OCTOPUS

My second favorite Gentle Giant album, (Freehand is my fav, btw) it's also probably their most medival. The first side of the album is out-and-out classic Gentle Giant with "Raconteur Troubadour" and "The Advent Of Panurge" a firm base of medival prog. Nobody can match their muscianship, but when it comes to singing acapella, "Knots" proves it. Just flat out awesome! The brother Phil's horn work gets little play on this album, but when it does as in "The Boys In The Band" it gives the music that extra little kick of color and besides, it's a showcase for the band whenever they played it live. "A Dog'e Life" gets little respect, but if you listen carefully, the boys try alittle electronic music with a game show tick tock beat, (if you grew up watching game shows in the US, you'll understand) Kerry uses a weird synth sound that's very sparse, but it enhances the song brillantly. "Think Of Me With Kindness" is the pretty ballad. The band usally have one on every release and it's as good as all the others. The only song that falls a tad below excellent is "River". It just seems a little out of sync, especially Ray's singing. It's almost like he's trying to catch up with the band. What saves it is Gary's bluesy guitar solo in the center. You don't get to hear him wail like this too often. All in all, a masterpiece of prog from a band that pretty much is all alone when it comes to originality. You absolutely can't go wrong with this album. Just plain stunning!!