Astounding live performance. The level of musicianship is extraordinary. The studio version has the same contrapuntual feel, with more instrumental playfulness and solo vocals by Kerry Minnear.
Incredible you didn't do this song and this album already. The live version is very different from the studio one. i adore both. When I want someone to discover GG, I always make them listen On Reflection(studio) first…
If you get hold of the DVD of this concert, you can play this with a commentary by four members of the band, decades later, discussing this performance. It's hilarious. It might be online somewhere, I've never looked cus I have the deev. Yes, the perfect introduction to the band for someone who has never came across them before.
Actually this is better than the studio version imo. One thing that needs attention: After the a cappella part they start playing the same layers with their instruments. But indivudually they sing one layer and play another. Easy? Not.
Even though I was a fan at this time, it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around that an actual rock audience would sit,listen and watch and be enthralled with a band like Gentle Giant, playing their unique music. Bravo the 70s.
What did I just watch, I did like it… like two bands in one. Been up all night, just finished Bohemian Rhapsody, I know… I’m late, I always wait. Might be a movie to react to. Time for a snooze. Peace and 2for1 Music
GG were so far ahead of their era, I really had a hard time converting any friends, it was music that demanded your attention and I guess because it was sophisticated and went off at tangents most just couldn't grasp it. The only converts were a couple of Art College friends who I talked into going to a gig, ( they had a car and I didn't, so it was the only way I could see one of their tour dates) . The next day they both went out and bought every available GG album. Great to see a new generation of fans experiencing them through these live videos.
Yes, i saw them doing this live 1976 in Stockholm, blew me away… There is a photo of Ray stananding by his microphone, Holding and playing his violin with his bass on his neck, smiling! That is Gentle Giant
I saw them live with Renaissance on the same bill at the Guzman in Miami in the 70's. I remember trying to figure out how they played and sang this live and made it better than the studio version, which I adore. This song, in a word, is delightful!! ❤️
This is different from the studio version but I love both of them. This song is one of my favorite compositions of the 20th century as far as I know them. It has everything I adore Gentle Giant for: the vocal parts, the changing of instruments, unexpected but logical transitions, the polyphony. I knew them before 1978 and I never saw them in a TV show until youtube. But I first listened to some of their songs at a Friday evening when I visited my dearest cousin. And the next morning I got up earlier than necessary and ran to the music store he had bought that particular record to be there before anybody else could buy the last available record just before my eyes. It was a sampler of two lp records called "Giant Steps". The start of a life long love affair.
Such a fun band live. Got to see them twice in the mid-late seventies. They were my first REAL rock concert. They LOVED playing "rounds" like this. At times they would ALL pick up recorders, or ALL pick up percussion instruments and go into "rounds" as they did with the vocals here. Phenomenal band.
I knew this extract because I have the DVD of this concert. Excellent performance but I also wish the 1976 tour had been filmed because that was where Gentle Giant was at the top ! (Fortunately, there is the double album Playing the Fool - The Official Live as well as other CDs from this Autumn 1976 European tour).
Genius... and intimidating for whoever is on next. Hope you've heard "His Last Voyage"... the Free Hand lp is worth a playthough (Steven Wilson version pls!)
Gentle Giant's music always used to elude me. I didn't get it. And then one day several years ago it just clicked! Now I'm astounded whenever I hear one of their tracks. Not only are they incredible technical musicians, but they have SOUL, and they know how to groove with the best of them. Once those drums came in and the song changed direction, it was game over. Beautiful stuff!
Back in the 1970's I would have laughed at this collection of beardy absurdities, looking like escapees from the Open University maths course. So thanks to JP for allowing me to give this band a chance and to discover I'm now more able to appreciate their amazing and wide-ranging musical endeavours. I'm never going to be a die-hard prog fan, but at least my ears are open.
YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!! Always look for reactions to this performance. The talent level here is off the charts. Also, I'll repeat again: Free Hand will be your favorite Gentle Giant album, when you get to it.
This is VERY good! These musician are proficient in so many areas of the musical landscape, They are the real deal. “Proficient” is a word that you may have been looking for during your reaction, The term proficiency was used a lot when I went to music school. All music students had to take a piano proficiency course and couldn’t graduate unless they achieved a certain level of ability on the instrument. As a music education major, I had to learn to play all of the orchestra and band instruments, as well as sing, at an eighth grade proficiency. As a classical guitar concentration, I had to reach certain levels of proficiency in order to progress in the program. To perform my senior recital, I had to be at a high level of proficiency. Music performance majors are held to an even higher standard of proficiency. Music conservatories have even higher levels of proficiency than that.
they are great musicians, but the true strength of Gentle Giant is the writing. The most original music I've ever heard -- mostly written by Kerry Minnear(keys, etc) and Ray Shulman (bass, etc)
Another Gentle Giant song that really comes alive in performance: "So Sincere". There's a delightful video up on here of them playing it in 1974, I believe.
I had to watch that as soon as I read your comment. The one with the percussion insanity. I have the GG King Biscuit Flower Hour CD with pretty much the same live arrangement of So Sincere, being able to actually see it is great!
In the olden times, in the '60s and '70s, you could tell a lot about a person by the artifacts they would have in their homes or trailers or chicken shacks, with particular emphasis, at the time, on books and records. Smart folks had plenty of excellent books, and progressive music, be it rock, jazz, fusion, or classical. And the smartest would have Gentle Giant. At least in my neck of the woods. I was late to the game, probably because my limited budget, when finding me in the G section of the record store, would get the Genesis, right beside it, instead. Both are very great, but Gentle remained underground, and didn't, so to say, sell out, to get the big bucks. Seeing them live is a particular charm. What risible rhythm! What rounds! What wild ecstasy! They were like a musical Firesign Theater... who would also be great fun to cover, as we are, according to science, all bozos on this bus. Granny knows.
👍 Saw them on their last tour in 1980 and it was one of the best concerts ever and a rather intimate show with a facility that held only about 500 people in the round.
They were AMAZING live! Always entertaining. Never a dull moment. I saw them live 5 times (six if you count the second show I stayed for on their last tour in 1980, ParkWest, Chicago). The demands and timing of the intricate music they performed meant the slightest mistake or miscue could bring down the whole piece like a house of cards, but their execution was always flawless. And always fun!
That bass line at 5:55 : it rolls along with the harmony, it grooves like mad, it counterpoints - and all that obviously played with ease and joy. Ray is -- was, very sorry to say that - a beast.
OMG Justin, you did a "Live" GG video !!!! Thank you for doing this : D See the Amazing Fun they have on stage !!! Lol I Love it. : ) Keep the Live Classic Prog coming, it's always better Live. All are Amazingly talented Multi-instrumentalist !!!!! Hopefully there will be much more Live GG now that you've seen them, I told you how "Great" they were Live since you started : D As always GG some of my favorite concerts I seen from 1974' to 1977' just Love them !! The Belgium TV show of 1974' is Great ! You know where to get it from !! Lol : D
A friend came over one night to let me in on his new record, this was the first Giant time I ever heard (the vinyl was newly released) many moons ago... I rushed out and purchased their first two albums. Thanks for shaking the memory loose.. The most fun "serious music" other than Zappa I know.
They were so good live! I saw them once in 1977. I remember being impressed by their capacity to play so many instruments. I was also blown away with their ability to reproduce vocal harmonies so well!
Revisiting this it's wonderful watching your expression as the camera pans out to reveal all the incredible instrumentation and vocal montages. I saw this Live in 74 in a small venue so you can imagine what I felt
I have been hoping you'd do this one. One of my favourite performances ever. Such incredible skill. And who else would think of starting it with a chamber orchestra? There has never been anyone else like them. Just astonishing! Thank you again for helping me to rediscover the joy of one of my favourite things. The studio version is great too, but quite a bit different.
Bravo JP, a 70s masterpiece. I studied music in the 70s, we were studying Fugues with an obvious emphasis on Bach. I took this vinyl to school, popped it on the turntable and basically told the. music teacher to 'cop a listen to this'. After an initial dubiousness, he was pleasantly surprised and had to admit they could actually sing, and play their instruments. "They're even obeying the rules (of fugues)", until they weren't. I saw them do this live in '75, it is a tour de force, but arranged very differently than the album version, which starts off with the acapella section and slowly adds instruments on each repetition. The Live at the BBC series, I'm pretty sure it was called "Sight and Sound in concert" was great, there are concerts by Jethro Tull and Focus on TH-cam which are well worth checking out.
Great to see Gentle Giant get some much deserved love. It's about time. Edit: Their brand of quirky Prog is evident in most of the modern "neoprog" I listen to now: Haken, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic...they are literally standing on the shoulders of Giants. Ps, the Oakland A's were a quirky baseball team back in the early seventies with Rolly Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and of course, Reggie Jackson.
Gentle Giant blew my mind at the Shrine Mosque (Springfield, MO). I hadn’t heard of them yet. They opened the show. They stole the show. I’ve since forgotten what band I bought tickets for and went to go see that night. It was over once Gentle Giant arrived.
Zappa was right about GG. Between them there were 45 instruments mastered. And if ever there was a group who one might consider "underrated", this is them. More popular today than 50 years ago. Funny, I'm wearing the Free Hand T-Shirt. :)
You really check out some great stuff on your channel, some of my favorite bands...just in the last few days I have seen videos here from the likes of Wishbone Ash, Utopia...and now Gentle Giant! GG: What a phenomenal group these guys were. I think that in terms of musicianship and musical composition, they were on a different level to pretty much everybody else. Each member a virtuoso on their main instrument, but also each member a complete multi-instrumentalist, and they all sang too. What I really love about them though is that it always sounds natural, their virtuosity and multi-instrumentalism, they never sound pretentious to me or like they are trying to show off their abilities. They were simply incredibly talented musicians who were true experimenters. They never made it big commercially (this kind of music could never be meant for mass consumption!)....but artistically, boy did they make it huge! Another track of theirs I recommend you hear is Three Friends, the title track off their album of the same name (Three Friends). Phenomenal melody and piece of music, that I'm sure any of the classical composers would have been proud to have composed!
Yay! I was one of those who requested this video so well done for choosing it. It shows what a great live band they were despite the complexity of the music. Now give some thought to the other two I suggested, if you dare!
This is incredible. There's so much good music i like and then i hear this and im like, its never-ending.. So much great music out there.. Thanks to your subscribers suggestions (and you, of course) this channel kicks ass... 👍 The Ikon... Next 😂
I hold this band in highest regard. Unfortunately they never made it big. Everyone has heard of King Crimson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, ELP, Yes, and Rush, but many prog aficionados remain unaware of Gentle Giant. They are only belatedly getting the attention and respect they deserve.
Ray standing there with a bass hanging around his neck, playing a viola in counterpoint and simultaneously singing in a counterpoint - That should be the gold standard of everyone who’s wants to call themself a musician. If I was World Overlord Dictator, I would make such musicianship a minimum entrance level requirement for being allowed on stage or in a studio. The Justin Beaver’s Britney Spears’ of the world would die out over night and the worlds musical consciousness would be driven my actual musicians.
In many ways (funny ways?), GG is hands down THE best prog band I ever saw live. Yes is my overall sentimental favorite, I love ELP...but man, if I could go back in time and see ONE concert, it would be Gentle Giant. They were beyond great.
In 1978, how and why you consumed your music would have an enormous impact on what you would listen to. Listening in the car on the way to work? Probably AM radio. At a party on the weekend? What ever was danceable and light enough for all audiences that the host had on the turntable/reel to reel. Gentle Giant, and a lot of other prog bands required good stereo systems, certain atmosphere and a certain amount of musical exposure to be able to appreciate them. For someone raised almost exclusively on C&W or show tunes, this wouldn't have made any sense. Someone with some experience listening to classical music would find this fascinating. I enjoyed this but in 1978, I might not have given it a second listen as I wasn't ready for it and, having listened to King Crimson, Focus and Yes, I was more ready than most. Great song and performance.
Where to go after this? As much as I love all music and try to stay in touch with the ‘evolution’ of rock music, I can’t help but feel that we have ever since been on a downward slope, sliding into regression. No wonder I turned to jazz in the 80’s.
What I would do to be hearing "On Reflection" for the first time again! Still, after 45 years, I'm not the least bit tired of it. BTW, they're taking it quite fast, there is a better version on their live "playing The Fool" album. Love your reaction!!
If you're going live Gentle Giant, their version of "Free Hand" from "Playing The Fool" has an awesome guitar solo that isn't in the album version, elevating it for me.
Now you can see how I went from having never heard of them to being a fan when I saw them playing for an hour as an opening act. Amazing they never became better known. P.S.:The studio version is quite a bit different due to keyboardist Kerry Minear never doing lead vocals live
You are on a roll this week Justin! This whole concert is great! When I saw them I was already amazed at all the instruments lined up on stage before the show and then they got to playing them. Wow!
Gentle Giant is a band I was never into (only have their Octopus) but anyone can see they're great. And being famous mostly for is first albums (Three Friends, In a Glass House) it isn't understandable how they, as we see here, in 78, were not6in there peak. How can it be? Some years ago, I rushed to see Peter Hammill on a prog festival we use to have here in Portugal (yes, can you imagine that? Ahah) and for me, a true Hammill fan (being Pawn Hearts definitely the album of my life - and the reason why I came to see your videos, Justin) and In Camera literally a Hell of a piece), I was stroke with the opening act of the night: they were Three Friends. I think only the guitar player was an original member of GG, but the vocalist sounded very similar, the bass player - oh boy, I've never seen, heard, or paid attention to any like it, etc, etc. So, in the end, Hammill got a bit forgotten by my memories of that great evening. But I believe, I mean, he was unbelievable too. I think I prefer GG to Yes as musicianship terms (though Yes can be more listenable...)
Great song and amazing performance. I grew up liking their albums in the early 70s, never saw them live and never saw a live clip. When I did I was little struck by the fact they looked more like dorks than I expected. Still good music though. You can't have everything.
i was 12. i saw the garb and the penny whistle, i heard the rentaghost harmonies and thought Oh dear No. i was 50. i watched the video after gettin into Field Music major league and thought Oh Yes, now i get it.
Yeah, you need to hear the studio version as well. It's recognizably the same song, but very different. Either one has the title "best rock fugue ever" locked up, though.
For some reason, I always overlooked Gentle Giant back when I first started to get into Art and Prog rock. At the time, all my friends were listening to the Big Four: Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and ELP and I just overlooked Gentle Giant. Which is kind of weird, considering whenever I used to peruse the Genesis section at the record store, Gentle Giant was the next band after them, listed alphabetically. But they are great. Very intricate music and most enjoyable. I'll have to check out more of their stuff. Any recommendations on which albums I might want to listen to first? And also I would like to belatedly congratulate you JP, on the 20,000 subscribers. A fantastic milestone!
Listen to them in the order they released their albums starting with the self titled debut. Including "Interview" they made 8 albums on an extremely high level in a row. So I would not recommend one particular album. Maybe it is interesting to follow their development. The albums they released after 1976 were no longer on that level because other than Yes or Genesis they could not follow the change into the 80s although they still made some songs that are better than average. But better than average is not their level.
Astounding live performance. The level of musicianship is extraordinary. The studio version has the same contrapuntual feel, with more instrumental playfulness and solo vocals by Kerry Minnear.
saw the Giant 4 times. The first time they had all 3 Shulmans playing. Truly brilliant band
Absolutely bleeping brilliant, how great that this was popular enough to exist.
Gentle Giant live bonus :D
Genius
Completely new to me. Live really added to my introduction. I enjoyed thanks.
GG, simply brilliant. And this, a joy for the senses.
Saw this live in 1975. One of a kind.
Incredible you didn't do this song and this album already. The live version is very different from the studio one. i adore both. When I want someone to discover GG, I always make them listen On Reflection(studio) first…
Brilliance
If you get hold of the DVD of this concert, you can play this with a commentary by four members of the band, decades later, discussing this performance. It's hilarious. It might be online somewhere, I've never looked cus I have the deev. Yes, the perfect introduction to the band for someone who has never came across them before.
You really need to check out a live performance of Funny Ways. Kerry goes OFF on the vibraphone like a man possessed.
Actually this is better than the studio version imo. One thing that needs attention: After the a cappella part they start playing the same layers with their instruments. But indivudually they sing one layer and play another. Easy? Not.
Even though I was a fan at this time, it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around that an actual rock audience would sit,listen and watch and be enthralled with a band like Gentle Giant, playing their unique music. Bravo the 70s.
I find them impressive and bizarre at the same time. Some great technical ability combined with tunelessness.
Gentle Giant is still blowing our minds today. Simply The best. Tanx Justin!!!
If I remember rightly these used to be on the TV and be on the radio FM stereo simultaneously
You can find a great live version on the Playing the Fool lp
What did I just watch, I did like it… like two bands in one. Been up all night, just finished Bohemian Rhapsody, I know… I’m late, I always wait. Might be a movie to react to.
Time for a snooze.
Peace and 2for1 Music
GG were so far ahead of their era, I really had a hard time converting any friends, it was music that demanded your attention and I guess because it was sophisticated and went off at tangents most just couldn't grasp it. The only converts were a couple of Art College friends who I talked into going to a gig, ( they had a car and I didn't, so it was the only way I could see one of their tour dates) . The next day they both went out and bought every available GG album. Great to see a new generation of fans experiencing them through these live videos.
This performance was during the accent of Disco in 1978.
Crazy.
Yes, i saw them doing this live 1976 in Stockholm, blew me away…
There is a photo of Ray stananding by his microphone, Holding and playing his violin with his bass on his neck, smiling!
That is Gentle Giant
I saw them live with Renaissance on the same bill at the Guzman in Miami in the 70's. I remember trying to figure out how they played and sang this live and made it better than the studio version, which I adore. This song, in a word, is delightful!! ❤️
There's a live acoustic guitar medley duet of Octopus with Ray and Gary on TH-cam that is tanfastic
This is different from the studio version but I love both of them. This song is one of my favorite compositions of the 20th century as far as I know them. It has everything I adore Gentle Giant for: the vocal parts, the changing of instruments, unexpected but logical transitions, the polyphony.
I knew them before 1978 and I never saw them in a TV show until youtube. But I first listened to some of their songs at a Friday evening when I visited my dearest cousin. And the next morning I got up earlier than necessary and ran to the music store he had bought that particular record to be there before anybody else could buy the last available record just before my eyes. It was a sampler of two lp records called "Giant Steps". The start of a life long love affair.
Such a fun band live. Got to see them twice in the mid-late seventies. They were my first REAL rock concert. They LOVED playing "rounds" like this. At times they would ALL pick up recorders, or ALL pick up percussion instruments and go into "rounds" as they did with the vocals here. Phenomenal band.
I especially love GG live. Only masters can have that kind of fun with such intense musical demands in live performance. AWESOME!
my fave GG tune....DO check out the studio version...its totally different!!
I knew this extract because I have the DVD of this concert. Excellent performance but I also wish the 1976 tour had been filmed because that was where Gentle Giant was at the top ! (Fortunately, there is the double album Playing the Fool - The Official Live as well as other CDs from this Autumn 1976 European tour).
Genius... and intimidating for whoever is on next. Hope you've heard "His Last Voyage"... the Free Hand lp is worth a playthough (Steven Wilson version pls!)
His Last Voyage is an incredible song. Such poetic, haunting and sensitive lyrics and singing from Kerry.
@@jimhardiman3836 Completely agree. A song of utter beauty.
Such an amazing live act! It’s one thing to nail it in the studio, but to pull it off in a live setting? Wow, just wow.
Gentle Giant's music always used to elude me. I didn't get it. And then one day several years ago it just clicked! Now I'm astounded whenever I hear one of their tracks. Not only are they incredible technical musicians, but they have SOUL, and they know how to groove with the best of them. Once those drums came in and the song changed direction, it was game over. Beautiful stuff!
Back in the 1970's I would have laughed at this collection of beardy absurdities, looking like escapees from the Open University maths course. So thanks to JP for allowing me to give this band a chance and to discover I'm now more able to appreciate their amazing and wide-ranging musical endeavours. I'm never going to be a die-hard prog fan, but at least my ears are open.
Knew you’d appreciate the incredible musical talent of GG.
When Ray Shulman was singing while playing the violin, I was like 😮😮 Wow.
Baroque barbershop! Only Justin can come up with that. Made me smile.
The studio version is very different but equally great.
YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!! Always look for reactions to this performance. The talent level here is off the charts. Also, I'll repeat again: Free Hand will be your favorite Gentle Giant album, when you get to it.
This is VERY good! These musician are proficient in so many areas of the musical landscape, They are the real deal. “Proficient” is a word that you may have been looking for during your reaction, The term proficiency was used a lot when I went to music school. All music students had to take a piano proficiency course and couldn’t graduate unless they achieved a certain level of ability on the instrument. As a music education major, I had to learn to play all of the orchestra and band instruments, as well as sing, at an eighth grade proficiency. As a classical guitar concentration, I had to reach certain levels of proficiency in order to progress in the program. To perform my senior recital, I had to be at a high level of proficiency. Music performance majors are held to an even higher standard of proficiency. Music conservatories have even higher levels of proficiency than that.
they are great musicians, but the true strength of Gentle Giant is the writing. The most original music I've ever heard -- mostly written by Kerry Minnear(keys, etc) and Ray Shulman (bass, etc)
Another Gentle Giant song that really comes alive in performance: "So Sincere". There's a delightful video up on here of them playing it in 1974, I believe.
I had to watch that as soon as I read your comment. The one with the percussion insanity. I have the GG King Biscuit Flower Hour CD with pretty much the same live arrangement of So Sincere, being able to actually see it is great!
In the olden times, in the '60s and '70s, you could tell a lot about a person by the artifacts they would have in their homes or trailers or chicken shacks, with particular emphasis, at the time, on books and records. Smart folks had plenty of excellent books, and progressive music, be it rock, jazz, fusion, or classical. And the smartest would have Gentle Giant. At least in my neck of the woods. I was late to the game, probably because my limited budget, when finding me in the G section of the record store, would get the Genesis, right beside it, instead. Both are very great, but Gentle remained underground, and didn't, so to say, sell out, to get the big bucks.
Seeing them live is a particular charm. What risible rhythm! What rounds! What wild ecstasy! They were like a musical Firesign Theater... who would also be great fun to cover, as we are, according to science, all bozos on this bus. Granny knows.
This is why members of Jethro Tull, Zappa, Genesis, Yes and many more Prog/Jazz Fusion bands Loved them !! 👍 🧐 🎶
So tight...Loved these guys for decades...Thanks Justin...
👍 Saw them on their last tour in 1980 and it was one of the best concerts ever and a rather intimate show with a facility that held only about 500 people in the round.
Sounds like a good time :D
A band full of genius, not a single weak link
Wow, to perform this live is astounding.
I ran to the shop in the late seventies.
They were AMAZING live! Always entertaining. Never a dull moment. I saw them live 5 times (six if you count the second show I stayed for on their last tour in 1980, ParkWest, Chicago). The demands and timing of the intricate music they performed meant the slightest mistake or miscue could bring down the whole piece like a house of cards, but their execution was always flawless. And always fun!
Man the Giant were crazy talented.
That bass line at 5:55 : it rolls along with the harmony, it grooves like mad, it counterpoints - and all that obviously played with ease and joy.
Ray is -- was, very sorry to say that - a beast.
OMG Justin, you did a "Live" GG video !!!! Thank you for doing this : D
See the Amazing Fun they have on stage !!! Lol I Love it. : )
Keep the Live Classic Prog coming, it's always better Live.
All are Amazingly talented Multi-instrumentalist !!!!!
Hopefully there will be much more Live GG now that you've seen them, I told you how "Great" they were Live since you started : D
As always GG some of my favorite concerts I seen from 1974' to 1977' just Love them !!
The Belgium TV show of 1974' is Great !
You know where to get it from !! Lol : D
Words escape me, I have no direction. Must have live music, there is more connexion. And anything from Gentle Giant is perfect On Reflection. Peace.
A friend came over one night to let me in on his new record, this was the first Giant time I ever heard (the vinyl was newly released) many moons ago... I rushed out and purchased their first two albums.
Thanks for shaking the memory loose.. The most fun "serious music" other than Zappa I know.
They were so good live! I saw them once in 1977. I remember being impressed by their capacity to play so many instruments. I was also blown away with their ability to reproduce vocal harmonies so well!
i remember watching this when it was first broadcast..! worth watching the whole show...
Revisiting this it's wonderful watching your expression as the camera pans out to reveal all the incredible instrumentation and vocal montages. I saw this Live in 74 in a small venue so you can imagine what I felt
I have been hoping you'd do this one. One of my favourite performances ever.
Such incredible skill. And who else would think of starting it with a chamber orchestra? There has never been anyone else like them.
Just astonishing! Thank you again for helping me to rediscover the joy of one of my favourite things.
The studio version is great too, but quite a bit different.
they always impress me. so cool.
Hadn't heard this song live...mercy, even better live, an improvement on perfection...
Just about my top Prog.band since the early 70's. And as a live unit they were awesome...
Bravo JP, a 70s masterpiece. I studied music in the 70s, we were studying Fugues with an obvious emphasis on Bach. I took this vinyl to school, popped it on the turntable and basically told the. music teacher to 'cop a listen to this'. After an initial dubiousness, he was pleasantly surprised and had to admit they could actually sing, and play their instruments. "They're even obeying the rules (of fugues)", until they weren't. I saw them do this live in '75, it is a tour de force, but arranged very differently than the album version, which starts off with the acapella section and slowly adds instruments on each repetition. The Live at the BBC series, I'm pretty sure it was called "Sight and Sound in concert" was great, there are concerts by Jethro Tull and Focus on TH-cam which are well worth checking out.
Great to see Gentle Giant get some much deserved love. It's about time.
Edit: Their brand of quirky Prog is evident in most of the modern "neoprog" I listen to now: Haken, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic...they are literally standing on the shoulders of Giants.
Ps, the Oakland A's were a quirky baseball team back in the early seventies with Rolly Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and of course, Reggie Jackson.
Gentle Giant blew my mind at the Shrine Mosque (Springfield, MO). I hadn’t heard of them yet. They opened the show. They stole the show. I’ve since forgotten what band I bought tickets for and went to go see that night. It was over once Gentle Giant arrived.
Shockingly great.
As Derek Shulman said: "We did'nt set out to be serious, we wanted to entertain".
Seen them live in 1976 unbelievable mate in Newcastle UK
Zappa was right about GG. Between them there were 45 instruments mastered. And if ever there was a group who one might consider "underrated", this is them. More popular today than 50 years ago. Funny, I'm wearing the Free Hand T-Shirt. :)
You really check out some great stuff on your channel, some of my favorite bands...just in the last few days I have seen videos here from the likes of Wishbone Ash, Utopia...and now Gentle Giant! GG: What a phenomenal group these guys were. I think that in terms of musicianship and musical composition, they were on a different level to pretty much everybody else. Each member a virtuoso on their main instrument, but also each member a complete multi-instrumentalist, and they all sang too. What I really love about them though is that it always sounds natural, their virtuosity and multi-instrumentalism, they never sound pretentious to me or like they are trying to show off their abilities. They were simply incredibly talented musicians who were true experimenters. They never made it big commercially (this kind of music could never be meant for mass consumption!)....but artistically, boy did they make it huge! Another track of theirs I recommend you hear is Three Friends, the title track off their album of the same name (Three Friends). Phenomenal melody and piece of music, that I'm sure any of the classical composers would have been proud to have composed!
Yay! I was one of those who requested this video so well done for choosing it. It shows what a great live band they were despite the complexity of the music. Now give some thought to the other two I suggested, if you dare!
This is incredible. There's so much good music i like and then i hear this and im like, its never-ending.. So much great music out there.. Thanks to your subscribers suggestions (and you, of course) this channel kicks ass... 👍 The Ikon... Next 😂
I hold this band in highest regard. Unfortunately they never made it big. Everyone has heard of King Crimson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, ELP, Yes, and Rush, but many prog aficionados remain unaware of Gentle Giant. They are only belatedly getting the attention and respect they deserve.
Add Focus to that list!
Fabulous and uplifting!
Ray standing there with a bass hanging around his neck, playing a viola in counterpoint and simultaneously singing in a counterpoint - That should be the gold standard of everyone who’s wants to call themself a musician. If I was World Overlord Dictator, I would make such musicianship a minimum entrance level requirement for being allowed on stage or in a studio. The Justin Beaver’s Britney Spears’ of the world would die out over night and the worlds musical consciousness would be driven my actual musicians.
In many ways (funny ways?), GG is hands down THE best prog band I ever saw live. Yes is my overall sentimental favorite, I love ELP...but man, if I could go back in time and see ONE concert, it would be Gentle Giant. They were beyond great.
In 1978, how and why you consumed your music would have an enormous impact on what you would listen to. Listening in the car on the way to work? Probably AM radio. At a party on the weekend? What ever was danceable and light enough for all audiences that the host had on the turntable/reel to reel. Gentle Giant, and a lot of other prog bands required good stereo systems, certain atmosphere and a certain amount of musical exposure to be able to appreciate them. For someone raised almost exclusively on C&W or show tunes, this wouldn't have made any sense. Someone with some experience listening to classical music would find this fascinating. I enjoyed this but in 1978, I might not have given it a second listen as I wasn't ready for it and, having listened to King Crimson, Focus and Yes, I was more ready than most.
Great song and performance.
Top level "playing" in every sense of the word.
Where to go after this? As much as I love all music and try to stay in touch with the ‘evolution’ of rock music, I can’t help but feel that we have ever since been on a downward slope, sliding into regression.
No wonder I turned to jazz in the 80’s.
What I would do to be hearing "On Reflection" for the first time again! Still, after 45 years, I'm not the least bit tired of it. BTW, they're taking it quite fast, there is a better version on their live "playing The Fool" album. Love your reaction!!
This whole live performance of GG truly got me into the band!!!! It dose not stop!!!
Brilliant. Thank you.
RIP Ray Shulman...
These guys were fun to see live because it seemed like everybody could play at least four different instruments and sing! A truly amazing band.
Others have commented that you really have to work at liking GG. I agree and do struggle from time to time, but this live performance was GREAT!
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛 thank you!!!!!!!
Happily!
If you're going live Gentle Giant, their version of "Free Hand" from "Playing The Fool" has an awesome guitar solo that isn't in the album version, elevating it for me.
Now you can see how I went from having never heard of them to being a fan when I saw them playing for an hour as an opening act. Amazing they never became better known. P.S.:The studio version is quite a bit different due to keyboardist Kerry Minear never doing lead vocals live
Can't wait to see you do Free Hand - their third masterpiece - after you finish In a Glass House, of course!
You are on a roll this week Justin! This whole concert is great! When I saw them I was already amazed at all the instruments lined up on stage before the show and then they got to playing them. Wow!
Gentle Giant is a band I was never into (only have their Octopus) but anyone can see they're great. And being famous mostly for is first albums (Three Friends, In a Glass House) it isn't understandable how they, as we see here, in 78, were not6in there peak. How can it be?
Some years ago, I rushed to see Peter Hammill on a prog festival we use to have here in Portugal (yes, can you imagine that? Ahah) and for me, a true Hammill fan (being Pawn Hearts definitely the album of my life - and the reason why I came to see your videos, Justin) and In Camera literally a Hell of a piece), I was stroke with the opening act of the night: they were Three Friends. I think only the guitar player was an original member of GG, but the vocalist sounded very similar, the bass player - oh boy, I've never seen, heard, or paid attention to any like it, etc, etc.
So, in the end, Hammill got a bit forgotten by my memories of that great evening. But I believe, I mean, he was unbelievable too.
I think I prefer GG to Yes as musicianship terms (though Yes can be more listenable...)
Great song and amazing performance. I grew up liking their albums in the early 70s, never saw them live and never saw a live clip. When I did I was little struck by the fact they looked more like dorks than I expected. Still good music though. You can't have everything.
Truly one of the all time dorky-looking bands.
Search out their 5.1 surround sound releases too - fab souding!
You made the right choice going for the live over the studio. The live versions of “On Reflection” are far superior in arrangement.
Love it.
The studio version is quite different. Be sure to compare soon.
Sick.
Love a bit of Caravan me !!
i was 12. i saw the garb and the penny whistle, i heard the rentaghost harmonies and thought Oh dear No.
i was 50. i watched the video after gettin into Field Music major league and thought Oh Yes, now i get it.
... hi Justin, I'm eagerly waiting for you to finish "In a glass house", I'm very looking forward to your reaction to the title song :-) ...
Speaking of classic vintage clips, why not revisit 'Winter Wine', as played by Caravan on Beat Club, 1971?
Without a doubt, an exceptional performance of that song with Richard Sinclair’s wonderfully warm vocals a major highlight!
Yeah, you need to hear the studio version as well. It's recognizably the same song, but very different. Either one has the title "best rock fugue ever" locked up, though.
So tickling you have to scratch yourself. Love them. Live even better than or at least equal to the studio version
GG live is a joy to watch and hear. Do give the studio version a listen. Actually, just listen to the whole Free Hand album.
For some reason, I always overlooked Gentle Giant back when I first started to get into Art and Prog rock. At the time, all my friends were listening to the Big Four: Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and ELP and I just overlooked Gentle Giant. Which is kind of weird, considering whenever I used to peruse the Genesis section at the record store, Gentle Giant was the next band after them, listed alphabetically. But they are great. Very intricate music and most enjoyable. I'll have to check out more of their stuff. Any recommendations on which albums I might want to listen to first? And also I would like to belatedly congratulate you JP, on the 20,000 subscribers. A fantastic milestone!
Listen to them in the order they released their albums starting with the self titled debut. Including "Interview" they made 8 albums on an extremely high level in a row. So I would not recommend one particular album. Maybe it is interesting to follow their development. The albums they released after 1976 were no longer on that level because other than Yes or Genesis they could not follow the change into the 80s although they still made some songs that are better than average. But better than average is not their level.
@@maraboo72 Thanks for the reply and insight. Appreciated.