Prog Music Lounge - favorite Gentle Giant songs results

favorite Gentle Giant songs results

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Topic: favorite Gentle Giant songs results

Posted By: SuperMetro
Subject: favorite Gentle Giant songs results
Date Posted: July 09 2022 at 17:19

So I doubt that there will be any more votes on this http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=129275" rel="nofollow - poll and it has been almost a week, so here is the top ten.

In A Glass House
The Advent of Panurge
Nothing At All
Pantagruel's Nativity
On Reflection
The Runaway
Funny Ways and Knots(tie)
Schooldays
Wreck
Cogs in Cogs

He-yea-yea-yeah hold on! Wreck and Schooldays have the same amount of points on the thread, but I voted Wreck above Cogs in Cogs(which also tied) as part of a tiebreaker.

Do whatever you like with these results. This could probably be one of Ultimate Classic Rock's top ten lists. Probably make a playlist to show someone unfamiliar with them the ten/eleven most popular songs. Maybe I could do this multi thread poll again sometime to see what different results to get(maybe do it with another band). What do you think of the results?

Replies:

Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: July 09 2022 at 20:14

Interesting, even though I have the impression usually like their albums from after Octopus (which I just couldn't get into, actually), there are many songs from their first albums, even in the top spots (after the first one), which are actually among my own favourite songs.

Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: July 10 2022 at 00:20

SuperMetro wrote:

So I doubt that there will be any more votes on this http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=129275" rel="nofollow - poll and it has been almost a week, so here is the top ten.

1. In A Glass House

As much as I love Gentle Giant and how great the playing/arrangment is on this specific track - I think it's one of Derek Shulman's least convincing vocal performances. The first verse in particular the voice sound forced and weak. It's not their strongest or most memorable melody lines either. I find it distracting, and would have preferred that Phil Shulman stayed in the band and played the melodic lines of "Looking through the window can you tell me what you see / You're sure you're really seeing what is meant to be a Glass / a mirror to reflect what I conspire a vision, image I desire" on I don't know... a clarinet instead.

GG's vocals on their gentler songs - and of course their polyphonic/multi-voiced arrangements, was always wondously lovely. But imo those rockin' solo singing parts were in general never the bands strongest feat. I suspect that's one reason they never broke big. All those UK prog bands with mainstream success had a profilic and stong singer/front figure (I will even say that is true for Pink Floyd) that could do more than carry a tune.

SuperMetro wrote:

What do you think of the results?

Still a wonderful and I think representative list of eleven songs from the band's two periods.

Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: July 10 2022 at 06:03

Interesting results. I myself consider Gentle Giant an album band, and prefer to listen to their entire albums, rather that song by song, but this list would make a great listening.