KING ALFRED'S COLLEGE WINCHESTER

Released as a standalone CD and also included in the Unburied Treasure boxed set, this live set represents perhaps the earliest recording we have of the band's live act. The debut album was already out by this point; the concert took place when the band were early in the process of getting Acquiring the Taste laid down in the studio.

Thus, the set list mostly consists of material from the debut, though there's also a sneak peek at Plain Truth from Acquiring the Taste, as well as some interesting non-album tracks. Peel Off the Paint is a first draft of Peel the Paint from Three Friends, with similar lyrics but completely different music; Hometown Special and City Hermit never saw the light of day on a studio album (though studio runthroughs of both came out on the Under Construction collection). All three are lively numbers which seem to owe more musically to the psychedelic approach of the band's former incarnation Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, rather than the progressive rock approach they took as Gentle Giant, which perhaps explains why the songs were only brought out to fill out the set list in these early days and eventually either got retired or had their lyrics recycled and their music completely reworked.

In terms of sound quality, you'd never mistake this for a soundboard tape - but what seems to be an audience recording is reproduced in about as good a quality as you can expect of such. If you demand sonic purity, you'll not have a good time, but I'd say the sound quality is still good enough to get across the subtleties of Gentle Giant's music (if not in high fidelity).

Audience sound is for the most part pretty minimal - there's a rapturous applause at the end of The Queen to close off the main set, but they're very quiet for the rest of the set, which I guess demonstrates the band's ability to command the audience's full attention with their music. By and large all of the instruments can be heard separately, and beyond that the sheer strength of the band's compositions largely helps them get past the issues with the audio. As such, whilst it isn't perfect the album's still an interesting listen for anyone who wants a closer look at the band's earliest days.

Review Nº 754

According to Progarchives, "King Alfred's College Winchester" is the twentieth live album of Gentle Giant and that was released in 2009. This album represents one of the first Gentle Giant's live concerts and was performed at King Alfred's College, in Winchester, in 1971. This is a live concert performed after the release of their eponymous debut studio album "Gentle Giant" and just before they have released their second studio album "Acquiring The Taste" in 1971.

"King Alfred's College Winchester" is, in reality, an official bootleg of the band released in a very cheap way. This is a live recording of a little known band, at the time and unfortunately even today, which was played in a very small room. But, surprisingly, we are in presence of a very good live show. Off course, we can't expect of it the hi- fi quality that it deserves. Its sound quality isn't really great. We may say its quality is only being acceptable, especially in some parts of the album. Possibly, this was the main reason why these recordings took almost forty years to see the light of day.

But, notably, and what is probably the main reason to check this live album, "King Alfred's College Winchester" contains two very rare tracks "Hometown Special" and "City Hermit" and contains also a lost track "Peel Off The Paint", which became the most interesting track on this CD, especially for Gentle Giant's fans. So, this is an interesting album.

"King Alfred's College Winchester" is a live album with ten tracks. The first track "Giant" was a track originally released on their debut studio album "Gentle Giant". The second track "Hometown Special" was a track never released in any studio album of the band. It only can be heard on the later compilation albums of Gentle Giant. The third track "City Hermit" was also a track never released in any studio album of the band. As happened with "Hometown Special", it only can be heard on the later compilation albums of Gentle Giant. The fourth track "Funny Ways" was also a track originally released on "Gentle Giant". The fifth track "Plain Truth" was a track that would be originally released on their second studio album "Acquiring The Taste". The sixth track "Alucard" was also a track originally released on "Gentle Giant". The seventh track "Isn't It Quiet And Cold" was also a track originally released on "Gentle Giant". The eighth track "Why Not" was also a track originally released on "Gentle Giant". The ninth track "The Queen" was also a track originally released on "Gentle Giant". The tenth track "Peel Off The Paint" is a track that has the same lyrics as "Peel The Paint", a track that would be released on their third studio album "Three Friends". But, despite of that, this is a very different track with different music and more heavy than that future studio version that will be released on that album.

In 1971 Gentle Giant was still in a phase of upheaval. Just a moment ago they were called Simon Dupree And The Big Sound and played blues rock, R&B and above all cover versions of current chart toppers. Now, they are striving for higher things as Gentle Giant, inspired by Frank Zappa and King Crimson. This live album features live versions of songs from the band's first eponymous debut studio album and second "Acquiring The Taste", complemented by live versions of two songs that were not included on the regular studio albums but included on later anthologies. So, the band presents itself accordingly ambiguous here. "Hometown Special", "City Hermit" and "Peel Off The Paint" like "Why Not", for example, are jazz or blues rockers that may not quite go with the rest of the material, which at least, has some genuine prog classics like "Giant" and "Funny Ways". Long guitar solos, like on the unfortunately incomplete "Peel Off The Paint", were no longer Gentle Giant's things. A few words about the arrangements can also be said for this album. Because some of the songs are heavily modified and expanded, such as "Plain Truth", which is about three minutes longer than the studio version, but also mostly through solos. The sound quality for a live recording of a little known band playing one of their first shows in a small hall in 1971 is surprisingly good. But, don't expect hi-fi quality.

Conclusion: Gentle Giant is one of the best, most creative and original rock bands that ever existed in the prog rock scene. Gentle Giant is also one the bands that made some of the most complex and original music in the prog music. They are one of my favourite prog bands. "King Alfred's College Winchester" represents a very simple, rare and curious live recording from Gentle Giant, a band in the beginning of their musical career. Despite its sound hasn't great quality and being only acceptable, especially in the end of the album, this became a very important live document of Gentle Giant. So, you're not going to come here for the highest of fidelity quality, but to hear a very fascinating recording, of unknown source, of a very early Gentle Giant's gig. I must confess that I had many doubts between giving 3 or 2 stars to this live album. Musically speaking, this album shows a great live musical performance and represents a rare live recording with Martin Smith on drums. But, unfortunately, the recording has it failures and although we can consider this is a live recording from 1971 by an almost unknown band, the sound quality has some flaws in the tape recordings. So, by the criterion of Progarchives, it would be rated with 2 stars. But, I can't do that. I think it deserves 3 stars, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)