Gentle Giant to me took the same trajectory as other prog bands. They started rooted in psychedelic or folk, experimented and got more interesting. Peaked with a few really wonderful albums, then suddenly declined in the later part of the 70's.
I credit them for bringing in other influences like funk and groove into the progressive domain. I also like that they shunned the typical or expected 20 minute opus or epic pieces typical of prog bands of that era.
To me their weakness was the lack of a great guitar player... not chops mind you... but a player who really served the music and enhanced it, rather than just playing over it. I also think vocally they lacked a "heart felt expression" and the vocals never really feel sincere. It's playful music, amazing technical arrangements, and more similar to Zappa than Yes or Genesis.
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