OCTOPUS

This is the first Gentle Giant album I ever heard and it managed to put me off the band for more then 20 years. I've recently acquired the taste by submerging myself in the mysterious world of their first three albums, but it looks like Octopus still continues to sound rather artificial and uninvolved to me.

I really can't hear the inspiration of the previous two albums. The band seems to go through the motions without any new ideas and without much enthusiasm for the old ones. The opening track and Knots do still wet my appetite with some intriguing riffs and eerie vocal harmonies, but most tracks leave me untouched. The musicianship is excellent of course but seems to serve little other purpose then to entertain the band members. I sure do miss the out-worldly atmospheres and catchy hooks from the two preceding albums.

I think Gentle Giant have stripped their music too much of its raw emotion and spontaneity here. The result is an intellectualized and artsy form of Prog that will probably never appeal to me very much. Luckily for Gentle Giant I seem to represent a very small minority who thinks as such.