THE POWER AND THE GLORY

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This is one of the most aggressively challenging and complex progessive albums Gentle Giant ever released, which of course means it is one of the most aggressively challenging and complex albums ever made. The opening track wastes no time before descending into a menacing, claustrophobic "chorus" with crunching chords and masterful dissonant vocals, while "So Sincere" follows it up as a kind of miniature bible for GG's off-kilter approach to music making. "Cogs in Cogs" can barely contain itself as it races through dense tangles of raucous keyboard riffs and shouted vocals, when suddenly we find ourselves amidst a shifting patchwork of voices all falling in and out of time with one another like some animated jigsaw puzzle. Gentle Giant were the mad geniuses of the prog world, and this is their mad genius album -- it's hard to believe that there were still more masterpieces to come after this one.

3,5 stars really!!!

With the new template set with their previous album, GG is now really setting in their stride and reaching their cruising speed and this is translating into healthier sales. However, I find that two endearing early qualities are being progressively forgotten: the extensive use of acoustic instrument and the adventurous (albeit somewhat not always successful) tempo changes. So the more mechanical GG became, the more successful they became.

But their success may come from a small change of attitude of a part of the audiences. By 73, the general back-to-basics part of the counter-culture had really come down to the roots or traditional folk music and its pre-renaissance, medieval, Tudor and baroque eras of music and the meteoric rise of David Munrow was part of trigger of this musical current. Those factors were permitting out-of-this-world band like Gryphon, Amazing Blondel or even the Third Ear Band to rise to national attention (the phenomenon reaching continental Europe at the same time with Malicorne or Ougenweide), and also helping out GG whose medieval and pre-renaissance tastes were no secret.

Outside of those considerations for greater commercial success, one can not hide the fact that GG was down to business as usual (this is very relative because the extreme nature of their nature of their music CANNOT be casual and indulgent), and its formula now well established do point towards some kind of a well-oiled mechanical construction where creativity or inventivity play a lesser role. There are still some outstanding tracks on this conceptual album (about , you guessed it the vicissitudes of Power and this was coming during the un-related Watergate affair) such as Proclamation and the lovely Aspirations (maybe the most gorgeous slow track GG ever wrote). Other highlights are Playing The Game and the intriguing titled No God's A Man, the rest being just run-of-the-mill standard GG tracks, although Cogs and sSo Sincere are cowd favorites!

While I consider this album still a classic, I rate every album coming before it and Interview, much better, but Free Hand is actually very similar to this one and gets the same rating.

"The Power & The Glory" was my first GENTLE GIANT album I ever purchased and remember being so addicted to this album playing it over and over again and again. GENTLE GIANT unleash all of their "GIANT'isms" with superb complex and highly syncopated vocal harmony and contrasts. "The Power & The Glory" delivers some pretty sporty rhythms and jazz-prog interludes. Songs are exceptionally well written offering great sound contrasts and complex mood and melodies. This is highly clever music which never remains static for too long and is always moving and changing. "Playing The Game" is perhaps my favorite GENTLE GIANT tune of all time which is the highlight on the album in my opinion.

Proclamation was the first song of Gentle Giant that I've ever heard and I found it very good, with a funny vocal and keyboard. Later I discovered that that was the Gentle Giant's style. So I've bought this album and I think it's very good. The songs are great, with Proclamation being the best in my opinion.

Along with " Free Hand" and " Octopus" the most stunning and one of their best albums. It's difficult to indicate such a particular song within, because all the tracks have got their surprising peculiarity!! Actually there are a few (a bit "colder") harmonic passages, characterized by their usual formal perfection ;but nevertheless- in my opinion- this is one of the most progressive among their several albums and it is quite accessible too, even though they keep on maintaining their usual originality.As for the reasons above, this album is highly recommended, anyway!!

"The band's most irritating, least listenable record." So wrote Alan Niester in the second edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Remembering for the moment the antipathy toward progressive rock at the time (1983), it's no wonder only "Free Hand" was deemed a record of "average worth" from the GG catalog.

Of course, The "Power And The Glory" is no "average" album; louder and heavier than previous GIANT productions, this is a concept about a man coming to power (probably written with some prime minister or past politico in mind). I used to have this one on cassette, but tapes being transitory things, I'm now left only with the cassette cover. I always enjoyed it, maybe not as much as softer works like "Octopus" and Three Friends, but moreso than any of the GG albums that followed (i.e., "Free Hand", "Interview"). "In A Glass House" is by all accounts a "difficult" album, so it may be the closest cousin to "The Power And The Glory". I have seen "Power" get low marks from some reviewers, so maybe there are GG fans who really shy away from the band's more abrasive arrangements.

I enjoy the band at both ends of the spectrum (light and dark), so it's never been a stumbling block to my enjoying this record. If you enjoy the band for their deft arrangements, they're here in spades, so enjoy.

When I was about to wake up this morning, I don't know why I got something clear in my mind, i.e. to spin Gentle Giant's "The Power and the Glory" album after having been such a long time I never touch this album (I think partly due to abundant new prog albums are flooding all around me recently. Well, I'm now actually in the middle of enjoying The Flower King's "Adam and Eve" album loaned from my friend, Rizal, who just bought it in Hong Kong.).

What a coincidence that the first track of this album is "Proclamation" while my country is today celebrating our 59th independence day. Purely coincidence! This track is really fantastic - it has a great melody and relatively complex composition. Opened with a unique organ sound in a discrete mode, followed by single voice of Derek SHULMAN and tight bass line by Ray SHULMAN make this opening set the overall tone of the track perfectly. I like the way Derek sings her - it has a great mixture of high and low .."You may not have all you want or you need .". What a great singing!! The music flows nicely with keyboards and bass dominate the background music. This is the kind music that can lift up your emotion and energy.

The second track is almost totally a discrete music with significant influence of avant- garde music. This time, violin and cello are dominating the music with some guitar fills and piano. When the voice sings "SO SIN-CERE" I can notice that all instruments are played in multi directions but they still can maintain the overall harmony. What a brilliant composition! It's contemporary, I would say. The only thing continuous in this track is when lead guitar fills the interlude. But again, the music is back to discrete style. You may hardly like this track. But I enjoy it very much!

The third track "Aspirations" is probably the most poppy track of this album. It has a ballad style but constructed in the vein of prog. It's so nice track, relatively mellow with keyboard sound as tagline - good singing style. It's an encouraging track, lyric-wise. Look at this: "As the dust settles, see our dreams, all coming true .." what a positive message the band tried to convey!

"Playing the Game" is really prog to the corner! It has all elements that typical prog music has always had: dynamic, relatively complex, and shifting tempos. Again, it's opened by a strange keyboard sound and dazzling bass line. Whenever I listened to this track I always observe how dynamic bass guitar is played throughout the whole segments of this track. It has a relatively upbeat tempo with some nice breaks for example on the part where the voice sings a monologue "My thoughts never spoken only the visions .." And so on. Then the music is back to the original tagline melody and composition.

The 5th track "Cogs in Cogs" is another excellent track with an uplifting intro, all instruments are played simultaneously and followed by unique singing style of SHULMAN "Empty promise broken the path has not been paved anyway .." As other tracks, this track has a variety of tempo.

"No God's Man" is a mellow track in the vein of "Aspirations" but it is more complex. Great keyboards and clavinet solo, lead guitar. "The Face" is an uplifting track with great harmony of violin, cello and guitar fills. "Valedictory" is a straight prog rock heavily influenced by hard rock music, opened with a solo drum and guitar. The music then flows nicely when the vocal line is added. This time the voice is performed in a high tone. Great voice, Mr. Shulman!!! My CD has a bonus track "The Power and The Glory" - a short track with great melody and composition. The only lacking is the production quality is not as the rest of original album track.

To conclude, this album has a very strong composition, tight structural integrity (hmmm .. .such an academic statement hah?) in every track as well as between tracks in the album. Each track is well positioned in its order to ensure maximum enjoyment for its listeners. Even the bonus track is brilliantly located to conclude the album, as an "encore", I would say. Musicianship - no question about it as each individual member contributes their talent skillfully. Production quality is excellent (even though it was 1974, 30 years ago mannn!!! I even have a habit of playing this cd LOUD especially when I play Proclamation, Playing The Game and Valedictory.). It all sum up to FIVE STAR rating of this album, and I am not too naïve about it (it's been 30 years all around us). - Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia.

I want to purchase the new DVD from GG. It's one of my projects. Before laughing out loud at the lack of challenge in my life, may I inform you to fully appreciate the DVD you must know a bit of what The Power and the Glory is about. Well, this album is much more colder than Octopus and the brasero that was Acquiring the Taste. Plus, Phil Shulman is gone. I'll miss his voice. He used to sing louder than Minnear but softer than Dereck. Oh well, it kinda shows in the writing that he's gone. A big chunk of the warmth of GG is gone...but replaced. Replaced with a more proggish approach. But a cold one. So Sincere is showing what I mean. But we are treated like kings is this record. Aspirations is a delicate and soothing song. Minnear's voice is so gentle. Plus the acoustic guitar + the light Hammond are perfect together. A great 4 minutes. After that Cogs in Cogs rocks harder. It's hard to describe GG with words, but the best is to listen carefully. After owning the first 5 albums, this one gave me more of a hard time. Still an honorable purchase, but must be tamed to appreciate. Better make some coffee right now, the night could be long....

THE POWER AND THE GLORY is one of Gentle Giant's more "difficult" albums, there's no doubt about that. It's also one of my favourites from this highly inventive and influential English prog band.

Dating from 1974, this concept piece delves -- with fitting cynicism -- into the political experience, and the compromise, corruption, betrayal and egotism that go hand-in-hand with high office. (The cover, depicting a glowering, playing card king, is a classic.)

The opening "Proclamation," with its jazzy electric piano, and oddly-syncopated multi-instrumental "exchanges," is a real winner, while the softer "Aspirations," replete with acoustic guitar, and more great electric piano, is a fine showcase for keyboardist/singer Kerry Minnear's breathy, almost ethereal voice.

I absolutely love "Playing the Game." From start to finish, this one does it for me. From the insistent synth bass line, to the catchy melodies, to the terrific Hammond organ riffs, to the breezy, blinkered bravado of the lyrics, this is outstanding stuff. Lead vocalist Derek Shulman, in the role of the album's politico protagonist, likens politics to chess, claims the part of "king," and pompously declares that "the other pieces are there for my art and my tactics now.... I'll play the game, and never ever lose." A multi-faceted, joyous pure prog track, this is the essence of Gentle Giant -- if you don't "get" this one, you just don't like the band!

The hard-hitting "Cogs in Cogs" sees more great Hammond work (reminiscent of that on Tull's THICK AS A BRICK), and some passionate singing from Shulman, before "No God's a Man" slows things down a bit with some superlative multi-part vocal harmonies -- these guys can really sing!

Next up, "The Face" has some fine violin from bassist Ray Shulman, shining percussion and cymbal work from drummer John Weathers, and some especially cutting and powerful axe work from guitarist Gary Green. (The Hammond parts on this one also admirably conjure up comparisons to THICK AS A BRICK.)

"Valedictory" is another standout for this Giant fan. Dizzyingly-accelerating keyboard motifs, more terrific guitar, and almost histrionic vocals from Shulman bring the session to a memorable close.

I have deliberately put off mentioning the second track, "So Sincere," until now. As one of the band's least-accessible tunes, this one is almost guaranteed to make the non-initiate cringe. I enjoy "So Sincere" (it is quintessential Giant, at their most experimentally avant garde), but take my word for it -- if your non-prog-loving "significant other" or roommate walks in when this one is on, just hit the "skip" button -- and fast! This most convoluted and "weird" offering from a band that is an admittedly acquired taste is no way to introduce the neophyte to Giant's arcane mysteries and rewards. (Try them with "Playing the Game," or FREEHAND's "Time to Kill" instead.)

In conclusion, THE POWER AND THE GLORY is a stellar album from a terrific, supremely talented and important early prog act. Though perhaps not the easiest introduction to Gentle Giant, this excellent disc is yet a must for fans, and deserves inclusion in the thinking progressive rock listener's library. Complex, challenging music, certainly, and not for everyone, but for those "in the know," essential!

Their best... after "Octopus" of course. "Power & The Glory" is by many concidered as Gentle Giant's less acessible release in their ecletic discography. Personally, I had no problems getting "into" this album, but it has definietly growed on me. It's a very constructed and well thinked album, just like other Gentle Giant albums, though this one streches the complexity a bit further than before, this may be the cause why people have problems understanding it. I still think it's one of their best. The music is presented in such a unique way and the band's performance is incredible. Kerry Minnear in particular is great here with his technically well-competent keyboard contributions to the arrangements. There is no weak tracks here, only winners, especially "Proclamation" and "The Face". This is a highly recomended album for Gentle Giant fans, though some might have troubles with it at first, it is a grower. I'll give it a perfect 5!

Compared to the previous album "Octopus", "The Power and the Glory" seems to have much more keyboards, partly because the clavinet can be really distinguished here, like on "No God's a man" and "The face", and that there are omnipresent distorted rhythmic organ and electric piano (Fender Rhodes). The departure of Phil Shulman significantly removed most of the brass instruments, thus allowing room for other instruments. Mostly the tracks are more nervous than ever, and the keyboards are absolutely RESTLESS! Gary Green's electric guitar is rarely hard rock here: he concentrates on accompanying and enhancing the nervous rhythm imposed by the lively and fast keyboards: so, he plays shorter and more clean notes. The bass and drums are excellent and very elaborated, but they seem to be a bit detached to the infernal duo keyboards-guitars! "Proclamation" has a psychedelic & bizarre bit, reminding some influences of the "Acquiring the taste" album. "So sincere" is strangely dissonant, which may be a bit irritating for those who like the cute melodic dissonance on Octopus, but it remains very structured. The next track, "Aspirations" is one of the most relaxing tracks from GENTLE GIANT: it seems to consist in slow Fender Rhodes notes and melodic & calm lead vocals: the track is "very" simple. The next 2 albums have a similar sound, but they are better recorded.

Rating: 4.5/5

Wow, stunning album! This is the BEST album by them. It is very complex and full of the proggy juices we all love to snack on. Proclamation is one of the best songs of all time. So sincere is pure madness. The Face (not only a great name) is also on of their best songs. All the others are fantastic as well. There is NO weak spot on this album (which is a problem on a few other of thiers). Recommended ten ways to sunday.

Made during the Richard Nixon scandal, this album concerns political corruption, conservative thought, and those Roger WATERs would later label "dogs". The power- hungry, the backstabbing, the unrelenting. The cover, a playing card king with shifty eyes and a half-unsheathed sword, sums it up. The album uses games, claims, power, and glory in a medieval way to represent modern politics. Not much has changed.

"Proclaimation" is a brilliant opener, with keyboard and guitar working together especially well. The politician/king has just come to power, claiming God's right to his power, and considering options. The music is light, airy and a bit nieve, as the antagonist has much to learn. However, as he decides to "hail to power and to glory's way", the music becomes sour, dissonant and lurching, a reflection of his choice's fallacy. After this, the music fades out, but soon fades back in at a faster pace. This section, a recap of the first theme, is one of the highlights of the album, everything sliding along smoothly. Unfortunately, the bonus live track of this song doesn't include this section.

The next song, "So Sincere," expands on the confused and dissonant nature heard in the "hail..." section of "Proclaimation." The music is dissonant and plodding, GENTLE GIANT at their most RIO. The lyrics are mainly sarcastic, throwing out words and their opposites, contradicting virtually every line with another. The usual political tricks and not non-untruths.

"Aspirations" is a quieter, moody, ballad-like track, with Kerry MINEAR's soft, beatiful voice providing a break from the more abrasive style of Derek SHULMAN. The lyrics are far more sincere than those of the track before it, providing a look into the childhood hopes and dreams of this man who has come to power.

I never liked "Playing the Game" as most people seem to, although it is a good track. I don't know, for some reason it just never clicked. The music has a sort of oriental feel to it, a strange backdrop for lyrics about rigging elections, equating politics to the chess game it is.

"Cogs in Cogs" is a fast-paced, hurried whirl through political beauracracy (more exciting than it sounds). One of the best tracks, it just cranks along, progressive to the bone. At one point there is a two-part vocal harmony cycle, with one vocal in 6/8 and the other in 15/8, musically depicting cogs in cogs.

My least favorite track is probably "No God's a Man," mainly because of its softer, folkier tone and the fact that I can't decipher the song's title and exactly what it's about. It would make sense if it were "no man's a God", but instead it's the reverse. Anyway, from what I gather the politician's corruption has come to light, and public opinion turns against him.

Ray SHULMAN's violin features prominently in "The Face," where the politician finally faces his corruption. He "wears the face that is sorry," seemingly apologizing for what he's done. Of course, it's just another "so sincere" lie. The music is fast and urgent, and it would make a logical conclusion for the album. The politician/king has lost, the public has turned against him, and he has resigned. The end.

But instead, GENTLE GIANT has more to say. "Valedictory," musically, is a darker, disaffected and rocking reworking of "Proclaimation." The politician refuses to give up, apparently going mad with power, stating that "things must stay, there must be no change." As YES' Jon ANDERSON and many other prog lyricists have taught us, change (progression) is the only remedy for decay and sterility. The antagonist simply doesn't get it, instead defending "power and glory's way", functioning only on conservative thought and refusal to change. The politician has been booted from office, but as power and glory rule, it only repeats. New corruption and new oppression rise from old, stubborn ideals. An endless cycle of corruption, represented by the album's circular shape (the first and last songs are very similar). The end of the album is abrupt, halfway into "hail...", something clicks and the whole thing is rewound at light speed and spins into oblivion.

The previously unreleased bonus title track is okay, but it's apparent why they left it out of the album. The music is too bouncy and poppish, and the lyrics especially are twee and insignificant. But it's still nice to hear nonetheless, but nothing special.

Oh so hard for me to not give this album 5 stars since it's the re-mastered 35th anniversary edition and SO much better sound-wise then the previous edition. Cymbals are heard, with Derek's tamborine which I've never heard before so up front and clear. But the only negative tidbit shows up on the first song, "Proclamation"; the singing is so disjointed and, dare I say, a little off. Just listen to the chorus as Gary Green's guitar wails. The other song that I have a problem with is the off-kilter singing in the beginning of "No God's a Man", just all over the place, and I've played this album so many times since it's been out (1974), those parts still bug me. But fret not, it also includes some of my favorite GG songs, "Playing The Game" and "Cogs In Cogs" are just plain brillant. Being the re-mastered edition, it includes a live rendition of "Proclamation" from a German TV show in 1974, which in fact is included on the Gentle Giant DVD. Plus, included is an unreleased studio track, "The Power and the Glory", a rather straightforward rocker with their odd sound and I think would have made a great single. The packaging on this edition is top-notch with the original rounded edges (like a playing card), on the insert and lyrics. Awesome! I highly recommend this album, but if you're looking to start out try "Three Friends" or "Octopus". In conclusion, it's a tad under five stars, but just barely!

I'm only a recent convert to the music of Gentle Giant.I used to consider them a 'silly' band that just fiddles around and is clever for the sake of being clever.The lack of bombast was a real problem to me.Anyway I persevered and for the sake of this wonderfull album..I am very glad.Giant's music is unlike any other prog band and I am not qualified to analyse it.., I just know its great.

This works well as a concept album about power and corruption although every song stands up in its own right as a masterpeice.Very satisfying listening.We are not worthy!

My first encounter with Gentle Giant (back in 1991). I was already a fan of prog at that time, but I never thought prog could reach these heights!

From the opening notes of Proclamation, I knew that this was going to be a life- changing experience for me. The vocal melodies were so unlike anything I had heard before I could hardly believe my ears. Then comes the instrumental section! Crazy, hectic, original... leading up to the weird chorus of "Hail to the power and glory's way"... I though "To hell with Queen!!!" Anyway, you all know the song, and to this day it remains among my favorite GG tracks.

"So Sincere" is a quirky dissonnant tune bringing jazz and chamber music together. I clearly remember banging my head against the wall when first listening to this one. How can human beings write and play such exquisite nonsense ?

"Aspirations" shows yet another facet of GG, reminiscent of "Think of Me with kindness" and "Last Voyage", wonderfully sung by Kerry Minnear. Hauntingly melancholic and ethereal.

"Playing the Game" is probably my least favorite track from TPATG, but, that being said, is still a great enjoyable track, more straighforward than anything else on this album. Acts a breather with the information overdose displayed so far on this album.

"Cogs in Cogs" is another intricately arranged rocker, with many weird tempo changes, and the middle section "The circle turns around, the changing course is calling" is dizzying. Great track

"No God's a Man" is another oddity, with many mood changes, great vocal harmonies, and odd time signatures/tempo changes.

"The Face" could have been on "In a Glass House", it is that good. A quirky use of the violin, great bass line, very upbeat.

Album closer "Valedictory" (I first heard it on vinyl) is a reprise of "Proclamation", only more dissonant and in a slower tempo, making for a weird, eerie effect. Just makes you want to start listening to the album again, which I did, after 15 minutes to take my breath and realise what had just happened.

Like many of GG's albums (Three Friends, Octopus, In a Glass House and Free Hand) this is undoubtedly a masterpiece. Truly Giants, then and now.

Another quirky adventure.

I find this one of the most unique GG albums. As others have noted, it's one of the more difficult one's to get into, for GG standards. Of course, as with most GG records, is the intrigue of the album cover, which if nothing else have always been eye-opening.

There's some recurring elements here and there (one of the most interesting being the Flight of the Bumblebee-esque key section found in Proclamation and Valedictory). I can't help but get the feeling that Playing the Game sounds like a level in a Sonic sega game (the distorted bass sound). Most all the songs are heavily key oriented and this could be described as Minnear's album.

Cogs in Cogs has my favorite moment on the album, with the a cappella "the circle turns around, the changing voices calling" which is somewhat similar to the "all around" in the song On Reflection. It also seems GG has a mandatory Southern sounding song in every album, this one being The Face.

The album closes with one of my favorite GG songs in their collection. Shulman's voice soars and the way it sums up the album is just pure - zany, classic GG. It's also important to note that Radiohead would lift one of the guitar riffs in Valedictory for the ending to their famous hit Paranoid Android (0:40 here, 5:49 in Paranoid Android - small world huh?) Overall, the balance here is quite off, though; some of the songs are simply genius, while others I just shrug at. Regardless, another fine production.

"You may not have all you want or you need..."

Another important record from Gentle Giant. Slightly weaker than the previous masterpiece "In a Glass House" and than the memorable follow up "Free Hand". There's a little bit of confusion all around the album's structure, in my opinion.

The opener "Proclamation" is still a wonderful highlight in their whole discography and the mellow "Aspiration" is probably one of the three GG's tracks I love the most. Nevertheless the record fails to impress me and differently to what many reviewers and opinionists say, this is not their miliar stone. Not for sure. The album appears more song-structured than any of the past, especially in its second half, from "Cogs in Cogs" on. Beautiful tracks, though with a stronger rocky vein as in "The Face".

All in all The Power and the Glory stands as a light star in my own prog cd collection as the other GG's records above mentioned plus the immortal "Octopus" that remain their most classic prog rock contribution to the world.

Not a masterpiece as I said. Still a must have, though.

4.25 stars.

This is a concept album about coruption and violence in politics, and in that days when Watergate affair was deconspirated and shown in the press, this album was like a bright light for many peoples and listners who were totaly not agree with the goverment from that years. However THE POWER AND THE GLORY evict strong tendencies to Jazz Rock, but of course all the music on this CD is garnished by the perfect use of complex chant for several voices, a perfect controll of each instrument by the members and strongly syncopated rhythms that make this album sound so interesting. After all this is the trademark of Gentle Giant between 1970 to 1977. This is my fav album of them, so i rate with 5 stars, not only by the fact that is my fav but surly shows the peak of their inspiration and playing. What to say about the piece Aspirations, absolut magic, Proclamation shows Kerry Minnear at his best, skillfull and inspiring as always, the rest are obvious all amazing. So,with this one, Octopus, Free hand and Three friends are among the best prog albums ever, and might be very easy cornerstones of prog music and why not of your colection. 5 stars and highly recommended, to me the best Gentle Giant.

I've got all of Gentle Giant's regular CD releases, and of course the LPs, but this is my first 35th anniversary edition remaster, and my third copy of the album. Having listened to the unremastered CD for about as long as I've had CDs in my collection, I find the sound quality of this one is excellent, in no small part due to Derek Shulman being at the helm.

This was one of the albums primarily responsible for turning me into a progressive music freak. A love of keyboards helped a lot too, and Kerry Minnear does some amazing things here. I love the keyboard parts in Proclamation and Valedictory with the ever escalating tempo, and those impossibly fast synthesizer runs on Cogs In Cogs. The political themes are of particular interest here, applicable to the past, the present in 1973-1974, as well as today, and you can bet the future too.

You get two bonus tracks on this release, a live Proclamation and the unreleased studio track, The Power and the Glory. Good to get that one on a CD, a copy of it was languishing in my cassette collection somewhere. That one should have been released as a single, might have garnered them more of the popular attention they deserved.

I have no hesitation rating this one as essential!

GG get the groove on in a fabulous stretch into funky syncopated rhythms (well at elast on side one). A wonderfully complex album to get your brain around. Preferably relaxed with a suitably complex glass or four or a bottle of your favourite tipple.

Proclamation has hints of what is to come, amongst the typically complex GG arrangements but you really know that there's a new thing happening, a flavour being tried out.

So sincere returns you to a medieval melody over a staccato disjointed backing, but even amongst this you can tell those bass fills are just straining at the leash to funk out. THis is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and to be honest it's way too much for me.

In aspirations the gentleopening keyboard has that funky feel, but things relax and a flabby round bass sound to die for comes in. A little more jazzy in the feel: it's odd like, a bunch of gifted folk musicians had walked in on Steely Dan and combined the best of both worlds.

Playing the Game is my least favourite track. Still think that one section of bass was in the back of someone's mind when Jacko came up with Beat It.

Side two opens with a standard drab 3 chord 12 bar blues in G (yeah right fat chance!). GG blast in with a typically intense. No God's a Man slows the mood. Why do GG jsut have to better at loads of things than everyone else? Fabulous vocal arrangements. Ridiculous. Make the mainstream sound, well, pop.

I realise the musicanship is brilliant, at a different level than most bands you get the chance to listen to but this does not float my boat. It's too much at times. The funky thing happening does not add to the normal GG mix: for me it's interference. The funky side is beter integrated into the GG sound in Free Hand.

I've given 4 stars out of innate respect for GG, but this for me is more of a 3.5

"The Power And The Glory" deals with the abuse of power that is often found in the world of politics.They of course take a humerous look at it,but that humour has some bite to it to say the least.This album along with "Three Friends", "Acquiring The Taste" and "Free Hand" are my four favourite GENTLE GIANT records. The first two tracks along with the last two took a while to grow on me,while the middle four i loved immediatly and still do."Proclamation" opens with electric piano and vocals that seem to echo.I guess that is the effect of more than one vocalist.We get a full sound 1 1/2 minutes in.This song is kind of quirky with organ and some dissonant sounds after that,including the vocal line that is repeated over and over.The song ends with the original melody. "So Sincere" opens with sax and speeds up 1 1/2 minutes in.These guys can stop and go on a dime.Very complex playing with some good guitar and piano. "Aspirations" is a melancholic,laid back song with some wonderful reserved vocals from Minnear. "Playing The Game" is a catchy,mid-paced tune.There is a calm section after 3 minutes.The drumming and organ are really well done as the tempo picks back up. "Cogs In Cogs" is just a fantastic song.So many sounds can be heard,very complex.The synths after 2 minutes are a nice touch. "No God's A Man" is all about the vocals.Nice harmonies. "The Face" is an uptempo track led by the vocals and violin melodies. "Valedictory" is similar to the opening track.Some nice raw guitar to open and lots of piano later. I picked up my son and a couple of his friends from bowling last night,and for the 20 minute ride home i had this just cranked. Funny, i didn't get the usual comments,maybe they were trying to catch their breath.

This is an indecently brilliant album, even with the Shulman's pubescent voice-cracking. A gift from the Prog gods, Gentle Giant's only fault was not structuring their music for a larger audience. But if they had rearranged things just a bit, this LP might have been huge and given them that breakthrough moment. Somehow the title cut, a track that would've carried their appeal while bringing the other fantastic material along with it, was left off the original release. But in 1974 it would've been a strong, radio-friendly power anthem and made for a nice moment for them and the Prog-buying public. Evidently the group wouldn't hear of it and I suppose one can only applaud their integrity.

Each piece is loaded with inventive energy and unexpected directions; the weird angles and flashes of blackness in 'Proclamation' as nu jazz dances with something else entirely. The oh-so-bizarre 'So Sincere' and its circular "everything I say is a lie" logic, Kerry Minnear's tingling keyboards and Gary Green's howling blues guitar. Soothing 'Aspirations' featuring Shulman's weary-traveler vocals. The forgettable bobbing of 'Playing the Game' gives way to a jazzy refrain buoyed by Minnear's grinding organ. And 'Cogs in Cogs' is just spectacular, everything working for them here; great beats, soaring vocals, deliriously good counterpoint and inspired, many-layered composition... spellbinding. This is where fans of Yes and even Kansas might start to find new pleasures. 'No God's a Man' drags a little but rolls along cleverly, and 'The Face' is rambunctious prog driving forward with Ray's unstoppable bass and unorthodox violin. The standard Giant reprise in 'Valedictory' and previously unreleased 'The Power and the Glory' is, as mentioned above, a great, catchy bit of Queen-meets-Kansas arena rock, a sure FM winner and sadly never given a chance. A spectacular album nonetheless, and continuously surprising.

The Power and the Glory is Gentle Giant´s sixth album. Gentle Giant is known for their brilliant musicianship and their mixing of many different genres like classical chamber music, jazz, Medieval music, Avant garde and hard rock. They have on their previous five albums succeeded very much with this concept and I think their first 5 albums are essential listening.

The music on The Power and the Glory is similar to the last album In a Glass House but generally a bit simpler. There are plenty of complex playing on The Power and the Glory though which is examplified by songs like Proclamation, So Sincere and Cogs in Cogs, but there are more almost normal pop songs on The Power and the Glory than on previous albums. All songs on The Power and the Glory are very good and most are excellent even though I find Playing the Game a bit too long and repetitive.

The musicianship is as always outstanding. Note the crazy vocal harmonies in Proclamation.

The production might be the best so far in Gentle Giant´s discography ( the first six albums)

The Power and the Glory is a wonderful album even though I don´t feel it is essential. I would purchase other Gentle Giant albums before this one if I was a new fan. The Power and the Glory deserves 4 stars for being an excellent album though. I was getting used to giving Gentle Giant five star ratings so I must say that I´m a bit disappointed that I don´t feel this is a masterpiece but you can´t win every time can you ?

This album is a relatively uninteresting Gentle Giant album, nestled among its best releases.

The real issue with this album is the songwriting. Sure, there is complexity. Sure there are some challenging ideas and some strong melodies and all that. But it just feels like a lot of it is rather Frankensteined, stitched together to try to make songs more progressive than their music really calls for. On its own, it's a wonderful album. It's a fun one with some mindbending tunes. But as far as a Gentle Giant album goes, this one is really nothing very special. The band-oriented sound of In a Glass House is temporarily lost on a few of these tracks, creating songs that do not seem to flow with the rest of the album. Instead, a more experimental tact is taken, even though in the end nothing very new is being tried. This is, in short, Gentle Giant writing songs that sound like songs Gentle Giant should write. The motivation and interest is much less keen here than on their other main releases.

The first side opens with Proclamation, one of the Frankenstein tunes in my book. A lot of neat parts went into the writing of this tune, yet it still does not seem to hold much interest or energy as a song. So Sincere does its best to change that, and its best is a rather strong best, displaying simplistic vocals over a complicated mesh of wildly arrayed music during the chorus. This is probably one of the more interesting tracks on the album. The music continues with Aspirations, a very Think of Me with Kindness sort of track, though not quite as good. Still, it's a fairly moving track with a solid chorus melody. Playing the Game rolls in next, another song stitched together but a fair bit more solid this time. There are some very nice xylophone sequences in this piece as well.

Side two kicks off with the Knots-esque Cogs in Cogs, a complicated track that is not quite as exciting as it sounds like it should be. No God's a Man carries the complex vocal interplays much better, creating a unique series of intertwining melodies like Gentle Giant at its best. The instruments, however, are not flying around and driving the energy of these songs like on other records by this band, I must add. That changes on The Face, a frenetic instrumental driven by wild guitar and a pulsating rhythm section. The album closes with Valedictory, a song that reprises moments of Proclamation, though it is just as stitched-together as the other songs referred to as such previously. It ends the album fairly well, though if you have the special edition or whatever, you get the bonus title track. This short piece is probably the most exciting on the album, with a slightly cheesy but very catchy chorus and well-aligned band.

In the end, this is a pretty good album. The fact that it's a Gentle Giant album makes it seem like more of a disappointment, though, since it does not carry as much interest or excitement as the band is usually able to make their records do. Fans of Gentle Giant will enjoy this, but listeners new to the band should go with Free Hand or Octopus instead.

Ahh, the first Gentle Giant album I ever bought. It was the first one released in Brazil too. It was a big moment for me, since one of my best friends, a guy five years older considered GG to be the best band in the world. So I had to agree: at 14 I used to follow his recomendations as a novice to the master. Of course we used to clash, since our tastedsnot always were the same. But I had so much respect for him and, beside, he used to let me record his imported albums collection in my small cassette recorder. Among them of course were many GG albums.

The CD itiself was the first to reach a broader audience, it was their most popular for a long time. I guess the album's subject (power and corruption in politics) also helped. While many bands were using fantasy themes or spaced out poetry for lyrics, Gentle Giant could not be talking about more down to earth issues. But the music also changed a bit: this is a far more keyboards driven album them previous effords. Like one reviewr pointed out cleverly, this is mostly Kerry Minnear's baby. The music is still complex, interesting and challeging, but for the first time it seems a bit less energetic than all their earlier records. Later the band complained the fact that the more famous they became, the more hectic was their touring and recording demands, leaving less time for writing and recording.

Whatever the reasons, Power And The Glory showed a slight decrease in quality. Nevertheless, it has many great numbers and at least three classic tracks: Proclamation, Cogs in Cogs and The Face. Agiai there are no fillers and, if not their best, this CD is quite superior to 95% of what ewas being released at the time. My CD has a non album bonus track (The Power And The Glory. Nice touch!) Compared to their other works, this one rates between 3,5 and 4 stars (rounded up to full 4 stars for personal reasons). Another fine release by one of prog's most original and influential bands ever.

Graham Green published a novel of the same name in 1940 that loosely inspired this Gentle Giant work of genius. The concept of this particular album is the cyclical nature of politics and the Machiavellian manner in which people engage in them. The music (including the way the words are sung) reflects the lyrics in an amazing way. Derek Shulman, with his authoritative and boisterous vocals, speaks for the leader, while Kerry Minnear, quiet and docile, assumes the role of the unassuming common man. This highly consistent work represents Gentle Giant at their absolute finest.

"Proclamation" This was the first Gentle Giant song I ever heard, and the first time I heard it, I thought to myself, "What the hell am I listening to?" I was so dismayed that I had bought their previous album that same day! The truth about Gentle Giant for many people though, I suspect, is that their constant eccentricity makes them quite an acquired taste (no pun intended). For a young man with preferences of symphonic and heavy progressive rock, this album took a few listens to really appreciate and enjoy. The first thing one hears on this album is the cheering of a large crowd, setting the stage for a popular leader's ascension to power over a nation, which are exactly what the lyrics describe (from the perspective of the new chief). The music relies on piano, both electric and otherwise, a grooving bass and drum pairing, and some peculiar arrangements, including something like "Flight of the Bumblebee" in the middle. After a frightening and commanding vocal section, the music becomes hushed and a bit disturbing, until the final verse comes in, much faster in tempo than the two that came prior. The song ends with further applause- the coveted approval of the people.

"So Sincere" Naturally, this was the second Gentle Giant song I ever heard, and my reaction was even more pronounced then when I'd heard the previous song. I was positive that Gentle Giant was just some weird band I would never like; remarkably, this proved not to be the case, and even this strange little number (which I had skipped over multiple times in the past) grew on me. It begins with an awkward riff that relies heavily on strings. The vocal melody is even weirder, but is an integral element of the song, which is about the genuineness of the leader. It is telling that the word "sincere" is cut off at times to produce the phrase, "so sin." The guitar solo is highly enjoyable, highlighting Gary Green's crucial role in fitting in with such unusual arrangements.

"Aspirations" The only quiet and straightforward song on the album, "Aspirations" features quiet electric piano, acoustic guitar, and Kerry Minnear's soft, lovely singing voice. The mildness with which this song is performed reflects the meekness of the populace, entreating their leader to lead them to glory, and assuring him that they are behind him. They express their complete assurance that their leader will make all their "sorrows gone forever."

"Playing the Game" The crowning moment of the record, "Playing the Game" has a couple of recurring themes that use Gary Green's guitar to great effect, one of which is situated after each verse, and one that starts off the song and serves to bridge the verses. The ascending bass played during certain repetitions of the first theme is a good approach and lends variety to a musical motif that could have otherwise become stale. Kerry Minnear has a brief and quiet vocal part as the song fades out in the middle before a bass riff explodes into an excellent organ solo. In the lyrics, the leader asserts his invulnerability, pointing out that everything else exists for his purposes. Derek Shulman gives an energetic but controlled vocal performance, demonstrating both the authority's unbridled confidence in himself and his exacting strategies.

"Cogs in Cogs" Despite the leader's efforts, he confesses that his empty promises have not paved the way, and now the cogs of discontent are turning. The music is fast paced and frantic, reflecting the mounting panic of the person in charge. The piece is tightly orchestrated, and, along with the songs immediately before and after, was one that kept me returning to this album until it all "clicked" with me.

"No God's a Man" The music features some springy clean guitar and intriguing arrangements. It is another highlight. The lyrics describe the cyclical nature of power, how, even after the rise of a great and popular leader, the vacillation of the minds of the people can quickly result in a revolution. In typical Gentle Giant fashion, the vocals overlap one another, here giving the impression of the general population (many people out on the street, for instance) speaking about their current state of affairs and being in agreement.

"The Face" A Cajun feel accompanies the beginning of this piece, with violin and tambourine, and guitar and bass accompanying. The instrumental section is incredible, yet another example of Gentle Giant's creative greatness. Green gives a respectable guitar performance, also. The words describe a leader who realizes how unpopular his direction has become, but still urges his associates to "wear the face that is sorry."

"Valedictory" This is a heavy rock number that reprises the melody from the first song. The lyrics, however, reflect the opposite idea: The leader establishing his authority in "Proclamation" is pleading with his uprising people that "things must stay; there must be no change." The very end of the song is the sound of a tape player rewinding, perhaps inducing us to return to the beginning and listen to the album again- or maybe reminding us that whoever assumes power after this leader is deposed will experience the very same cycle.

(Bonus Track) "The Power and the Glory" Typically I do not review bonus tracks, but I'll make an exception here. This short piece carries the classic Gentle Giant sound, but is much less complex. According to one source, it didn't make the album because it had not yet been written (and Ray Shulman thought it was the worst of three "atrocious" "commercial" songs they'd written for the record company). Regardless of his opinion, the song is well worth having if you can get the 35th anniversary release.

We come now to my favourite Gentle Giant album, The Power And The Glory. Here Gentle Giant tackles politics in an interesting way. The critical and subversive sentiments reflected in the lyrics appeal to me very much. The lyrics are as clever as the music.

The previous In A Glass House had been a major improvement over Octopus, which I think is a bit silly and quite overrated. In A Glass House, great though it is, has a couple of irritating moments. The Power And The Glory, on the other hand, is consistently good and only the somewhat repetitive So Sincere is not as good as the other tracks.

I especially like their newfound ability to be serious and reflective both in the lyrics and in the music. Aspirations is a perfect example of just the type of song earlier Gentle Giant albums so desperately needed. It is a great and even subtle ballad. Here Gentle Giant finally dropped their tendency to be complex all the time, which mostly left the listener bewildered and with no room to breathe. Songs like Aspirations and similar more mellow moments on this album makes the more loaded and complex passages sound all the more powerful. You don't have to be complex all the time to make good and interesting music! The Power And The Glory is therefore a more dynamic album, held together by a good concept. I think this shows a much more mature Gentle Giant and this is the peak of their career.

The music is melodic and varied and it often rocks quite hard. There are not really any specific track(s) that stands out above all the others (like the title track on In A Glass House, for example), rather the album is good as a whole and it flows better than any other Gentle Giant album.

The "hail to the power and the glory" theme introduced in Proclamations return again in Valedictory creating a unity of the whole album in a much more convincing way than the (somewhat annoying) sound of breaking glass did on In A Glass House. A great finale to a great album!

Their Power, their Glory, and the Story:

After In A Glass House, which had made a radical change in the composition/song-writing style, Sax player having left, introducing more Moog and interludes of acoustic guitar and electric guitar, rather than the ''classic'' GG in the style of Octopus or Three Friends, with a lot of medieval influences, as well as experimenting quite a lot. With TP&TG they completely ''delete'' In a Glass House's one-time only style *forever*, which by the way, was a excellent album, my favorite, anyways this ''phase''(74-76) what really sparks is the atmosphere/climax's of the compositions and moods of each, rather than the ''simple logic'' of being complex. Also this 'phase' of GG, is free of experimentalism, which this doesn't mean they're less complex, on the contrary, they've matured so much from the experimental phase of Three Friends/Acquiring the Taste, that now(well already in In a Glass House or even Octopus) they know how to write complex music without making 'stupid' mistakes(ELP rings a bell), but what really differences this album from ALL the others is that their complexity disminishes as just as a fact of ''Hey look, they can make impossible things, but the music is barely listenable'', and now is where you really enjoy the music as music, meant to express feelings and create certain climax which you can feel comfortable of, rather than listening the music because of certain solo or complex arrangement. Just a thought, though.

Now back to the review, you can think of TP&TG as Octopus but without any conventional rock cliche or something that grabs you from the first listen. The crazy, complex vocal harmonies are here, but with a listenable composition(what I said in the last sentence of the first paragraph), which really clicks after some listens, which this was not the case of Knots in Octopus. Also Kerry's organ and rhodes really shines, which will fortunately continue in their next album, Free Hand, but there will also be some stunning moog, so it's a different story, hehe. Just in case: I don't think Octopus as a bad album, I think it's superb, but just trying to let you know, somehow, which is the style of this album.

Also, as far as I'm concerned, the medieval influence, while obviously always present, sounds more electric and modern, which is far more bareable rather than the, somewhat annoying, acoustic or vocal medieval interfaces that were in their previous albums. Which this is again, part of what I meant on the last sentence of the first paragraph, Gentle Giant does not want to ''create Prog'', just their style of music which is exactly this, which in the case of In a Glass House they did create a ''true Prog album'', in the sense of FOCUSING in the mood variations, time changes, musicianship virtuosism, etc, of course this is by no means bad, something excellent for Prog fans, as I am, but sometimes you want to take a break of that type of Prog, and this album just does it for me, as Jazz and other music of the sort would do. Obviously not the whole album is like this, but in a general view that's what I think, because there still are present some 'Prog' tracks with the meaning I mentioned before, like Cogs in Cogs, So Sincere and Valedictory, but you get my point, hope so... The other tracks are what make this album so original(from their other albums).

The Power and the Glory gives you GG's complete song-writing/composition power, which can also be heard in In a Glass House, however their complete glory as amazing musicians of expressing music in a totally unique way, that no other band has done, is only in this album.

Masterpiece: not my favorite, but definitely their song-writing/expression peak

I've always said Gentle Giant are the first and the last band in this conception of making music. Of course, there are some bands trying to copy the style of GG. This album is harmony... It marks the beginning of pure art rock period for Gentle Giant (The Power And The Glory, Free Hand and Interview). The previous album - In a Glass House - is a masterpiece for me, but it's not pure art rock, it's mostly prog folk.

GG can't stop amaze me! This is probably I can say about them thing I can't say for other band. The most important is that this music in The Power and the Glory and next albums is happy. It's not full of grief and melancholy. Despite this, it's divine! It's the only one band I know to produce something perfect, without being melancholic. It's unique.

The Power and the Glory shows art rock at it's height. Only one song is quite experimental and it's So Sincere. It's very controvertial song, but everything else is superb. I would like to mention a statement. As a bulgarian I want to say, that the last song - The Power and the Glory was covered by my favourite bulgarian band FSB in 1977 for their debut album Non Stop. So I have another experience with the song.

As whole, another masterpiece for GG! 4.7 stars!