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Should Gentle Giant have continued after Civilian?

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Poll Question: Should GG have continued after Civilian?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
12 [26.09%]
18 [39.13%]
6 [13.04%]
6 [13.04%]
4 [8.70%]
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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Should Gentle Giant have continued after Civilian?
    Posted: December 23 2020 at 13:44
One of the great tragedies in prog imo is the fact that GG never really reformed properly when just about every other major prog band did. Opinions?

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - December 23 2020 at 13:56
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 13:48
I don't know, maybe.
TBH I do not know exactly why they called it quits in the early 80s. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Mirakaze Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 13:52
I wouldn't have minded it; Civilian is the one post-prog Gentle Giant album that I actually like and it would have been interesting to see the band continue in a similar direction. On the other hand, the band hated working on it and were apparently quite tired of the professional music business in general by 1980, so I can't blame them for calling it quits.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 13:55
^I think it had something to do with a combination of them not really being able to break through in a big way commercially plus the fact they didn't like the direction they were more or less forced to take because of record company pressures. I think they just got burned out and didn't want to keep going without any major payoffs from their musical compromise to a different sound. That's just my own speculation though. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Progosopher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:18
I say maybe, but the decision was, and always will be, up to the band members.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:23
Originally posted by Progosopher Progosopher wrote:

I say maybe, but the decision was, and always will be, up to the band members.

Yep. I guess we could all be mad that the Beatles never really got back together either(well except for catcher anyway). Or Led Zeppelin for that matter(ok, they technically did but didn't record any new material after ITTOD). 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chaser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:27
Yes, but only if they returned to their original mission statement: "to expand the frontiers of popular music at the risk of being deeply unpopular"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote dougmcauliffe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:32
I'm going to say no, because in an interview with Derek Shulman he pretty much made it clear that by the end their hearts weren't in it anymore, and it started to feel like a bit of a burden to the band. I'm happy with the jaw dropping discography we have, including civilian. I believe you can't force yourself to write music to cater the fans when you're checked out, cause it generally comes out the other end uninspired.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Progfan1958 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:34
Absolutely they should have continued. I saw them on the Civilian tour, and they were still in top form.  In the end it was the market that broke them, but if they had had a better record company behind the band I think they could have had a very interesting future.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Man With Hat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:46
Given what they were creating as they ended, probably not.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 14:52
Originally posted by Man With Hat Man With Hat wrote:

Given what they were creating as they ended, probably not.

I think it would have been interesting if they went in a more new wave direction while keeping the hard rock elements(like missing persons for example). 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iluvmarillion Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 15:47
I voted not sure. The problem wasn't about what Gentle Giant should have done after Civilian. The problem was what's wrong with the music public not liking Gentle Giant.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote twosteves Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 16:22
I read they thought they couldn't take it any further than they did....and  One of them became a big record executive.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 18:39
It's sad we never got the chance to see them again, but at least, they left their legacy intact.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 19:17
Originally posted by iluvmarillion iluvmarillion wrote:

I voted not sure. The problem wasn't about what Gentle Giant should have done after Civilian. The problem was what's wrong with the music public not liking Gentle Giant.

Hi,

AND, I think that a lot of that came out of the record companies not wishing to support stuff that was not making them money ... and GG, in those days, should have gotten COMPLETELY AWAY from the record companies and gotten onto their own ownership of the music and its distribution ... but it was easier to just give up. 

GG has stated that their this and that were no longer into it, but I think that a lot of the stuff underneath is what caused the problems. 

This group was not the only one that had issues with a record company ... one well known comedy group decided to "sign" with a record company, and it got a couple of dollars, however, none of their albums were ever heard from again, or their members, which kinda tells you that the record company probably said something like as long as they break even who cares ... right? 

But, in some ways, it was probably the best ... I doubt that GG would have been able to create new material that was as determined and eccentric as the early stuff, and be able to play it ... and when that happens, it's time to hang up the ballet shoes ... your feet can't handle any more bleeding!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 23 2020 at 21:46
^I don't know. I think if Genesis were able to make the transition then I think GG would have eventually been able to make the transition too. The thing is as a band they probably just didn't have the patience to wait that long. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote b_olariu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2020 at 00:20
Only if they went back to prog

Still they dominate that decade with some spectacular albums, they are legends anyway
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frenetic Zetetic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2020 at 00:28
I BET YOU THOUGHT THEY COULDN'T DO IT?!

Lol. GG is one of those bands that could clearly have continued on in whatever style they wanted. I think they did it right letting it be a good solid even 10 year/decade long chapter of, for a good 85-90% of it, being top tier progressive rock IMHO. One of the few bands where the weaker entries don't tarnish their discography IMHO!

I just got my 1975 reprint tour shirt in directly from the band's new store in NYC!:

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Edited by Frenetic Zetetic - December 24 2020 at 00:30

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DarkTower Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2020 at 07:27
No. Last 3 are so dull, they should have stop after Interview.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dougmcauliffe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2020 at 07:52
I can't be the only one here who thinks most of The Missing Piece and Civilian are pretty solid. I think it still sounds like Gentle Giant, just a little more simple and poppy. Certainly not their best work, but I don't think either of those are offensively bad or anything. (Full disclosure, haven't heard Giant For a Day)

Edited by dougmcauliffe - December 24 2020 at 07:52
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