OCTOPUS

Probably Gentle Giant's best all around album. Their creativeness and energy was at their peak. The clashes between Phil Shulman (who saw himself as the leader fo the pack) and the rest of the band would eventually end with him leaving the group and thus finishing this first phase in Gentle giant's career. But what a closer! It combines the best of their early career and hints what GG would became later (i.e. a little more accessible). This was also the first album to feature permanent drummer John Weathers. Wheaters, a fine and seasoned musician, had a more heavy style and would ensure the band a more prog rock sound than its precedors.

The musical parts are as complex and elaborated as anything they have done before, and yet they seem less dense and darker than, say, Acquiring The Taste. The vocal parts are really strong and the center piece of this album is the unbelievable Knots: this great piece of canon and counterpoint vocals, with some real clever lyrics (anyone who thinks rock is dumb should listen to some prog's works and specilly GG's). The album has no fillers and the variety of styles and moods is proof of their great combination of musical expertise and fine songwriting. Those guys could easily fall in the long jams/endless nooding trap, but they escaped all that concentrating in making good, strong, not very long compositions that few artists could match, even in 20 minute suites. GG members were maybe the most accomplished musicans ever to grace a 'rock' band, but they didn't have to prove it at the songs expenses. They were a rare case of complexity meets good melodies. A delicate, difficult formula they masatered.

The production here is an improvement over previous effords. Octopus has excleent tracks and no fillers. This is surely one of the most representative of what would enter rock history as progressive music. Therefore, highly recommended. 4,5 stars.