Can Steven Wilson save The Missing Piece?

Our does it need to be saved at all? A review of Wilson's new stereo mix of Gentle Giant's first post-classic album, in which the reviewer discovers it's actually pretty underrated.
Hear a playlist of my favorite of my own music at • The Time of Cruel Mira...

[@michaelsacksteder7952]

I fall into the “listened once or twice and wrote it off” camp previously. Now, I’m excited to have a “new” GG album to appreciate. I do think the boosted low end improves the album overall, and although the band was trying (somewhat) to change with the times, I’m finding even the attempts at pop pretty appealing. Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. It gained a subscriber.

[@meurglysthefourth]

if you ask me, the missing piece didn't need saving in the first place. but wilson's remaster made it that much better.

[@Don.G.Prince]

I totally agree, "The Missing Piece" never needed saving at all. It is an amazing album with a truly High Energy Performance and great song writing skills from "The Boys in the Band".

[@oolongoolong789]

The question that springs to my mind when considering The Missing Piece is how on earth did Gentle Giant manage to compose "Memories Of Old Days", a truly marvellous piece of poignant songwriting, yet were unable to produce anything else of quality on that album. Perhaps their hearts were in that piece unlike the rest of the very mediocre tracks. Needless to say, I won't be wasting money on this Wilson mix. Anyway, thanks for the review.

[@michaelfurbank3504]

Great review thanks. I went back to my notes from the last time I played it and also noted that side 2 has some wonderful proggy GG moments I'd also undervalued in the past. Great minds eh?! I've got the new version on order. Thanks again, keep up the good work, excellent channel as I've said before.

[@peterfitton4529]

I think Two Weeks In Spain was intended to be satirical, rather than silly. Derek's "mockney" vocals and the lampooning of a typically 70s British attitude to foreign travel rather give the intention away.

[@aspirationsthegentlegiantp5362]

Nice! Well done! Respectful and well analyzed. I love this and every GG album. Not every GG fan feels the same. Cheers!

[@russejones]

As Giant albums go the Missing Piece is one my least favorite, but interesting enough it has a song in my all-time favorite 5, and that is As Old as You Are Young. I really like the album a lot better after the remix. I always thought the mix was very flat and the bass was barely there. Wilson did a great job, it sounds so much more clear and crisp. The original mixed sounded awful to me.. Anyway just my thoughts for what they are worth.

[@Larjschoen1]

I think the stereo remixes are secondary to the surround mixes. I mean in all honesty, there would be way less interest in all the SW remixes if it was just Stereo, it’s about the surround. You have provided a good sense of what the pros and cons are of the stereo mix, so kudus for that, but again, it’s all about the surround, and I just received mine, so tonight’s the night for the listening! 😅

[@ibornalone]

he definitely saved it, IMHO, it's a "new" album.

[@peterfitton4529]

The studio monitors were very bass heavy. The band didn't realise that and so kept turning down Ray's bass in the mix. That's why the original mix sounded so ludicrously bass liight.
Glad that Wlson has removed most of the strangely thrashy sounding acoustic guitars that buried Derek's voice during the verse parts of Memories of Old Days. The guitars were fine in that song up until that point but really should have stopped when Derek sang, as they pretty much did on the BBC concert live version.