manofmystery wrote: Trial and Error wrote: micky wrote: ../album.asp?id=1144"> 3.85 | 173 ratings ../album.asp?id=1144 - Gentle Giant 1970 ../album.asp?id=1145"> 4.19 | 202 ratings ../album.asp?id=1145 - Acquiring The Taste 1971 ../album.asp?id=1146"> 4.00 | 185 ratings ../album.asp?id=1146 - Three Friends 1972 ../album.asp?id=616"> 4.23 | 309 ratings ../album.asp?id=616 - Octopus 1972 ../album.asp?id=1147"> 4.39 | 224 ratings ../album.asp?id=1147 - In a Glass House 1973 ../album.asp?id=1148"> 4.23 | 185 ratings ../album.asp?id=1148 - The Power And The Glory 1974 ../album.asp?id=1149"> 4.37 | 186 ratings ../album.asp?id=1149 - Free Hand 1975 ../album.asp?id=1151"> 3.82 | 101 ratings ../album.asp?id=1151 - Interview 1976 enough said Giant for a Day - 2.33. I rest my case. It is indeed true that many classic Prog bands did have all of their classic albums over average, Genesis would be another clear contester for that claim, with all albums from Trespass to Wuthering being above average, but the longer a band plays, the easier it becomes for them to be lost in fame, and bring out some crappy CD a la We Can't Dance or Love Beach, or Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll, or so many more for that matter. There's quite a few bands that still would stay at least above average, like Opeth did until 08, with Änglagard and Anekdoten coming to mind easily, or Sigh, whose third album is my avatar for that matter   I agree, Gentle Giant doesn't quite qualify.  They were brilliant for the majority of their run but those last 3 albums weren't very good.   1 album wonders excluded: - The Doors - while I still have trouble with them as a Prog Archives artist their discography with Jim Morrison (I think it is a valid argument to say that a band should not continue under the same name after losing its signature member) is without blemish - Anglagard - Egg - Hatfield And The North - Kingston Wall - Quella Vecchia Locanda - Sweet Smoke (I think Darkness To Light is just fine) - Trace - UK   A couple notable near misses: - Pink Floyd (blasted Final Cut) - Ian Anderson solo (Walk Into Light) - David Gilmour (About Face)

One big difference between this and the last album is that the long stretches of tastelessness that abounded on Piece are mostly eradicated here - some of the songs entertain me less than others, sure, but only one of them (the power ballad It's Only Goodbye) makes me wretch in disgust. Otherwise, the album's largely a fascinating exercise in style, one that shows the band occasionally using its experiences in other genres to influence the ideas shown here, without directly cribbing from their previous albums. For instance, we have the opening Words from the Wise, which starts off by showcasing the band's great vocal harmonies, but in a straightup poppy manner instead of the modern classical stylings of On Reflection. Even haters of this period of the band tend to like this song (probably because of those same vocal harmonies), even though its gloriously catchy (yet involved) verse melody and chorus bleed poppy goodness at all points.

Or, if you're a fan of the band's long stretches of no vocals, there's a hilarious instrumental called Spooky Boogie, which uses occasional quiet dissonant keyboard chords to provide a "scary" effect as an augmentation to the nice, jazzy melody. And if you're a fan of the band's ability to combine styles that should have nothing to do with each other, then the title track is for you. Vaguely punkish, with a simple nagging guitar/keyboard pattern driving it forward, as well as booming drumming, it shows a band willing to make a total fool of itself and come up with something extremely entertaining in the process.

The other songs are basically "conventional," but they're at worst nice and at best great, so I'm definitely in no position to complain. Thank You is an EXCELLENT acoustic pop ballad, with totally non-trivial chord sequences, a nice vocal performance from Derek (one thing I should note - I like Derek's voice more on this album than I did on the "classic" GG albums. Fancy that.), moving lyrics, and of course those little subtle guitar augmentations in the background. Little Brown Bag is a terrific, punchy rocker, with Derek bellowing in a convincing manner, Kerry sounding like he spent hours listening to Gary Brooker's playing on Exotic Birds and Fruit (another example of an art-rock band turning to a 'simpler' sound to great effect) and Gary's guitars sounding like Keith Richards pounding out those crisp lines.

I'm also quite partial to Friends, which is a solid two-minute acoustic ballad, with John Weathers (drums) on vocals, and all sorts of nice acoustic flourishes underneath the good vocal melody. And of course, there's the brilliant closer Rock Climber, which took me a couple of listens to like (don't know why), but that I'll likely enjoy for the rest of my life. Man, who would've thought that the prog band that would be able to do real rock'n'roll the best would be Gentle Giant, the band for people who thought rock'n'roll was retched'n'retarded...

The other two songs (Take Me, which has a nice chorus but that took me a zillion listens to remember how the song goes, and the nice-but-head-drooping No Stranger) aren't as good, but definitely not bad either. Add up these ten songs, and you have an extremely solid album that, through no fault of its own, completely fell between the cracks of history. Hardcore GG fans will probably hang me in effigy for liking this more than Glass House or Glory, but I really wish they'd reconsider and accept the possibility that there can, in fact, be such a thing as a very good pop album. Like, say, this one.

I think a fairer questions is how many above average albums in a row. As many have noted, I don't know if it's fair to compare Anglagard who put out two and a live album (none below average) to Genesis who has both a Seven Disc run of brilliance flanked by weaker material or Gentle Giant who put out 9 great albums before succumbing to the sack of prog by punk.

Besides the big three from Eclectic I would add Tribal Tech , Vital Information , The Tangent , Porcupine Tree and Rush.

Devin Townsend has, in my opinion, not made a single weak solo album.

Porcupine Tree would also fit, if not for In Absentia and Deadwing ruining their track record.