CIVILIAN

Gentle Giant was one of those bands that managed to keep their line-up for the most part through their career as a band. We've seen them go from an extremely complex sound with some very original sounds and techniques that have seldom been copied, because they are so difficult to perform and reproduce. Yet this band could do it, even in a live setting. However, when the 80's rolled around, the public just wasn't buying progressive music like they were in the 70's, and Gentle Giant was one of those bands that got tangled up in the hordes of bands that were trying to transition into this new style of rock called new wave. "Civilian" was the album that would finally see GG break fully away from progressive rock to a more straightforward and accessible sound.

The truth is, however, that Gentle Giant actually did a pretty decent job of creating accessible rock as is proven on "Civilian" which was released in 1980. All of the songs on the album are quite catchy with hooks that quickly reel you in and win you over. The problem is, the music will not remain with you as something you will remember for very long. Pretty much all of the tracks on the album are based around some great riffs, but they all follow the verse, chorus, verse pattern. There is no level of progressiveness at all to the music, except for a lite level in the track "Inside Out", but again, even that is not even close to the complexity of the band's previous music in their earlier albums. In addition to that, this is the longest track on the album and it doesn't even break the 6 minute mark. It is the only track on the album that seems well developed.

The music here is also very lyrically driven with no long instrumental breaks to speak of. The songs are riff-heavy, and they do draw you in right away, but they seem to be over as quickly as they seem to start to go somewhere. If you love that old complex sound of the band, then you will be very disappointed in this album, as that is completely missing here. Not even the unique, wonderful harmonies of the past are not present on this album except, again, for "Inside Out". Also, all of the music is pretty up beat and rock-centered except for the ballad-like "Shadows in the Street" and the mid-tempo rhythm of "Inside Out".

Even with the accessibility of this album and the turning away from their previous complex music, the music is still well done. It doesn't really sound like it is forced and it does instantly grab you with it's melodic and catchy songs. But there is a good chance that the music will wear itself out a lot quicker because of that. I won't go so far as to compare this to Yes' "90125" as at least that album had more of a progressive edge to it, while "Civilian" has hardly any progressive traits to speak of, however, it is still enjoyable and one that should not be totally ignored if you run across a copy of it. However, you should go into it knowing that this is what Gentle Giant sounds like when they produce accessible music. Unfortunately, this would also be the end of the road as far as studio albums would go for the band. But at least the last album isn't a complete write off, at least as far as a good standard rock album goes.