PLAYING THE FOOL - THE OFFICIAL LIVE

Live albums by great "live-bands" are always a welcome to my ears, this release is no exception. "Playing The Fool" shows Gentle Giant's unique live performances in a very good and sorted perspective with several instrumental "bonuses" added to many of the songs too. Gentle Giant always were very engaged live too, something that makes this album very uplifting and very rarely dull. I didn't quite get the point with the addition of "Breakdown in Brussels" though, but it's still a humoristic break from the album's other tracks, though it remains filler in my ears. On to the other stuff here; the music is played more or less flawlessly by the band. People might wonder how they manage to play this highly complex music live so good. Well, It's Gentle Giant we're talking about here, one of the most technically competent prog bands from the 70's, 'nuff said!

Despite it's few flaws, this is a must if you are a fan of this band. Great performances and very good tracklist. Sound quality is excellent, unlike the "Official Bootlegs" that was released years later that featured rather crappy sound quality. Gentle Giant fans, if you don't own this already, get it! 4.5/5