line. So hopefully this was a good lesson that as a drummer your job is to give the music what it needs, not to just go off and do your thing.
@@michaelmisanthrope he was the singer and guitarist for an early psychedelic band the 13th Floor Elevators, here's probably their most known song ua-cam.com/video/StU6KlCYtcI/v-deo.htmlsi=giofNRtBA93rem4M Roky's strange and sad tale was documented in this film named after the song: ua-cam.com/video/kREyFhFdZaw/v-deo.htmlsi=pkLtMCsfFqT9Qsb8
Thank you for turning me on to the song and documentary. I was aware of them but not all that familiar with their work. Coincidentally, a friend gave me a sort of boxed set of their music. That was several years ago. I may just peal off the plastic and do a deep dive, so thanks again. P.S.: The boxed set was packaged in such a way that it looked as though it had been stolen. Cheers !
Serious musicians that didn’t take themselves too seriously. They said the weren’t Muso’s and they had a big Neon sign with the word “Pretentious” spelt out. I remember the Live gig for a BBC TV & Radio Sight & Sounds simulcast, at the Golders Green Hippodrome. Brilliant. It’s nearly a year since Ray Shulman died, one of the most underrated bassist and a multi instrumentalist of all time. He could Rock it and Funk it almost simultaneously. They could probably play the kitchen sink if required. You can find a number of thesis’s and academic articles written by students and others about GG on the net. There is probably no other PR group that can say the have a complete Fugue in their repertoire.
Sorry you've had a rough time. Things can only get better when they can't get much worse. I never got into Gentle Giant back in the day. This piece seems to be totally random, a bit too random at times for me, but at the same time, as you say, kinda interesting. I've never taken LSD but I bet they have.
Wish you could seen Gentle Giant with me 1977 at Armadillo World Headquarters. Great place to see show you could sit at table order food drink. They played a four hour set for four bucks. Groups agreed to cheap tickets money made on food drink. Best burgers ever.
Nice react,guy--GG were the kings of prog back in the 70's. Dive in--you'll be amazed at their dexterity. Also-- are you into Mike Portnoy's work with Neal Morse? If not-- you simply must investigate..he's done over 20 albums with Neal over the past 20 plus years. Also Neal's work with Spock's Beard- Nick D'Virgilio on drums,is totally worth your time. Cheers, T
A brilliantly constructed song, with such cool stretches of build-up and release and then it takes off in a completely new, unexpected direction. The bit between four minutes sharp and five minutes here is a textbook example of it - I recognize your reaction, it felt the same way to me when I first heard the track back in the early 1980s, and it still amazes me forty years later. They were a fabulous live band and very much a musician's musicians act - they made eleven studio albums in as many years, were noticed and talked about in the music press and by prog rock fans at the time, but never managed to break through to the big crowds the way Genesis, Jethro Tull or Supertramp did. My brother introduced me to their music not long after they had folded in 1980, he had got hold of their live album from the 1976 European tour, "Playing the Fool" (an album I made my own by swapping with him for two other records around ten years ago, though he has since rediscovered them...) :) They played in our hometown on that tour, I've read reports by people who saw them that night and they were as impressed as you could ever imagine! 😀 Listening to that album it's clear that this is one unique band, they could move from gentle tunes and acoustic part-song to rumbling gritty electric in the space of the same song (check out "Funny Ways" from that live album, where it comes right after this one).
Yeah it definitely feels like musicians and very adept music lovers would totally dig this. Casual music goers might not get it. But they would have a good time anyway :) I really enjoy the "rule breaking" lol
@@L33Reacts There's an entire show of them filmed in 1978 here on UA-cam, it's called "Sight and Sound" - offers more footage of their amazing ease and musicianship. They make things that are really hard to do look almost simple... :)
Recommend the "Proclamation" Official Fan Video (over on GG's channel, which has the GG band members in and made during COVID lockdown) of Proclamation; did you do that L33?? That's NOT the album version, which is OK vs. _Great!_ And recommend His Last Voyage; a more serious side yet beautiful. Background to Proclamation: it's from "The Power and the Glory" - do take a look at the cover art. A King; not a nice one either (that sword is ready). IMHO the song is sung to his subjects, trying to get their buy-in to his tyranny... and odd it is!
The live stuff you find here on youtube for Gentle giant is outstanding. Much better than the studio versions, if you ask me. Dude, it's time to react Fracture, the studio version from Starless and bible black
I suggest for the next songs by them should be Free Hand, the live version from 1978, followed by On Reflection from the same concert. Free Hand is FUNKY and On Reflection has the whole band singing a capella for part of the song.
Saw Gentle Giant around the same time in Oxford, Ohio. The lineup that night: Gentle Giant followed by the Eagles then the headliner, Jethro Tull. Unfortunately Gentle Giant was heckled by some in the audience. They were maybe a little too progressive even for Jethro Tull fans.
It's not prog. it's not jazz. It's not rock. It's story music. It spans centuries, not decades. No one can replace this, imitate, but not replace. Virtuosos are supposed to be rare, hard to find.
Bringing something like this live (in this perfection) is really impressive. "Learn the rules so you can break them..." You said that really well. So it's almost embarrassing that my favorite song by Gentel Giant (which I'd like to suggest to you here) is much more conventional (which doesn't mean that much for Gentle Giant). "In a Glass House" from the album of the same name. Unfortunately I didn't find any live video about it, "only canned food": ua-cam.com/video/6MRP-FBOixc/v-deo.html
I keep getting requests for that one so I will definitely be doing it soon! I'm excited to listen to more by them because wow this is just so much fun lol
This song is the definition of undefinable. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. And it fucking rocks!
Thank you so much for watching y'all! It means the world to me, it really does. If you want to help support the channel, please consider liking this video and subscribing to the channel.
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Thank you so much. A donation of any amount will get your named added to the supporter video that plays at the end of every video.
The irony of a British band in America playing "Yankee Doodle" as a recorder trio (iirc, a soprano, an alto and a baritone recorder) interlude in a song based on story by a French writer is hilariously multicultural in the best way!
Listen to the studio version - it makes what they did live seem even crazier.
This is actually the final part of a longer thing they did called "Excerpts from Octopus," Octopus being the album, but from the same live performance in Long Beach, California. Should watch the whole thing. It will not disappoint.
Yeah, if you want to blow your mind, listen to "Excerpts" from the "Official Live" Awesome
I grew up in this era , my older Brother and friends lived in the Boston area and saw every great Prog and Rock band many times all trough the 1970s into the 80s !! Gentle Giant was one of the very Best Live acts ever, all are "Multi-instrumentalists" with major chops & skills !! Alway great fun with tons of energy for their many complex musical arrangements. One of Classic Progs very Best bands !! 👍🎶🎼🎸🎹🎤🥁🎻🎷🎼
They were so outrageous! The keyboardist also plays cello, the singer also plays bass and sax, the bassist also plays violin and guitar. They can shift gears so fast. My favorite albums were Free Hand and Interview.
And that was after brother Phil left and took his vocal, percussion, trumpet, and sax talents with him.
Loved how overwhelmed you were when you realised that they'd segued into "Yankee Doodle" as a recorder quartet! And then that incredible bass line kicks back in...
Hahaha yeah that was the last thing I was expecting to happen. Completely took me by surprise and I love it lol
To me Gentle Giant is the definition of prog. I've heard them called "your favorite band's favorite band."
Three wooden flutes and that growling funky bass riffs behind it - can't top that, man.
I saw them in the late 70's at the tower theatre in philly. They were great. For the encore the switched instruments with each other and were perfect.
The greatest music ever recorded happened in a span of 10 years 1965 to 1975. That can never be surpassed.
The most underrated band in prog
Interesting tidbit: On the studio version of this song, instead of going into that recorder passage, there's a midtempo vamp by the band while the singer mumble-sings in an invented language. I'm not kidding.
Very good! I'm glad you got to react to them live. One of the many bands I was born too late to see!
Gentle Giant: 'Playing the Fool' - One of the best Live Records of all Time, here: 'Octopus' and 'In a Glass House. This Live Perfomances blow you Away. promise you! Gentle Giant was perhaps the best Prog Band of all Time! They played literally hundreds of Instruments. The Boys are been not of this World! They are Genius! 😀Kind Regards Heinz.
If I had to pick one my 200 mostly prog album Playing the Fool would be right up there
@@jefflevinson669 exakt. ☺🥀🌱🌷
@@jefflevinson669 absolutely
effing yeah! : )
these guys were probably able to play 2 or 3 instruments before they got out of diapers. lol
The Funkiest and most entertaining on stage of all Progbands for a band without the high tech stage effects like YES!!!! Saw them twice in small venues bc they were undeservedly wildly underappreciate even though they were one of Top Prog acts of all time. You've still only scratched the surface
You've only scratched the surface. :)
Saw them live in 75 for the first time didn't know who they were was blown away went out the next day a got 3 friends the day after that it was octopus GG has been my favorite band since.
One needs to have a firm handle on Octopus to grasp the profundity of this live performance...This is note for note like the studio album...GG are Prog Royalty.
As much as I love both versions, it absolutely is not note for note the same, and they almost never played the songs the same live as in the studio version. There's an entire woodwind section in this song featuring Yankee Doodle that is no where in the studio.
@@AquaticDot :)...I should have said; "Sans the Yankee Doodle"...And, while it's true, it's not perfectly note for note; It has most of them in there.....As a fellow prog head; you should know how we do...:)
Hahah the Yankee doodle was great. This was nuts
I love.it.
@godbluffvdgg Fair play. I wasn't sure what you meant because some prog bands like King Crimson were pretty meticulous about being able to play picture perfect to the studio version. In any case, I do agree that it's close, and honestly I like the parts that are unique in each performance. It makes the piece feel more alive and it's clear that the band is having a ton of fun with their performances. On an unrelated note, love the VDGG love in your username. Godbluff is probably my favorite from them. What's your favorite from the album?
@@AquaticDot :)...Nice to see a fellow VDGG lover... On Godbluff, I love Scorched Earth , it's sort of a personal motto...What's your favorite?
As much as I love the album; Still Life- is my favorite of theirs...Childlike Faith in Childhoods End made me love them all so many years ago...I also love Hammill's growling on La Rossa... And Still Life, itself gave me an entirely new perspective on living forever...:)
Tied with Still life; Pawn Hearts is so profound too...Plague OLHK and Lemmings are peak Hammill...
What's your favorite GG album? Three Friends for me...
I saw it when it happened. I like how you say "bust a lute"..LOL...it's all good my young man :-) Love your enthusiasm.
Hahaha glad you enjoyed my friend! I know I did.
Yes this performance is truly amazing. Love your reflection at the end 😃👌 yes, that summarizes GG pretty good "pushing boundaries"
So, new subscriber here. There's a band called Stick Men that was started by Tony Levin back in 2010. He has played bass and the Chapman Stick for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, among many other bands. Stick Men also features Pat Mastelotto on drums who also was in King Crimson since 1994. Rounding out the trio is Markus Reuter on the Touch Guitar, something he invented himself. They have their own UA-cam channel which has several live performances. I would suggest starting with any of the following:
Danger in the Workplace / Swimming in T
Breathless
Schattenhaft
Mantra
Thanks for playing a clip of my favorite band. They were without a doubt the best live band I have ever saw... and heard! Drummer John Weathers was as good as any of the top tier drummers of the day. A+ One other thing: the term PROG was NOT used in those days to describe bands of this ilk. We used adventuresome, ambitious, avant-garde, but NOT prog. The term Prog was applied in retrospect, around the late 80's or early 90's. Gentle Giant created music they wanted to record and perform and were not influenced by any other band. GG was absolutely original. They were themselves.
Nothing touches the soul like good music or a nice gesture. 👍🏼😎
Having been fortunate enough to see the best of the best bands live in the early 70s as a teen....NO ONE touched Gentle Giant live! Not Yes, not ELP, King Crimson, not Hendrix, Zappa etc, not the tops at the time. I was lucky seeing them 3 times.. They and others were amazing, all different. But....Others couldnt do studio work live like GG, with such perfection Every time and the variety of insane musicianship was incredible. It was evident on stage how much they loved what they were doing and your reaction was like most , open mouth, .a big smile on your face, even some open laughter at the rollercoaster ride they took you on. I finally fixed on one word that describes the way Gentle Giant made me feel..JOY! I left their concerts with my cheeks literally tired from smiling. Love them still, and Rip Ray Shulman ❤
Multi instrumentalists… they were great live. Quite memorable.
Hey my man.i rocked this shit in 1975. Chi town. Giant was some awe some
Prog. Mainstream. For us young concert going mind expanders! Good times
A HORSE OF MANY COLORS. CAN YOU DIG UT!!!
The proggiest of the prog bands. Absolute masters.
I was at this concert.
If you havent yet, have a look at their live version of 'On Reflection.' I promise you'll be astonished.
I totally second that!
Gentle Giant were actually my favorite prog-rock band. I've seen many great bands live, with world class musicians. GGiant played together as a unit as good as anyone - even Zappa's bands. The definition of greater than the sum of its parts - and they certainly could play individually. In the 80s I felt similarly about Oingo Boingo.
There's Yes, Gentle Giant and then there's all the rest.
king crimson
I've been a fan from the beginning of GG. My alltime favorite.
Of course another is Jethro Tull.
Thanks for posting.
The mighty Giant. Top of the prog heap, in my opinion. Octopus through Interview are incredible. Essential listening.
Really like your show.
I never appreciated Gentle Giant at the time of this concert, of course, I don't believe they ever played in Arizona. But I sure appreciated them now! An amazing amount of talent on that stage.
Thank you! I hope, you enjoy more songs of Gentle Giant!
Saw them three times. I was the only kid in high school walking around with a Gentle Giant t-shirt and I still love them more than ever.
The sound was not very good, but so fun to see them play. Seems to be very few live videos (ever made)!
Gentle Giant, a lot of Zappa's music (actually father and son), some staff around John McLaughlin, Robert Fripp, Mats & Morgan - most of the music that is really hard to play, and entertaining!
Yes, continue with Gentle Giant. Octopus album. "Three Friends" is a concept and should be done in one step (35 min). "Free hands" may be their best.
Never ending. We are only waiting.
Gentle Giant were insanely good!
GG are one of the greatest. A deep rabbit hole for you to fall down.
I'm definitely going to dig deeper! This shit is bananas and I love it haha
@@L33Reacts May I humbly suggest the live version of Free Hand in 1978 ua-cam.com/video/vMrYSTzqFI8/v-deo.html
Insanely good.....I saw this tour back then
Welcome to the weird, but wonderful world of Gentle Giant! Octopus, In a Glass House and others wait for you, so try The Boys in the Band next. 🎉
I will add them to the list, thank you Simon! These guys are awesome!
Tightest band ever
I saw them in Philly that same year.
No one ever had more fun playing music than these guys in 1977 and 1978.
Dude it looks like they are having a blast up there lol I wanted to jump through the screen and on the stage and join them 😂
@@L33Reacts Their only official live album, Playing the Fool, is four sides of this incredible virtuosity and creativity. A must for all prog fans.
Sei ispirato
Questa è una delle migliori band di tutti i tempi
Dal vivo erano una esperienza mistica
Complimenti
The Italian fan
Imagine a progressive rock band with fantastic multi-instrumentalist musicians.
As Zappa concludes in Joe´s Garage : of all things worth gaining - "Music is the best!"
Funny detail - GG never defined themselves as "prog" or something. They did what they wanted to do and wondered, which direction it will take them to.
The "Giant" advertisement in the background was an ironic statement to the fact that they not felt that way, but their bandname derived from this particular stories of Panurge, Pantagruel and so on, including various strange giants - originally published by french renaissance-writer and humanist Francois Rabelais.
But you´re absolutely right - if you´re looking for some funk in so-called prog rock, you´re in the right place. It´s one reason why I prefer GG towards other undoubtedly very good prog-bands of the time. Look for "Free Hand live" - I´d call it "funk-prog".
"Where did that come from?" That son is the result of a classical music education. Kerry Minnear specialized in Renaissance era music, which is why Gentle Giant's music has so much polyphony and counterpoint. Also, after GG broke up in the early 80's the lead singer here (Derek Shulman) went on to a career in the music biz, where he discover Bon Jovi and Pantera. So there is hope for a life after being in a rock band!
I'll also add props for drummer John Weathers. The band had good drummer prior to John, but they played in a more stereotypically early 70's jazzy style. As you can imagine, that softer and more subtle approach was sort of drowned out by the rest of the band. I know it's easy to be blinded by all the instrumental wizardry going on in a band like this, but one reason this lineup of GG lasted as long as it did and did so well (relatively, anyways) was because JW's drumming was rock solid, earthy, and grounded. He gave the music a much needed steady kick up the backside which balanced out the intricacies coming from the front line. So hopefully this was a good lesson that as a drummer your job is to give the music what it needs, not to just go off and do your thing.
third drummer was the charm.
They were really unique!
This is awesome
Keep in mind that in England during the 50's and 60's, the recorder was used in school rooms to teach music. Sure beats 5 guys on a zither.
I swear that I saw Hocus Pocus and Gentle Giant in my town in the same venue on the same night about 50 years ago.
I would have left feeling a bit like Roky Erikson if I caught a show on that tour.
@@alvarhanso6310Who is Roky Erikson?
@@michaelmisanthrope he was the singer and guitarist for an early psychedelic band the 13th Floor Elevators, here's probably their most known song ua-cam.com/video/StU6KlCYtcI/v-deo.htmlsi=giofNRtBA93rem4M
Roky's strange and sad tale was documented in this film named after the song: ua-cam.com/video/kREyFhFdZaw/v-deo.htmlsi=pkLtMCsfFqT9Qsb8
Thank you for turning me on to the song and documentary. I was aware of them but not all that familiar with their work. Coincidentally, a friend gave me a sort of boxed set of their music. That was several years ago. I may just peal off the plastic and do a deep dive, so thanks again. P.S.: The boxed set was packaged in such a way that it looked as though it had been stolen. Cheers !
Listen to So Sincere, On Reflection, and In A Glass House
Serious musicians that didn’t take themselves too seriously. They said the weren’t Muso’s and they had a big Neon sign with the word “Pretentious” spelt out. I remember the Live gig for a BBC TV & Radio Sight & Sounds simulcast, at the Golders Green Hippodrome. Brilliant. It’s nearly a year since Ray Shulman died, one of the most underrated bassist and a multi instrumentalist of all time. He could Rock it and Funk it almost simultaneously. They could probably play the kitchen sink if required. You can find a number of thesis’s and academic articles written by students and others about GG on the net. There is probably no other PR group that can say the have a complete Fugue in their repertoire.
Unplayable nut music...played by these seriously cheerful guys. Gentle Giant...often bordering on the incomprehensible, but always juicy ^^ ! Thanks
Sorry you've had a rough time. Things can only get better when they can't get much worse. I never got into Gentle Giant back in the day. This piece seems to be totally random, a bit too random at times for me, but at the same time, as you say, kinda interesting. I've never taken LSD but I bet they have.
Wish you could seen Gentle Giant with me 1977 at Armadillo World Headquarters.
Great place to see show you could sit at table order food drink.
They played a four hour set for four bucks.
Groups agreed to cheap tickets money made on food drink.
Best burgers ever.
These guys were an acquired taste. They were way ahead of their time. Hardcore Prog 70s style
Nice react,guy--GG were the kings of prog back in the 70's. Dive in--you'll be amazed at their dexterity. Also-- are you into Mike Portnoy's work with Neal Morse? If not-- you simply must investigate..he's done over 20 albums with Neal over the past 20 plus years. Also Neal's work with Spock's Beard- Nick D'Virgilio on drums,is totally worth your time. Cheers, T
I still have to check spocks beard out thank you for reminding me. I have not heard that stuff yet but I will definitely take a look, thank you!
At the very least, one of the greatest live bands ever.
A brilliantly constructed song, with such cool stretches of build-up and release and then it takes off in a completely new, unexpected direction. The bit between four minutes sharp and five minutes here is a textbook example of it - I recognize your reaction, it felt the same way to me when I first heard the track back in the early 1980s, and it still amazes me forty years later. They were a fabulous live band and very much a musician's musicians act - they made eleven studio albums in as many years, were noticed and talked about in the music press and by prog rock fans at the time, but never managed to break through to the big crowds the way Genesis, Jethro Tull or Supertramp did.
My brother introduced me to their music not long after they had folded in 1980, he had got hold of their live album from the 1976 European tour, "Playing the Fool" (an album I made my own by swapping with him for two other records around ten years ago, though he has since rediscovered them...) :) They played in our hometown on that tour, I've read reports by people who saw them that night and they were as impressed as you could ever imagine! 😀 Listening to that album it's clear that this is one unique band, they could move from gentle tunes and acoustic part-song to rumbling gritty electric in the space of the same song (check out "Funny Ways" from that live album, where it comes right after this one).
Yeah it definitely feels like musicians and very adept music lovers would totally dig this. Casual music goers might not get it. But they would have a good time anyway :) I really enjoy the "rule breaking" lol
@@L33Reacts There's an entire show of them filmed in 1978 here on UA-cam, it's called "Sight and Sound" - offers more footage of their amazing ease and musicianship. They make things that are really hard to do look almost simple... :)
Recommend the "Proclamation" Official Fan Video (over on GG's channel, which has the GG band members in and made during COVID lockdown) of Proclamation; did you do that L33?? That's NOT the album version, which is OK vs. _Great!_ And recommend His Last Voyage; a more serious side yet beautiful.
Background to Proclamation: it's from "The Power and the Glory" - do take a look at the cover art. A King; not a nice one either (that sword is ready). IMHO the song is sung to his subjects, trying to get their buy-in to his tyranny... and odd it is!
Hahaha wtf that sounds wild. I'm down! I'll do that one next :)
The album version is superior
In a Glass House is transendent genius.
Check out Henry Cow, Caravan, Isildur Bane, Anglagard, Kenso and Miriodor. They are the true sample of the weird of prog.
The live stuff you find here on youtube for Gentle giant is outstanding. Much better than the studio versions, if you ask me.
Dude, it's time to react Fracture, the studio version from Starless and bible black
I suggest for the next songs by them should be Free Hand, the live version from 1978, followed by On Reflection from the same concert. Free Hand is FUNKY and On Reflection has the whole band singing a capella for part of the song.
recommend The Face or The Boyz in the Band from them next!!
I obviously see Ian Anderson influence in there, with the keyboardist. I also hear Kansas. Mostly chaos. ❤️☮️
Saw Gentle Giant around the same time in Oxford, Ohio. The lineup that night: Gentle Giant followed by the Eagles then the headliner, Jethro Tull. Unfortunately Gentle Giant was heckled by some in the audience. They were maybe a little too progressive even for Jethro Tull fans.
What the hell 😳 that's a helluva line up right there! I would have loved to have seen that show lol
With all the advances in musical technology it's a wonder why there are very few bands that are trying to push boundaries these days! Which sucks!
Exactly! It's made people lazy and dependant on machines to make art. Just because it makes something EASIER doesn't make it BETTER
Jaga Jazzist.
Gentle Giant are the greatest unknown band of all time. Ridiculous chops, ridiculous polyrhythms, ridiculous mixes of styles. They out-Zappa Zappa.
3 brothers at once
It's not prog.
it's not jazz.
It's not rock.
It's story music. It spans centuries, not decades. No one can replace this, imitate, but not replace. Virtuosos are supposed to be rare, hard to find.
Glad you got a laugh😂 . GG are frickn talented try proclimation. Power and the glory is a great album.
SPREAD THE WORD BROTHER. BLOW YOUR MIND WIITH " GIANT FOR A DAY
WEAR THE MASK .
And sometimes in a show they might swap parts as well as instruments
Hahaha that is so awesome. What a bunch of winners. I love it 😀
Bringing something like this live (in this perfection) is really impressive. "Learn the rules so you can break them..." You said that really well. So it's almost embarrassing that my favorite song by Gentel Giant (which I'd like to suggest to you here) is much more conventional (which doesn't mean that much for Gentle Giant). "In a Glass House" from the album of the same name. Unfortunately I didn't find any live video about it, "only canned food":
ua-cam.com/video/6MRP-FBOixc/v-deo.html
I keep getting requests for that one so I will definitely be doing it soon! I'm excited to listen to more by them because wow this is just so much fun lol
The recording do not give justice to this song, listen to other live ones or the studio version.
Pretty cool eh. Sadly the suits didn't put any weight behind these brilliant musicians. Saw GG 4 times.
Looks like this pulled you out of your doldrums... Awesome... Try On Reflection....it's even crazier lol
It really did. I was grinning ear to ear after this video was over lol.
wtf, this is 70s Phish
Elton John was part of this group in its previous form.
He was let go.
reaction assumes you are not familiar with it.
are you not entertained
'Bout fcking time a youngin fcking understood what we hippie kids were dealing with in the magical 70s.
Really like your show.