No one does off-kilter like Giant! And it sounds so seamless and inviting here, with that woozy wobbling "what's next?" full of surprises flow they're the masters of. And just the collision of styles here, against the warped reggae/ska beat and strumming, with those witty keyboard and synth fills, and the sweeping proggy insert, with even a little Hawaiian vibe thrown in one passage. What a hoot! Never fails to bring a smile to my face. Deceptively simple seeming, but so deeply well thought out and accomplished. Pure genius, like the rest of their entire classic era catalog, which I certainly include Interview in - possibly the last fully classic album, though The Missing Piece still probably counts - it's great, though they're starting to downshift on innovation and creativity. After that, it's highlights here and there only, for me at least. But once upon a time, in the 1970's, a Giant truly walked the Earth...
It is indeed a great day for some Gentle Giant Justin, always so innovative with their many sounds, groves & instrumentation and the manner they are used ! Truly "Genius" musicians 👍🎶🎼✌ Justin I think it's a Spinet a type of vintage Harpsichord, I know that Kerry Minnear had many vintage Keyboards in his private collection he might have used one but it looks like he use a Clavichord by track listings ?
In the 70s only synths and stringed instruments could do that pitch bend. NOW we could sample ANY sound and bend the notes from a keyboard pitch bend wheel.
I never was listening to later GG albums (they were anyway before my time but I love their first albums) and this is quite a weird song which without knowing it now listening to your reaction I would have said it's 10CC :D
Not their best album. It's got one foot in their distinctively quirky style, but they're also searching for a new approach that might get them into the charts. The light reggae vibe is a giveaway. They got the part about coming up with a memorable hook right, but I think they maybe tried to please the old fans a bit too much for this to succeed commercially.
I like this song's quirkiness and its well-defined sense of a character stuck in a rut, but I do wish it had a moment of musical freedom where the character imagines himself in a moment of overcoming this rut he's in because despite its reggae structure the repetition and sonic rigidity feels really claustrophobic and gloomy to me somehow like nothing will ever change which may be the point. .
This past summer, I listened to the entire GG discography from start to finish. I remember enjoying this album more than the reviews I read.
That is some Proggy dedication I Sincerely applaud you ! 👍🎶🎼✌
Nice Jay!
No one does off-kilter like Giant! And it sounds so seamless and inviting here, with that woozy wobbling "what's next?" full of surprises flow they're the masters of. And just the collision of styles here, against the warped reggae/ska beat and strumming, with those witty keyboard and synth fills, and the sweeping proggy insert, with even a little Hawaiian vibe thrown in one passage. What a hoot! Never fails to bring a smile to my face. Deceptively simple seeming, but so deeply well thought out and accomplished. Pure genius, like the rest of their entire classic era catalog, which I certainly include Interview in - possibly the last fully classic album, though The Missing Piece still probably counts - it's great, though they're starting to downshift on innovation and creativity. After that, it's highlights here and there only, for me at least. But once upon a time, in the 1970's, a Giant truly walked the Earth...
It is indeed a great day for some Gentle Giant Justin, always so innovative with their many sounds, groves & instrumentation and the manner they are used ! Truly "Genius" musicians 👍🎶🎼✌
Justin I think it's a Spinet a type of vintage Harpsichord, I know that Kerry Minnear had many vintage Keyboards in his private collection he might have used one but it looks like he use a Clavichord by track listings ?
It is indeed
Always like listening to Gentle Giant music since it's one of my most favorite bands! Nice song.
The Field Music brothers' vocals sound like a Sunderland version of GG. Actually the guitars and offbeat staccato melodies too!
Beautiful!
Good to see you're turning your channel into a Gentle Giant channel again. :D
Yeah it's a blast! 🙄
This is a bit of a deep-cute fave of mine. Love that twisted stupid funk-reggae beat!
As a massive GG fan, this is where the band started to lose their way. It's not unpleasant, it's just not what they were making at their peak. 🙃
In the 70s only synths and stringed instruments could do that pitch bend. NOW we could sample ANY sound and bend the notes from a keyboard pitch bend wheel.
I never was listening to later GG albums (they were anyway before my time but I love their first albums) and this is quite a weird song which without knowing it now listening to your reaction I would have said it's 10CC :D
👍Absolutely! I'd never thought of it that way, but yes, this track does have a certain 10cc vibe to it!
Hadn't you already reacted to this track and the Interview album before? 🤨🤔
Nope- I only did the title track
@@JustJP My memory's really failing me these days!😮 I have to admit I prefer it when you do full album reactions. It keeps me from getting confused!😉
I think this album is unfairly maligned. I’ve always been a fan.
Not their best album. It's got one foot in their distinctively quirky style, but they're also searching for a new approach that might get them into the charts. The light reggae vibe is a giveaway. They got the part about coming up with a memorable hook right, but I think they maybe tried to please the old fans a bit too much for this to succeed commercially.
I like this song's quirkiness and its well-defined sense of a character stuck in a rut, but I do wish it had a moment of musical freedom where the character imagines himself in a moment of overcoming this rut he's in because despite its reggae structure the repetition and sonic rigidity feels really claustrophobic and gloomy to me somehow like nothing will ever change which may be the point. .