Derek Shulman of Gentle Giant on the "Civilian" Reissue
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- I was honored to discuss the reissue of Gentle Giant's final studio album, "Civilian" with none other than vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Derek Shulman (now a successful record executive). We also talked about Derek's background, what else the band's fans can expect and more. Since I've previously had Derek's brother Ray on the show, the Shulmans are the first set of brothers to appear on Michael's Record Collection!
Please check out the Michael's Record Collection website at www.michaelsrecordcollection.com to find out about my free music newsletter and download the MRC podcast on all the major platforms to hear some sample clips from this wonderful release.
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I love Gentle Giant so much.
They were/are the greatest most legendary genius band ever.
Civilian rates in my top 10 albums of all time, it was the 1st GG album I bought, love every song.
I'm a huge GG fan.... I love the debut (actually my favorite album) to Interview. Missing piece, Giant for a day (except Words from the Wise, I loved it but as a pop song), and Civilan... no thanks. I didn't give them much of a chance to be quite honest. Though my assessment of M Piece and G for a day hasn't changed that much, last year I gave Civilan a good listen. As someone said below in the comments, I was blown away by it. Yes, it's much more straightforward, but it sounds great, AND it does have an element of weirdness (not to the level of A the Taste of course) that GG was famous for. There's some atonal chords here and there, I love it. Thanks for this interview!
To me, Civilian is a very excellent album. More radio friendly, if a GG work can be called this way...
The remastering is FANTASTIC. I now only wish for a 5.1 treatment. Still relevant lyrics, so prescient, and awesome compositions.
I hope the ownership of this album reverts to the band. The compositions are super solid and played excellently. We really need that 5.1 release. I love the earlier albums too, but this one is more accessible to a general audience and could get more listeners added to the fan base.
I was a massive GG fan from Octopus on to....Giant for a Day, and then caught back up. Hmm. Didn't like that one so much, and that was last album I bought back in the day. Civilian was a step too far for me then.
I got the Chrysalis box set 'I Lost My Head' many years later and found 'Civilian' again, and was blown away by it. The LA style production, open and heavy, the concise song writing and the majestic 'Inside Out' (as talked about by DS in this interview) made me change my mind completely. It's a brilliant album and I hope it eventually gets the Steven Wilson treatment.
Great interview. I subscribed.
Fascinating to hear Derek’s recollection of inside out, never knew that’s what the song was about , thanks
Same here, I thought it was about plastic / cosmetic surgery... Akin to the "convenience" song.
The composition I Am A Camera was a Buggles tune that Yes used, not vice versa, even though the official Buggles’ release was later. “The song "I Am a Camera" was a Buggles track and we had adapted it into a Yes track. It became "Into the Lens" and, naturally, slightly more overblown. I don't mind "Into the Lens"-the melody's unadulterated while the arrangement's a lot more complicated-but I still prefer The Buggles version. I think Geoffrey's brilliant on the Buggles version.[” - Trevor Horn
Gentle Giant’s was recorded in 1979 so they did come before the Buggles started writing it (in Spring 1980).
Did the Interview remix ever come out?
Yes it did.
Progs best kept secret top drawer