ACQUIRING THE TASTE

Man did it take me forever to appreciate Acquiring the Taste and Three Friends. I have never had an experience like this, where something had to grow on me. Usually I immediately know whether I like or dislike something. They say you have to sleep on some of the more complex corners of prog. This is a prime example. Sometimes very good things come to those who wait. I am such a big fan of Gentle Giant nowadays, and I feel my life is truly richer for it.

There are several highlights on this album. "Wreck" is one of Gentle Giant's strongest songs. It is a sinewy, groovy number with much soul and ambition. The higher register singing and recorder are very lovely touches, rounding the song out. "Pantagruel's Nativity" is exquisite It has a bewitching primary melody with a wicked echo and eerie synthesizer riff. I've been hearing it in my head all day. I think the band could have left off the horns and jazz touches. I don't let those ruin it for me. It's amazing how much one can ignore if the main idea is so inspired.

"The Moon is Down" is very dreamy. So relaxing and meditational. The well developed drum part is crystal clear. All the instruments work in concert to evoke a moody sky and night. Likewise on "Black Cat." The band conjures up a feline presence. Their success in that is pretty spooky but not the overall mood. They manage to create another truly brilliant and beautiful melody here. The instrumental section contrasts with some wackiness but nothing derailing. In fact, the weird percussive noises create tension and composition.

From the first strains of the opening and quite original funky fiddle solo, it's clear that "Plain Truth" will be an inspired heavy song. Probably the song is best known for its distinct rhythm guitar riff. Unfortunately Clan Dyken "borrowing" this riff for one of their songs, a later tune I've known much longer than "Plain Truth," kind of torpedoes my enjoyment of this Gentle Giant song. I can really groove on "Plain Truth" 's instrumental section, where the main riff is played on different notes. Then of course the alternation of the guitar and violin is astral, as well as the intricate development of the vocal. The riff itself entails unusual rhythmic emphasis, one of Gentle Giant's trademarks. (We hear unusual rhythmic emphasis again and again in Gentle Giant, perhaps most notably on "I Lost my Head" off Giant's far later Interview album. I truly lose my head when that one comes on, one of my fave all-time songs.) Clan Dyken simplifies the riff to work in their far simpler song.

"Plain Truth" commendably includes a serene instrumental jam before the last chorus. Incredibly it builds on a rather primitive rockabilly rhythm guitar riff. Throw in a wistful violin and you have it. Only Gentle Giant could come up with this one, and it proves that if you mate two very different species with just the right production, the offspring is nothing like the parents.

"Edge of Twilight" shows that an avant melody can still quite sublime. This is a pretty psychedelic piece with echo and trippy vibraphone. Really a whole pastiche of different tone colors and textures swirl and soar in this song's instrumental passages. The vibraphone is key to the movement and mood of this song. I must commend the band for being so inspired by this instrument, one that is usually reserved for jazz.

In "The House, the Street, the Room," the bands displays mastery of one of its trademark techniques. What I'm talking about is their tendency to create melodies and instrumental parts from far-apart notes. This creates a leaping feeling in contrast to your typical melody where notes occur more consecutively. In "The House ...," there is a fair amount of dissonance within the wide intervals of the notes. I'm not following a score, but I hear tri-tones and diminished patterns. This technique works to create a memorable and robust melody and bass-line. By the same token, this type of writing takes some serious getting used to. I had to sleep on this song for my brain to realign. What I experienced is analogous to restarting your computer for changes to take effect.

Continuing on "The House ...," I definitely chafed a bit at the frenetic glockenspiel in the middle. I just can't seem to break an association with that kind of instrumentation with silly 1930s kids' cartoons. One reason I totally reject "Knots" (on next album Octopus, not here) because I feel slaughtered by glockenspiel silliness. On "The House ...," the band does not over-indulge on any instrument or pattern. The light-heartedness of the glockenspiel contrasts nicely to Green's heavy guitar solo to follow. Truly Gentle Giant were a band of contrasts.