Review: Gentle Giant, Octopus- 1972

Unknown Soldier · 11-28-2011, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMR

It does have complex instrumentation and crazy time signatures (a hallmark of progressive rock), but it comes across sounding like they want to be complex, just for the sake of being complex, and they do this at the expense of melody and rhythmic hooks, and for me— regardless of the genre of music— there has to be melody and hooks. Otherwise, the music just doesn’t resonate with me.

I`ve often felt the same way about Gentle Giant as well, despite quite liking them. Below is what they said about their second album Acquiring the Taste which maybe mirrors your criticisms about them.

"...It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular. We have recorded each composition with the one thought - that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this. From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts of blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste."

Howard the Duck · 11-28-2011, 06:38 AM

i dunno, i heard it without the benefit of hearing all the hype about it

and as it is, Octopus is still my fave GG

metalheadmike · 12-09-2011, 01:36 PM

It's not there best record Liked The Power And Glory more. But I do like this one. There a highly under rated band though. Progreeive fans should check this one out

RMR · 12-22-2011, 05:19 PM

I added a post script to my review, and increased my album rating...

Post Script
I had originally given this album a 2-star rating, based on the reasons I cite in the reivew, but in retrospect, I changed the rating to a 5. Although I still do not really enjoy the album, I can’t deny the inventiveness and innovation that Gentle Giant put into it, and that alone is worth a few extra points.

Salami · 12-23-2011, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMR

I added a post script to my review, and increased my album rating...

Awww, you should never give in to peer pressure!

RMR · 12-23-2011, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mighty Salami

Awww, you should never give in to peer pressure!

Nah, come on Salami... without peer pressure, none of us would have tried some of the great pleasures of life like smoking, sex, & drugs, among other things.

In all seriousness, most of the reviews I post, I have just written recently. I actually wrote this GG review a while ago, and the score seemed a little low compared to some of the more recent reviews that I've posted. I didn't post this review, but I gave Madonna's debut album a 6, and although I do enjoy that album better than "Octopus," my scale seemed a little off, so I bumped it a few points.

Salami · 12-23-2011, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMR

Nah, come on Salami... without peer pressure, none of us would have tried some of the great pleasures of life like smoking, sex, & drugs, among other things.

I did have a good chuckle when I read that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMR

In all seriousness, most of the reviews I post, I have just written recently. I actually wrote this GG review a while ago, and the score seemed a little low compared to some of the more recent reviews that I've posted. I didn't post this review, but I gave Madonna's debut album a 6, and although I do enjoy that album better than "Octopus," my scale seemed a little off, so I bumped it a few points.

Definitely. I think at least Gentle Giant were trying to give you some kind of emotional interaction and were trying to experiment with different styles, and I'm glad you've agreed to an extent.
Although "Octopus" is my second favourite ever prog album after "Fragile", so I'm a little biased!

Unknown Soldier · 04-11-2012, 03:00 PM

Revisiting Octopus after reading this review again today, sure its complex prog but it was complex prog before it became pretentious to do so. Gentle Giant are excellent musicians and they really excel on this album, would I say its their finest album..........probably so.

12-22-2011, 05:19 PM	#14 (permalink)
RMR Front to Back Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 360	I added a post script to my review, and increased my album rating... Post Script I had originally given this album a 2-star rating, based on the reasons I cite in the reivew, but in retrospect, I changed the rating to a 5. Although I still do not really enjoy the album, I can’t deny the inventiveness and innovation that Gentle Giant put into it, and that alone is worth a few extra points. __________________ RMR My music reivew site: RMR Music Reviews

12-09-2011, 01:36 PM	#13 (permalink)
metalheadmike Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 127	It's not there best record Liked The Power And Glory more. But I do like this one. There a highly under rated band though. Progreeive fans should check this one out