Under Construction
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About the Album
This album is a 2-CD set of unreleased material from Gentle Giant's long-lost work tapes, and a 28-page color booklet. Disc 1 features unreleased material in final form. Four complete songs, written before the first album, were unearthed in excellent condition: Freedoms Child, Hometown Special, Weekend Cowboy, and Bringing Me Down. These are from the same period as City Hermit from Out of the Woods.
There's also some unreleased music from the never-completed "Robin Hood" soundtrack (for which Talybont also was written); an unnamed and incomplete piece from the Civilian era; a largely complete song by John Weathers called You Haven't a Chance; some incidental music played before GG concerts; and unreleased live versions of In'terview and Timing from the Playing the Fool tour.
Disc 2 contains preliminary recordings of familiar songs, like Kerry's first piano version of An Inmates Lullaby and Ray's all-guitar demo of Cogs in Cogs. At times you can hear the band members giving each other directions and joking around as they construct new pieces.
All of this material came from Dan Bornemark's landmark "Save The Tapes" project (described in Proclamation #5), in which he collected tons of original GG studio tapes and transferred them to digital format for safekeeping. He painstakingly listened to hours and hours of material for many weeks, locating interesting material, and sent it to Ray Shulman for mastering.
Track List
Disc 1 - Entirely Unreleased Material
- Radio Bit (0:13)
- Freedoms Child (3:57)
- Hometown Special (4:24)
- Weekend Cowboy (3:46)
- Bringing Me Down (5:50)
- Nothing At All (8:23)
- RONDO: Playing the Game (1:33)
- DVS Guitars (6:28)
- Robin Hood (1:40)
- Interview - Whispers (1:04)
- Interview - Live (7:00)
- Timing Live (9:49)
- Unreleased Civilian track (4:59)
- You Haven't a Chance (4:12)
- Sample Archive - freely usable (9:18)
- Snare Shot, "Valedictory"
- Hammond FX, "Valedictory"
- Bass Drum, "River"
- Snare drum, "River"
- Groove, "River"
- Groove, "A Cry for Everyone"
- Hi-Hat, "A Cry for Everyone"
- Tambourine, "A Cry for Everyone"
- Congas, "A Cry for Everyone"
- Xylophone, "Knots"
- Regal, "Dogs Life"
- Bass, "Think of Me with Kindness"
- Hammond, "Timing"
- Guitar, "Interview"
- Sitar Guitar, "Interview"
- Bass, "Interview"
- Groove, "Alucard"
- Bass, "Alucard"
- Moog Modular, "Alucard"
- Saxophone, "Alucard"
- Guitar, "Alucard"
- Timpani Roll, "Alucard"
- Violins, "Peel The Paint"
- Hammond, "Peel The Paint"
- Saxophones, "Peel The Paint"
- Concert Snare, "Schooldays"
- Hammond, "Peel The Paint"
Disc 2 - Demos and Out-takes
- The House The Street (1:50)
- Prologue (0:40)
- Schooldays (2:54)
- Peel The Paint Demo (0:22)
- Peel The Paint Studio (4:22)
- Mr Class & Quality (3:02)
- Advent of Panurge (0:56)
- "SHH" (0:15)
- An Inmates Lullaby (3:37)
- Way of Life (7:07)
- Experience (6:51)
- So Sincere - Demo (3:30)
- So Sincere - Studio (3:28)
- Intro 74 (2:29)
- Cogs In Cogs (1:43)
- Intro 76 (1:44)
- Just The Same (1:34)
- Free Hand (2:58)
- Time to Kill (3:32)
- Interview Demo (2:02)
- Give It Back (2:23)
- Design (0:46)
- Another Show (2:24)
- Empty City (3:36)
- I Lost My Head - Demo (2:31)
- I Lost My Head - Studio (1:41)
- Convenience (1:03)
- Freedoms Child - Demo (3:18)
- Kerry (0:01)
Lyrics
Transcribed by Dan Barrett; still in need of corrections!
Freedoms Child
Lead vocals: Kerry (verse 1), Ray? (verse 2), Derek (verse 3)
Some things end as summer falls And fly away on silken wings. Our promises and our distant calls Are souvenirs of ended things. Asleep you lie so near me there Curled round me like a drifting air. To the memory of a heartfelt joy My dreams are never far away From the man who was a virgin boy My thoughts are never far to stray But summer's sorrow had to smile Because your love was freedom's child Some things end as summer falls And fly away on silken wings. Our promises and our distant calls Are souvenirs of ended things. But summer's sorrow had to smile Because your love was freedom's child. [2 more times]
Hometown Special
Lead vocals:
Been away for a long time. Seen some things in my time. Different places, people's faces, Played my aces, kicked my traces. CHORUS: Movin' past old town signs, Hometown special going down the line. Hometown special, hometown special, Hometown special, hometown special, Hometown special, home. Playing hard under my breath. Had good times, gotta be said. Going home to welcome faces Someone there to warm embraces. [CHORUS] [1] [and fade]
Weekend Cowboy
Lead vocals: Phil
Weekend cowboy, passing through Do you know where you're going, Where you're going to. Multicolored drag duffle bag Traveling light with a friend, With a friend or two. All week long behind your desk, Paperwork and white shirts, You have to look your best Weekend cowboy, let your hair hang down. Every weekend in a different town. Weekend cowboy, play it safe Don't look back, stay at home, It's a better place. On the road there's little hope Growing up is a thing That you'll have to face. Summer breeze on the Isle of Wight, And it's good to be free. Don't forget what you are, Yes you have to go back. You're going back to be a... Weekend cowboy. Weekend cowboy let your hair hang down. Every weekend in a different town.
Bringing Me Down
Lead vocals: Derek
Ahhh... Ain't no foolin' in my heart. Love's been coolin' from the start. CHORUS: You've gotta tell me what you're doin', Is it true that you're goin'? It's bringing me down, Bringing me down Bringing me down, yeah. It's bringing me down. It's bringing me down... [repeat] You've been foolin' with my heart Now you're sayin' we're better apart I've been prayin' all alone That you ain't gonna leave me all on my own. [CHORUS] Ahhh... Diddit dit, ba diddit dit, ba di da, Diddit dit, ba diddit dit, ba di da, Diddit dit, ba diddit dit, ba di da, Down! [1] [CHORUS] It's bringing me... down, yeah!
You Haven't A Chance
Lead vocals: John
You're walking down the street with all your pockets empty, Hold on to money, you haven't a chance. If you're carryin', some bugger rolled ya, Try to make a bloody cry. CHORUS: You're hanging on by the skin of your teeth And I don't believe you've got a hope. They're kicking the earth from under your feet, Just pull yourself together and say, you haven't a chance. Haven't a chance. Out with the girlfriend, just a tiny quiet night But you find a bonnie, you haven't a chance. You'll get her pregnant, marry her or have to pay, What's the bloody difference. [CHORUS] Try to get a job, you're lying through your back teeth, He's fiddling with his tie, you haven't a chance. He looks you up and down, treats you like a scumbag, What's the bloody use of it. [CHORUS] Haven't a chance. You haven't a chance. [CHORUS] On the job creation, treated like a schoolkid, Planting bloody trees, you haven't a chance. In the longer line, waiting for the handout, With all the other animals, you haven't a chance. Too many rats are running in the rat race, Trying to kick you in the head, you haven't a chance. They cut your legs off, arms off, feet gone, Head gone, dole off, you haven't a chance. Read the paper, get yourself a trade, You'll have to join the army, you haven't a chance. You'll go to Ireland and get bloody shot dead, Not bloody likely. [CHORUS] You're walking down the street with all your pockets empty, Hold on to money, you haven't a chance. If you're carryin', some bugger rolled ya, Try to make a bloody cry, you haven't a chance. Out with the girlfriend, just a tiny quiet night, But you find a bonnie, you haven't a chance. You'll get her pregnant, marry her or have to pay, What's the bloody difference, you haven't a chance. Try to get a job, you're lying through your back teeth, He's fiddling with his tie, you haven't a chance. He looks you up and down, treats you like a scumbag, What's the bloody use of it, you haven't a chance. On the job creation, treated like a schoolkid, Planting bloody trees, you haven't a chance. In the longer line, waiting for the handout With all the other animals, you haven't a chance. Too many rats are running in the rat race Trying to kick you in the head, you haven't a chance. They cut your dole off.
T-shirt photos
Alucard Music sold Under Construction t-shirts when the CD set was released. Here are Ray and Kerry modeling them.
