GENTLE GIANT
GROUP MEMBERS: brothers Ray (bass, guitar), Derek (sax, vocals) and Phil Shulman (sax, trumpet), Kerry Minnear (keyboards), Gary Green (guitar), John Weathers (drums).
GENTLE GIANT DISCOGRAPHY: "Gentle Giant" (Polydor, 1970); "Acquiring the Taste" (1971); "Three Friends" (Columbia, 1972); "Octopus" (1972); "In a Glass House" (1973); "The Power and The Glory" (Capitol, 1974); "Free Hand" (1975); "In'terview" (1976); "The Official 'Live' Gentle Giant - Playing the Fool" (1977); "The Missing Piece" (1977); "Giant for a Day!" (1978); "Civilian" (1980); "Edge of Twilight" best-of (Polydor, 1996); "King Biscuit Flower Hour Live" (King Biscuit, 1998).
WEB SITE: The Gentle Giant Home Page
PAUSE & PLAY: How daunting was it to go through the newly reissued GG albums, remaster them and find bonus tracks?
MINNEAR: "Not daunting at all, it's great fun. I've done it before and enhancing the tonal quality of an existing mix is quite easy and rewarding to do. Also these albums are like diaries for us and it's always pleasantly nostalgic to revisit these ancient moments. It's the same when sitting through live recordings to find the bonus tracks; it's exciting to find bits of live arrangement that you've forgotten all about."
P&P: What would you say is the strongest album?
MINNEAR: "Neither the band members nor the fans seem to be able to settle on one album being best, but most nominations are around the 'Octopus/Free Hand/In a Glass House/The Power and The Glory' era. In other words, the middle period of the band."
P&P: And what's the most overlooked track?
MINNEAR: "Generally, all tracks have been appreciated for any strengths that they have, but on a personal note, I have a fondness for 'A Reunion' on 'In a Glass House.' It's quite a simple and yet touching song."
P&P: Is a best-of or box set in the works?
MINNEAR: "I believe DRT are planning a box set type of release around September of this year."
P&P: What do you think of the term "progressive rock"? Would you prefer something else to describe GG?
MINNEAR: "I think the term 'progressive rock' is probably needed as a general indicator of style, but many different objectives exist within its boundaries. I like to think that Gentle Giant were not just a band trying to impress people with complexity for its own sake, but were looking to communicate many emotions including humour. The humour of the band was such that there was no chance for anyone to become arrogant!"
P&P: What other projects are you working on?
MINNEAR: "I'm working on two projects at present. One is material which I think GG fans would enjoy - carefully crafted ideas with counterpoint and unusual phrasing, etc. Also I'm working with my kids on some songs; both daughters sing and my son's a drummer. Sadly, we are quite ill-disciplined and things take a long time."
P&P: Out-of-left-field question: Is the album, as we know it, dead?
MINNEAR: "This sounds like a marketing question which I don't really understand, but I think it would be sad if CDs didn't encapsulate a unique period in an artist's history or development."
P&P: What's the first record you ever bought?
MINNEAR: "The first record I bought was either the Beatles 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' or the Rolling Stones '19th Nervous Breakdown,' I can't remember. These were the two predominant bands of my youth when I was gigging in a school covers band."
P&P: What's the first concert you ever went to?
MINNEAR: "My first rock concert experience was whilst I was a student. A friend invited me to a King Crimson gig in London in the days of '21st Century Schizoid Man.' Incredibly loud to my uninitiated ears, great riff, exciting times!"
P&P: What's the worst job you've ever had?
MINNEAR: "Milkman, up at 3 a.m. in bed at 9 p.m. Nice to watch the foxes and badgers at dawn, though! Lasted six weeks!!"
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