ACQUIRING THE TASTE

Acquiring the Taste is the second album by Gentle Giant and first I've ever heard. This is an album about which could be said very much. It's extremely avantgarde and experimental album. Much more, than the debut homonymous album. This is the biggest difference. But definitely, here we have more complex and profound work, full of tempo shifts and unclear ideas until your (probably) 6-7 listening of the album. The truth is, that Acquiring the Taste stays incomprehensible until you get into it fully with your senses.

The Medieval influence is much bigger than on the first album; the blues and jazz are much less here; and, of course the progressive manner is much more and here is the beginning of folk rock experience for the band. I'm not sure is this good or bad, but if you aren't familiar to this album and you want to be, you have to change your philosophy of music. You can't hear something even little close to that on the radio or TV. It's completely different from everthing commercial.

It's very hard to rate this unique album. It contains clear dose of music, but it contains flaws, too! When I have to rate this album I feel the same like when I rated Meddle by Pink Floyd. This comparison is little strange, but I shall explain... With both I want to rate them as masterpieces, but something stops me and I can't. Probably in both cases the reason is one clumsiness I found in them... Oh they are 1971's releases both. What a coincidence. Surely very close to masterpiece work we have here... Significant step forward from the debut album. 4.3 stars