OCTOPUS

It's somehow painful to choose one Gentle Giant album of their early period ('70-'76) to call their best, because any single record between these years was and still is something special on it's own way. My personal favourite Gentle Giant album is "Three Friends", which was my introduction to them and still is the one to beat in my personal point of view out from the whole work of GG, even I consider "In A Glass House" as their overall best, followed by "The Power And The Glory" as their "peak" and "Free Hand" as their "zenith" ("Interview" was also very good, but doesn't count in this matter). I simply fell in love with that record, specially the melodic attitude (remember "School Days" or "Three Friends") was more foundable than on every other GG record.

The album before these mentioned records, "Octopus", shows at the first time ever the perfection of the typical & unique Gentle Giant prog-rock, for what they became famous for and they really found their own niche after the more accesible, blues/hardrock (mostly on the debut) influenced first three albums. This album is nothing short of a perfect Gentle Giant observation, but sometimes seems closely sterile, specially the sound quality in comparison with their previous efforts is so much better and with one perfect clear sound. This record is the most loved GG release by many fans and progressive rock listeners, who adore the band and their unforgettable classic-period material. "Octopus" seems flawless, and IMO it's perfect for what it is - a essential masterpiece of progressive music, even it may be hard to understand the attitude of complexity on here, so if you're new to the world of Gentle Giant, I recommend to start up from the beginning - so you understand the maturity-process the band went through at best. It's useless to review or rate the single tracks on "Octopus", all would receive the high score from my side, I still can't find one misplacement on here, all fits perfectly together, which is a big statement, specially on the look of complexity. The great Roger Dean cover is the i on the cake, what more is left to say about the perfect job of the Gentle Giants? Short: One of the best and unique progressive rock albums ever recorded - a total prog-masterpiece!

10/10 points = 100 % on MPV scale = 5/5 stars

point-system: 0 - 3 points = 1 star / 3.5 - 5.5 points = 2 stars / 6 - 7 points = 3 stars / 7.5 - 8.5 points = 4 stars / 9 - 10 points = 5/5 stars

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive music