Gentle Giant CDs: Which ones are "definitive"?

[Dok]

anybody know if SW eventually plans on redoing Free Hand? (or interview for that matter)?

Already in the can.

[Fracktured]

There is also the tape speed problem at the beginning of the title track of Acquiring the Taste that occurs on both the Line and Vertigo CDs. I don't know if this was fixed on the Repertoire edition.

I thought that was intentional too. I’ve never heard the corrected version. I think if I heard it it wouldn’t sound right to me.

[Mister Triscuits]

I thought that was intentional too. I’ve never heard the corrected version. I think if I heard it it wouldn’t sound right to me.

Well, I was always used to the UK LP, which has the clean opening. (My copy is a spaceship label Vertigo pressing, purchased 1974 or '75.) As no.nine noted above, the error was on the US LP all along, but that version was in print for such a short time I didn't think all that many people had heard it.

[JKL2000]

Already in the can.

Really? Or is that just Wislon humor at its finest?

[StarThrower]

You need The Power And The Glory. Every version I've owned sounds great. Maybe my favorite GG album.

I have the old Capitol CD I bought in 1989 or 1990? Sounds great! I have the BGO 2-fer of Free Hand/Interview. It sounds pretty decent. Maybe the Alucard's sound better. I don't know? All my others are Lines I bought in 1989. They have a nice warm vinyl like sound I'm happy with.

[Dok]

Really? Or is that just Wislon humor at its finest?

Free Hand, Interview and The Missing Piece have all been remixed by Wilson. Waiting on the band to decide whether to release individually or as a box set.

[aith01]

^ I'd really like to hear what a new mix of The Missing Piece might sound like. The original one is okay, but could be better IMO.

[Dok]

^ I'd really like to hear what a new mix of The Missing Piece might sound like. The original one is okay, but could be better IMO.

I believe I've posted this elsewhere in another thread but a mastering engineer out of France that occasionally helps Steven with his remixing had this to say on the Hoffman forum -

"The Missing Piece has been transformed. It's taking its rightful place in the GG canon for me after years of being undervalued."

[aith01]

I believe I've posted this elsewhere in another thread but a mastering engineer out of France that occasionally helps Steven with his remixing had this to say on the Hoffman forum -

"The Missing Piece has been transformed. It's taking its rightful place in the GG canon for me after years of being undervalued."

Nice! Missing Piece has some of my favorite GG tunes on it.

[no.nine]

Well, I was always used to the UK LP, which has the clean opening. (My copy is a spaceship label Vertigo pressing, purchased 1974 or '75.) As no.nine noted above, the error was on the US LP all along, but that version was in print for such a short time I didn't think all that many people had heard it.

I'm not sure it's only the U.S. LP which had that error, although that's possible. I had just gotten the impression, from reading others' experiences with this title over the years, that many people never knew this was a flaw. Right or wrong, I came away with the feeling that once this error was introduced, it proliferated to other countries. But this may not be correct. I just wouldn't think the U.S. LP all on its own could have caused so many to think the upsweep was an intentional effect, like I used to.

But it would be interesting if anyone else here has anecdotal evidence about all this.

One thing is for sure: that master became the basis for most, or maybe even all, of the CD reissues of that album.

[Zeuhlmate]

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/...classic-albums

Steven Wilson remixes: Gentle Giant
Three Piece Suite 1970–71–72 surviving multitrack tapes of first three albums. 2017 Stereo & 5.1
Octopus 1972 2015 Stereo & 5.1
The Power And The Glory 1974 2014 Stereo & 5.1

[Iluvatar]

What do you mean by "definitive"?

If you are asking about the music, OK, but if you are asking about the best recordings, then defer to the previous expert posters. I can only speak to the former, as I can't tolerate discussions about producers unless we talk about how badly Yes's 1st 2 albums were recorded (oh dear lord!). I know a dude who has spent a boatload of $ re-buying various productions of Genesis - and - for what? Oh, here is a new re-re-re-re-Mastered version of this Genesis album - and! it's on 7.2! You gotta get it! As for 5.1, 6.1, 7.2? Ain't happenin' with me. That shiite sonically sucks - I am old school. I like my recording engineer to meter the album to the max output (e.g., the red needle has to be hitting the red bar on the peaks). Perhaps it is because, I play something called a "stereo". And the "stereo" is hooked up to some ancient things called "speakers" (loud speakers actually). Got fo on da flo. Translated: 2 Klipsch in the rear - Cromwells, 2 Klipsch in the front La Scalas. They seem to disregard poor productions of music. But when you turn the music up? All sense and sensibility drifts away like the ceiling in "Whiter Shade of Pale"...

So let me assume you are actually talking about the music itself (which is all I give a rat's @$$ about).

But before I start, when you are done, will you be able to identify all the brothers? My last take was that there were 5 brothers in this fandango - what's your count? You can't be a GG "expert" until you know how many brothers there were in that superb musical family!

At the time that I bought back all my albums on CDs, I was so frickin' ancient that Giant had their 35th anniversary release. So I bought. The commenters have pooh-pooh'd that production. My Klipsch don't seem to give a rat's @$$ about that either. But so what? Is it or is it not about the music?

Unfortunately, finding the "definitive" is going to be about buying the whole dang lot up. Tant pis. They are spread across the whole dang discography. Sorry dude.


Here is Wiki's discog dump (studio): my comments are interleaved (sigh...), so here goes (for a "definitive" collection), I am reading my CDs:

Gentle Giant (1970) Vertigo
Giant, Funny Ways, Alucard, Why Not, The Queen

Acquiring the Taste (1971) Vertigo
tracks 1-4, 7 & 8 (I can't spell Pantagruel - and I'm lazy)

Three Friends (1972) Vertigo, Columbia - [US #197]
tracks 1-4 & 6: track 3 Working All Day? Kicks!

Octopus (1972) Vertigo, Columbia - [US #170]
Why are we asking this stupid question? EVERY song on this guy rocks! But track 8 "River" is super-special. This is where the Celtic "River Song" anthem comes to a head - GG took no prisoners on this one (I heard that no one survived)

In a Glass House (1973) Vertigo/WWA
Runaway, Way of Life, Reunion, Experience - crap! the whole dang album again!

The Power and the Glory (1974) Vertigo/WWA, Capitol - [US #78]
total disappointment - buy this guy Last! Very unhappy w/ this album

Free Hand (1975) Chrysalis, Capitol - [US #48]
On Reflection, Free Hand, Time To Kill, Tallybont

Interview (1976) Chrysalis, Capitol - [US #137]
Interview - but I forget the rest of the songs! I am so sorry for not being able to be of help here. Suffering from missing brain cells...

The Missing Piece (1977) Chrysalis, Capitol - [US #81]
If I recall tracks 01,02 and For Nobody (tracks 09 & 10)

Giant for a Day! (1978) Chrysalis, Capitol
tracks 01, 03, 07 are good

Civilian (1980) Chrysalis, Columbia - [US #203]
Do not have - so we're toast here

Extras: These are live albums (crap, old fart here - CDs)
Edge of Twilight: get it! It is solid through & through. Best money you could spend (but only after you get the above albums)
The Official Live Gentle Giant: Sweet Georgia Brown was a real entertainment!
King Biscuit Flower Hour Gentle Giant: fun, but only if you have enough $ left, the priority is above.

So there is your answer! There ISN'T a DEFINITIVE Gentle Giant! They are splattered all over the dang place! 10 studio albums. I suggest that saving up the pizza money become your immediate priority. Hey! At least you can do that! I am retired, I ain't got no pizza money - crap!

[yesstiles]

What do you mean by "definitive"?

If you are asking about the music, OK, but if you are asking about the best recordings, then defer to the previous expert posters. I can only speak to the former, as I can't tolerate discussions about producers

All Giant Giant albums were produced only in the 1970's. Are you maybe confusing the term producer with mastering engineer?

[Fracktured]

The missing piece should have been titled the missing bass. I don’t think it’s a bad album at all if you take off I betcha thought we couldn’t do it. I’d love to hear a remix of it just to hear if it sounds better. I never liked the sound at all.

[Zeuhlmate]

The missing piece should have been titled the missing bass. I don’t think it’s a bad album at all if you take off I betcha thought we couldn’t do it. I’d love to hear a remix of it just to hear if it sounds better. I never liked the sound at all.

A friend of mine ran it through Pro-tools and added a little bass, so my CDR sounds a little better.

[aith01]

The missing piece should have been titled the missing bass. I don’t think it’s a bad album at all if you take off I betcha thought we couldn’t do it. I’d love to hear a remix of it just to hear if it sounds better. I never liked the sound at all.

I even like that song actually.

But I agree, the bass is rather lacking in the mix. I'd love to hear the new version whenever it comes out...

[Trane]

Actually, since I only got in,to GG (and VdGG) in the early to mid-90's (I'd only owned a couple of vinyl albums from each, which didn't survive my move on the old world), I've only been able to judge both bands on CD.

I still only own the Vertigo-Phonogram versions of the early 90's (valid for Western Europe and Canada, according to RYM) for the first four (though I was able to photocopy the TF original artwork on the Line A version and the US Columbia Octopus artwork, and insert them inside), but things go weird from there on, because I only got the CDr I made from the next four Road Goes On Forever back then (and even then, TP&TG, FH, and Interview are compiled and condensed on one disc).

Soooooo, this to say that I have no idea how bad or how good the sound was on those early 90's releases, cos I never updated those albums, partly because all these experts reservations. After all, I got "burned" in buying those early VDGG albums remasters of 2005 and didn't want to repeat the "blunder" for GG.

Sooooo (again), I suppose I'm not enough of a fan to have really worried more about that, so I guess I'll keep whatever I got and nevermind it.

The missing piece should have been titled the missing bass. I don’t think it’s a bad album at all if you take off I betcha thought we couldn’t do it. I’d love to hear a remix of it just to hear if it sounds better. I never liked the sound at all.

The only good track (IMHO) on TMP is the prophetically-named Memories Of Old Days - which is the only track that could find a space on the previous three albums. Maybe a properly remastered version could warm my eardrums towards the whole thing, but iy-t's not going to improve the songwriting on it.

[Dok]

One commenter had this to say - "Gentle Giant took a lot of crap for "selling out to accessible pop" on The Missing Piece album.
If you think this is accessible (or simple), try playing it."

Not responsible for accepting your only good track Trane! Love the break at the 2:20 mark. Then there is 'As Old As Your Young'... you'll find that the time goes slipping away. I know, I know. Especially when judging how many good and bad tracks an album has. IMHO.

[Zeuhlmate]

One commenter had this to say - "Gentle Giant took a lot of crap for "selling out to accessible pop" on The Missing Piece album.
If you think this is accessible (or simple), try playing it."

Not responsible for accepting your only good track Trane! Love the break at the 2:20 mark. Then there is 'As Old As Your Young'... you'll find that the time goes slipping away. I know, I know. Especially when judging how many good and bad tracks an album has. IMHO.

My favorite track on that album !

[starless and bible black]

Already in the can.

Good News: The SW remix of GG's Free Hand is coming in June!
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/det...490958?lang=en

PS: This is the first vendor taking pre-orders right now; more should follow soon.

[aith01]

Sweet!

[Dok]

Indeed!

[UnephenStephen]

great news.. FH, Power and Interview are the only SW must haves for me. may get Octopus too..

[Progbear]

I actually thought all of Side 2 of The Missing Piece was pretty good. I kind of want to forget Side 1 exists, though. As an album, it’s a dandy EP.

[Zeuhlmate]

great news.. FH, Power and Interview are the only SW must haves for me. may get Octopus too..

I can recommend Thick as a brick & Tales from Topographic - but avoid Relayer