GIANT ON THE BOX

One of the best DVDs I ever saw and a must have for any GG fan! It was a dream come true when I found it. I remember when I was 17 seeing some excerpts from the Octupus album being played on TV and my friends and I were completely mesmerized by their incredible perfomance. It took me almost 30 years to see the whole concert. But it was worth it!

This DVD is composed of two different shows: one for a german TV in 1974 and the other was a special recorded during a concert in Long Beach, USA, in 1975. Musicly speaking the german shots are better, for it has more songs and the final percussive bashing with all the band members is really jaw dropping. Unfortunatly the film quality is not really good, grainy and with bad coloring, and the camera angles are sometimes very amateurish (it seems they were fascinated by drummer John Weathers). On the other side we have a shorter, but much more professionaly recorded, set for the Rock Concert series. Although the sound is not perfect (just listen to the beginning of Derek Shulman´s vocals in Experience. It is very low in the mix. Fortunaly it is quickly fixed as the song goes on), it is also prog´s delight: Gentle Giant was not only one of the most talented, complex, intriguing and original bands in the world. They were great live, not only capable of playing those intricated tunes outside the studio´s trickery, but also had a strong stage presence. I was amazed by how convincing and exciting they were in person. Certainly Derek Shulman was the right frontman fro the band. And their musicanship (including the swapping of instruments) is something you have to see to believe.

Gentle Giant was one of the most amazing bands I ever heard and this DVD proves they were really one of a kind type of group. I would love to give a 5 star rating for its muscianship and performance. But due the annoying technological flaws on both concerts, four stars is more fitting overall. Still, Giant On the Box is an essential item for any prog fan.