CIVILIAN

"Civilian" is a completely different record in comparison to "Missing Piece" and "Giant for a Day", because the aforementioned were transition, transformation albums: they had an uncertain identity, while Civilian has its own clear identity, it is a very well defined, homogeneous album that proposes a new sound. The transformation has been completed: Gentle Giant have become a rock band in step with industrial, citizen new wave. Progressive rock has been definitively abandoned, archived: it is part of the past.

The nine songs of Civilian present a new band, which we don't know, a real discovery. "Convenience" is a fast rock song with an industrial sound (vote 7+). "All Through The Night" is a conventional piece strophe-refrain, with a good work by Gary Green at the electric guitar (vote 6,5). Kerry Minnear sings in "Shadows on The Street": good piano ballad, with sophisticated beginning, but it fades too quicky (vote 7,5). The hard rock guitar by Green, protagonist of the album along with the drums of Weathers, back in, a good conventional rock song: "Number one" (vote 7+). Noises of urban transport describe the beginning of the song that is perhaps the most emblematic of the album, fully representing the concept of the Lp: the alienation of people in the mass industrial society, in modern cities (vote7,5/8). Shots of photography introduce "I Am to Camera" (vote 7,5), very sustained rhythm, good singing. The album has now a beatiful passage with the sequence of the two previous tracks. Kerry Minnear is really in the background, but luckily with the next song, "Inside Out" (the longest, almost six minutes) we can listen to his keyboards (I guess electric piano). It's difficult to hear Ray Shulman's bass. Anyway the song is too much repetetive (vote 7).

The last two songs are the final rush. "It's Not Imagination" is fast and sustained, and includes some dissonances of the old times. It recall some prog songs of the past. Good solo on the guitar. Anyway, the track is weak (6,5). "Heroes No More" is a good rock and roll, mid- tempo, very solid (vote 7,5)

Civilian is a record of discreet musical quality, well-made, but all in all not very inspired. It's a Lp made more with the experience and the tricks of the trade than for an artistic urgency. It remains a brave album of a band that wanted to change skin and present himself new to the eighties. In fact it's a debut. It had to be a new beginning, but, given the bad commercial response, it was the end of Gentle Giant. Honor to Gentle Giant

Medium quality of the songs: 7,17. Vote album: 6,5. Rating: Two Stars.