Bravo. I give you tremendous credit for giving Gentle Giant a chance and discovering you actually enjoy it. Us long-time fans know it’s not for everyone and any track can take several listens to get into it. You seem to have taken to the music straight away which is a credit to your musical taste and open mindedness. It makes my heart sing that you and so many others in recent years are discovering this band and as a result they seem to have gained 0:27 popularity (on-line) that they struggled to achieve back in the 70s. I commend you and all the younger people who are jumping on the GG band wagon which I have been on since 1976 at 15 year of age. Keep it going, there’s a LOT MORE Giant for you to discover and enjoy (I recommend any album from 1970-76).
Based on my foggy memory of Gentle Giant records, I've noticed how much more classic prog this is. I'm not surprised that just this record alone is lumped in with some of the best and most revered prog records of the early 70's, like In the Court of the Crimson King, Close to the Edge, Tarkus, etc. Anything from the 60's, 70's and 80's I'm a fan in general ☘
An Magnum Octopus final track from Side A of that classic period of progressive rock albums in 1972, Octopus is a short album, not even cracking the 35 minute border, which was not uncommon for 1972. A fun prog album with some medieval vibes. Side A is a blast from the past. There are not many 70s prog albums with no songs over 6 minutes. The only other one I can think of right now is The Snow Goose, but even then, that one is more like snippets of songs put together. Octopus is nothing like that, it is made of fully fledged compositions, that do everything that your usual prog track does but in 4 minutes instead of 12. Perhaps that’s why this is considered the quintessential Gentle Giant album: it shows what makes the band so unique more than any other of their records. Kerry Minnear, who composed and arranged this gem: "Knots" is described as a "musical jigsaw", inspired by R.D. Laing. An eminent psychologist, has stimulated us by his intriguing, logical, poetic riddles into composing this latter-day madrigal, Its further complicated by the complexity of the music. It’s one of the most complex and intricate songs composed. Prog almost doesn't get anymore complicated than this. One of the best vocal performances ever. The high-speed drums in Knots are higher-pitched than the drums on the rest of the album. This has lead some Gentle Giant fans to suspect that the Knots drums were actually played slower and then sped up (raising the pitch as an artifact). The swirling noise at the end of Knots seems to tie itself into a knot in space. In Knots, on one of the early "verses" where they are all singing out of sync, listen to the lowest vocalist. The melody is the basis for the Crimson-ish instrumental section later on in the song. The lyrics of Knots come from poetry by psychologist R. D. Laing. His book, Knots, was published in 1970. This is a consistant theme through this album, heavy foundation Compositionally. Octopus is a true doorstopper that sets the golden standard for Progressive Rock weirdness and displays Gentle Giant at their most creative and fully matured form. With all six members of the band being extremely talented multi-instrumentalists, each Gentle Giant album was always, first and foremost, an adventure. Gentle Giant always struck me as being the most unique, adventurous, and innovative band of the bunch. Their music holds up today remarkably well within United Kingdom ♫
0:00 - I'm the same with my ginger - I've grown a bit of a beard, so I always end up trying to get the hair out of it😄. 2:50 - Feel's like it's being played on my brain😶
Give a try someday to one of their live performances... As good as their records are, their live music is a display of musicianship like you don't see very often.
New to your channel, diggin it. If you like Gentle Giant you should check out Gong if you haven't already. Angel's Egg is my favorite album, I think you'd like it.
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Bravo. I give you tremendous credit for giving Gentle Giant a chance and discovering you actually enjoy it. Us long-time fans know it’s not for everyone and any track can take several listens to get into it. You seem to have taken to the music straight away which is a credit to your musical taste and open mindedness. It makes my heart sing that you and so many others in recent years are discovering this band and as a result they seem to have gained 0:27 popularity (on-line) that they struggled to achieve back in the 70s. I commend you and all the younger people who are jumping on the GG band wagon which I have been on since 1976 at 15 year of age. Keep it going, there’s a LOT MORE Giant for you to discover and enjoy (I recommend any album from 1970-76).
Thank you for listening and sharing these 4 songs from Gentle Giant with us ❤and showing that the beauty of this music has reached you!
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Based on my foggy memory of Gentle Giant records, I've noticed how much more classic prog this is. I'm not surprised that just this record alone is lumped in with some of the best and most revered prog records of the early 70's, like In the Court of the Crimson King, Close to the Edge, Tarkus, etc. Anything from the 60's, 70's and 80's I'm a fan in general ☘
You are gorgeous. Greetings from Yorkshire UK. Take care. John...
An Magnum Octopus final track from Side A of that classic period of progressive rock albums in 1972, Octopus is a short album, not even cracking the 35 minute border, which was not uncommon for 1972. A fun prog album with some medieval vibes. Side A is a blast from the past. There are not many 70s prog albums with no songs over 6 minutes. The only other one I can think of right now is The Snow Goose, but even then, that one is more like snippets of songs put together. Octopus is nothing like that, it is made of fully fledged compositions, that do everything that your usual prog track does but in 4 minutes instead of 12. Perhaps that’s why this is considered the quintessential Gentle Giant album: it shows what makes the band so unique more than any other of their records. Kerry Minnear, who composed and arranged this gem: "Knots" is described as a "musical jigsaw", inspired by R.D. Laing. An eminent psychologist, has stimulated us by his intriguing, logical, poetic riddles into composing this latter-day madrigal, Its further complicated by the complexity of the music. It’s one of the most complex and intricate songs composed. Prog almost doesn't get anymore complicated than this. One of the best vocal performances ever. The high-speed drums in Knots are higher-pitched than the drums on the rest of the album. This has lead some Gentle Giant fans to suspect that the Knots drums were actually played slower and then sped up (raising the pitch as an artifact). The swirling noise at the end of Knots seems to tie itself into a knot in space. In Knots, on one of the early "verses" where they are all singing out of sync, listen to the lowest vocalist. The melody is the basis for the Crimson-ish instrumental section later on in the song. The lyrics of Knots come from poetry by psychologist R. D. Laing. His book, Knots, was published in 1970. This is a consistant theme through this album, heavy foundation Compositionally. Octopus is a true doorstopper that sets the golden standard for Progressive Rock weirdness and displays Gentle Giant at their most creative and fully matured form. With all six members of the band being extremely talented multi-instrumentalists, each Gentle Giant album was always, first and foremost, an adventure. Gentle Giant always struck me as being the most unique, adventurous, and innovative band of the bunch. Their music holds up today remarkably well within United Kingdom ♫
Such a great track. Makes me wanna listen to a load of RIO (Rock In Opposition) bands now like Thinking Plague and Art Bears
How about the 5UU's and Camberwell Now?
0:00 - I'm the same with my ginger - I've grown a bit of a beard, so I always end up trying to get the hair out of it😄.
2:50 - Feel's like it's being played on my brain😶
Not many bands can make you laugh just with their playful music. These guys had lots of fun being creative and played so well!
Give a try someday to one of their live performances... As good as their records are, their live music is a display of musicianship like you don't see very often.
The Spock’s Beard song “Gibberish” takes some inspiration from this song.
The proggest of the prog bands!
You should listen to Think of me with kindness on side B, to get a fuller picture of GG.
Great band...carry on with your GG journey...every song can be different and they don't do these multilayered vocals on every song
New to your channel, diggin it. If you like Gentle Giant you should check out Gong if you haven't already. Angel's Egg is my favorite album, I think you'd like it.
Welcome to the channel and thanks so much for the recommendation! I'll check them out.