OCTOPUS

One of my personal favourites from Gentle Giant. "Octopus" remains to this day one of their more consistent albums, with each song having its own personality that makes the album quite diverse and a pleasure to listen to. This is definitely one of their stronger works, possibly even their strongest. Others would argue that "Free Hand" or "In a Glass House" are stronger but I believe "Octopus" is right up there as well. This album is definitely a great starting point for those barely getting into Gentle Giant due to the shorter songs and the overall mood of the album. The best track would have to be the beautiful "Think Of Me With Kindness", but really, all the songs are easy to like. "Octopus" just has the right amount of complexity that attracts everybody from the novice prog listener to the more experienced of avid prog fans.

1. "The Advent of Panurge" - 8.5/10

2. "Raconteur Troubadour" - 8.5/10

3. "A Cry For Everyone" - 8.5/10

4. "Knots" - 9/10

5. "The Boys in the Band" - 8/10

6. "Dog's Life" - 8.5/10

7. "Think Of Me With Kindness" - 10/10

8. "River" - 8.5/10

69.5/8 = 86.875% = 4 stars...indeed, an excellent addition.