Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant - Out of the Fire (The BBC Concerts) - 1998 - Hux

This 2-CDset features two live concerts recorded for the BBC in 1973 and 1978. It's a wonderful live album from the unique progressive rock band, Gentle Giant. This brilliant album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. It encompasses classical, jazz, hard rock, and Canterbury Rock, and the musicianship is superb. Listen to the band's "In A Glass House" and "Acquiring The Taste" albums

CD ONE [Recorded at the Golders Green Hippodrome, London 16.11.73. First transmission 8.12.73]

1. Introduction
2. Way Of Life
3. Funny Ways
4. Nothing At All
5. Excerpts From Octopus

All tracks composed by Kerry Minnear/Phil Shulman/Derek Shulman/Ray Shulman except Track 1 by Mike Harding, and Track 5 by Kerry Minnear/Derek Shulman/Ray Shulman

CD TWO [Recorded at the Golders Green Hippodrome,London 5.1.78. First transmission 21.1.78. CD TWO was also released as "In Concert", but it is complete (including Funny Ways) and the songs are in the correct order]

1. Introduction - Pete Drummond
2. Two Weeks In Spain
3. Free Hand
4. On Reflection
5. I'm Turning Around
6. Just The Same
7. Playing The Game
8. Memories Of Old Days
9. Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It
10. Special Presentation by John P.Weathers
11 Funny Ways
12 For Nobody
13 Mountain Time

All tracks composed by Kerry Minnear/Derek Shulman/Ray Shulman except Track 10 by John P.Weathers, and Track 11 by Kerry Minnear/Phil Shulman/Derek Shulman/Ray Shulman

BAND (S)

Gary Green - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Recorder, Vocals
Ray Shulman - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Violin, Vocals
Derek Shulman - Bass, Recorder, Saxophone, Vocals
Kerry Minnear - Cello, Keyboards, Recorder, Vocals, Vibraphone, Wind Organ
John Weathers - Percussion, Drums, Vocals

BIO

Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era in 1969, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-'70s to break out of its cult-band status, but somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing. Gentle Giant was born out of the ruins of Simon Dupree & the Big Sound, an R&B-based outfit led by brothers Derek, Ray, and Phil Shulman. After switching to psychedelia in 1967 and scoring their only major hit that year with "Kites," as Gentle Giant the group abandoned both the R&B and psychedelic orientations of the previous band; Derek sang and played guitar and bass, Ray sang and played bass and violin, and Phil handled the saxophone, augmented by Kerry Minnear on keyboards, and Gary Green on guitar. Their original lineup also featured Martin Smith on drums, but they went through several percussionists in the first three years of their existence. In 1970, Gentle Giant signed to the Vertigo label, and their self-titled first album — a shockingly daring work mixing hard rock and full electric playing with classical elements — came out later that year. Their second effort, 1971's Acquiring the Taste, was slightly more accessible and their third, Three Friends, featuring Malcolm Mortimore on drums, was their first record to get released in the U.S. (on Columbia). Their fourth album, 1973's Octopus, looked poised for a breakthrough; it seemed as though they had found the mix of hard rock and classical sounds that the critics and the public could accept, and they finally had a permanent drummer in the person of John Weathers, an ex-member of the Graham Bond Organisation. In 1974, however, Gentle Giant began coming apart. Phil Shulman decided to give up music after the Octopus tour, and became a teacher. Then the group recorded the album In a Glass House, their hardest-rocking record yet, which Columbia's U.S. arm rejected as too uncommercial. The two-year gap in their American release schedule hurt their momentum, and they weren't heard from again until the Capitol release of The Power and the Glory in 1975. Gentle Giant released Free Hand, their most commercial album, in 1976, but then followed it up with the jarringly experimental Interview. After the 1978 double-album Playing the Fool, the group went through a seeming change of heart and issued a series of albums aimed at mainstream audiences, even approaching disco, but by the end of the 1970s their popularity was in free-fall. Minnear, who had been playing an ever-more central role since the mid-'70s, had already left the group when Gentle Giant called it quits in 1980. Ray Shulman later became a producer and had considerable success in England working with bands like the Sundays and the Sugarcubes, while Derek Shulman became a New York-based record company executive. © Bruce Eder © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:giftxqe5ldke~T1