ACQUIRING THE TASTE

"Acquiring the Taste" is the first gentle Giant masterpiece, putting a special emphasis in the gentle side of this prog giant after its impressive namesake debut. Addtionally, there is also a simultaneous emphasis on the eerie side of prog, which gives the album an extra experimental essence: this album is designed as a real acquired taste, but again, it is not overtly impenetrable - simply put, it is there to be grasped by the bold listener's ear and heart, and thatt is a demanding task. By the way, let me add that this was also the first CD I purchased, but by then I already was a GG fan, so I knew what I was supposed to expect: odd yet attractive compositions, massive use of challenging counterpoints, odd tempos and dissonances, impressive choral arrangements, ultra-varied musical ideas. Though admittedly "Acquiring the Taste"'s fire does not match that in "Three Friends" or "The Power and the Glory", nor is it as appealing as "Free Hand", it sures encapsulates and incarnates the most exquisite expression of GG's prototypical finesse and sophistication. Well, actually the first 8 years in the band's gigantic career has been nothing but a spectacular display of finesse, but it's fair to say that the "Acquiring the Taste" repertoire reaches absolute heights and never gets a milimeter down from its impossible standards. The captivating ellegance of 'Pantagruel's Nativity', the eerie mystery of 'Edge of Twilight', the picaresque impressions of 'The House, the Street, the Room', and the blues-tinged ambience of 'Plain Truth', all these are handled with limitless good taste and immaculate mastery. By now, GG is a band that has achieved the plain maturity of their own signature sound. The melancholy ambience of 'The Moon is Down', with its lyrica lreflections about the passing of the day, comes as a clever contrast to its more upbeat predecessor 'Wreck', which combines pirate chant and Renaissance chamber with absolute fluency and catchy enthusiasm. Immediately after, 'Black Cat' provides a succession of awesome string ensemble parts in a jazz-oriented context: those string parts are sweet during the sung parts, disturbingly dissonant during the odd instrumental interlude. Nothing left to say but... this album is a masterpiece!!! No effort should be spared in order to acquire the taste to enjoy it properly, with the heart and the mind.