Gentle Giant

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Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant in 1976 during the Playing the Fool tour
Background information
Origin	Great Britain
Genre(s)	Progressive rock
Years active	1970–1980
Label(s)	Chrysalis (UK) Vertigo (UK,US) Columbia (US) Capitol (US) One Way Alucard Music DRT Entertainment
Members
Kerry Minnear Derek Shulman Ray Shulman Gary Green John Weathers
Former members
Phil Shulman Martin Smith Malcolm Mortimore

Gentle Giant was a British band and one of the most experimental progressive rock bands of the 1970s. Inspired by philosophy, personal events and the works of François Rabelais, the group's purpose was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular."^[1]

1 History
2 Renaissance
3 Musical attributes
4 Personnel
- 4.1 Other members
5 Discography
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] History

Gentle Giant was formed by Derek, Ray and Phil Shulman in 1970 after they dissolved their soul/pop band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in 1969. The brothers joined with Gary Green, Kerry Minnear, and a succession of drummers to produce a series of twelve albums throughout the 1970s, finally dissolving quietly in 1980.

Their earlier albums were more eclectic and experimental than the later ones. By 1974, as they started to gather an American following, they simplified their songs (which, compared to other rock artists at the time, were still very complex) to gain a wider audience. Both The Power and the Glory and Free Hand reached the Top 50 in the US.

By 1977, as the fashion trends in the music market shifted toward punk and New Wave, the band shifted toward a more commercial sound. In 1979, the band relocated to America to record their twelfth and most mainstream album, Civilian, after which the group disbanded.

[edit] Renaissance

There has been a renewed interest in Gentle Giant since 1990 with new fan clubs, new releases of live concerts and previously unreleased material, several tribute albums and a failed 1997 attempt by fans to convince the members to perform a reunion concert. Several recent progressive rock bands claim to have greatly been influenced by the music of Gentle Giant, including Spock's Beard and Echolyn.

The band during the late 1970s

In 2005, to celebrate the band's 35th anniversary, a series of digitally remastered and specially packaged CDs of their later albums were released, also featuring unreleased live tracks (of varying quality) as bonuses. Many of these albums (most notably, In a Glass House) were previously near-impossible to purchase in North America without resorting to imports. The re-released albums are: In a Glass House, The Power and the Glory, Free Hand, Interview, The Missing Piece, Playing the Fool (live) and Giant for a Day.

Sadly for fans, the rights of the band's catalogue are scattered among many companies, not all of which are keen on re-releasing the albums properly. In particular, the first four albums have yet to receive definitive CD releases. For example, the title track on Acquiring the Taste begins with an obvious defect, possibly due to a damaged master tape, on all current CD and vinyl releases. The 1996 compilation Edge of Twilight includes a corrected version of the song.

[edit] Musical attributes

Gentle Giant's music had many aspects in common with other progressive rock bands of the time:

Rapid, changing tempo
Non-standard time signatures
Complex melodies, frequently contrasting harmonies with dissonance
Unconventional use of numerous classical and medieval instruments
Musical structures typically associated with classical music, like the fugue in "On Reflection" and the madrigal "Knots."; Gentle Giant was distinctive for using counterpoint in their songwriting on a regular basis.
Multi-part vocal harmonies
Complex lyrics
Concept albums (on the occasion)
Creation of the Shulberry, a stringed instrument named after the Shulman brothers.

One Gentle Giant album listed a total of 46 instruments in the musician credits.

[edit] Personnel

Derek Shulman - born Derek Victor Shulman, on 11 February 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Kerry Minnear
Ray Shulman - born Raymond Shulman, on 8 December 1949 in Portsmouth, England.
Gary Green
John Weathers (drums 1972 – 1980)

[edit] Other members

Phil Shulman (1970-1972) - born Philip Arthur Shulman, on 27 August 1937 in Glasgow Scotland.
Martin Smith (drums 1970 – 1971)
Malcolm Mortimore (drums 1971 – 1972)