INTERVIEW

This album was, in fact, my first GG acquisition. I'd seen their album covers for years and had even been recommended their albums by my younger brother, but somehow never had the courage to try anything. Plus none of my proggy friends at college were listening to them, so there was none of that spillover effect. I had, literally, never heard a song of Gentle Giant's before buying this album (as a new release). While I didn't dislike it upon first listen, it was more jagged and angular than I expected. Successive listens helped it earn some respect--and the song "Empty City" the "reward" of being something I rendered to one of my tape collages. But, soon I gave up on the album--and sealed myself off from trying any of the band's back catalogue. (I have to admit that the album art also kind of repelled me as being too silly or infantile. Perhaps the Saturday morning children's show of the similar title, "The Friendly Giant", had skewed my thinking in this way. I remember thinking that the band was trying to attract a crowd from a children's point of view--not unlike the soon-to-arrive band They Must Be Giants.

Anyway, as I've finally vanquished my bias against GG, I've come to know all of their albums fairly well and this one still does not "feed me"--rates as among their poorer productions from their ten year output. Not bad, just not anything here that I'd write home about.