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== | == Liner notes == | ||
<cite> These liner notes are reproduced with the kind permission of Terrapin Trucking (UK) Ltd. </cite> | |||
In Britain, the late Seventies proved a difficult time for many established bands, and Gentle Giant were in some respects in a less favorable position than most. With the arrival of Punk Rock and the New Wave, the standards by which bands were judged changed suddenly and dramatically. Those playing straight-ahead, guitar-based rock, especially those who tended to play it faster and louder, stood a reasonable chance of being accepted in the new scheme of things - Motorhead being a good example - but those whose music was rooted in progressive rock had no such escape route. | |||
For Giant, a short-term answer was to look to America, where the AOR market remained largely undisturbed by the young rebels for rather longer, and where they had enjoyed considerable success during the middle of the decade. In doing so, they were forced to turn their backs on British audiences forever. for some years, the lavish productions Giant had mounted on European and American tours had proven economically unviable on home soil, and scaled-down versions had been used. Now, even these became too expensive, and from the British viewpoint Giant disappeared from sight. | |||
The commercial pressures on the band to broaden its audience, and a desire from within to harness some of the energy of the New Wave, led to an increasingly direct musical style, the first effects of which can be heard on 'The Missing Piece', the album which preceded this one. By the time 'giant for a Day' was released in 1978, the transition was complete, bit it had been a difficult process. Bassist Ray Shulman remembers it as an uncertain period: 'There was pressure to make a commercial album, certainly some of it from outside the band, but it had a lot to do with us wanting to capture a bigger audience... It was probably a folly, in retrospect, but at the time it seemed the thing to do. there was a sense of searching for a new identity, doubts about where we should go next...' | |||
Nevertheless, 'Giant for a Day' includes some very good material. 'Words from the Wise' is a powerful opener which combines elements of their earlier vocal style with a strong driving backbeat, while 'Thank You' is an understated Mid-Western style ballad featuring some deft touches from Gary Green's guitars. Both tracks were lifted as singles, but both sank without trace. Further nods to Giant's past include the instrumental 'Spooky Boogie', a distant cousin of 'Alucard' from the band's self-titled 1970 debut album, and the verses of 'Take Me' which are reminiscent of 'The Power and the Glory' era. The album also boasts two delicately melodic pieces in 'Friends', drummer John Weathers' first and only solo composition for the band, and 'It's Only Goodbye', which keyboardist Kerry Minnear recalls as 'my attempt to write a single'. | |||
Overall, 'Giant for a Day' features significantly more guitar work than previous Gentle Giant albums, and noticeably less keyboards, both factors lending the set a more mainstream rock feel. | |||
Whatever the aims of the album, it failed to excite much interest on either side of the Atlantic when first issued. The reasons for its commercial failure in Britain are not difficult to see - it was released with minimal record company promotion, and, of course, there were no live shows to accompany its appearance. The British music press, absorbed with the spit and sawdust of the New Wave, completely ignore it, and long-standing fans were presented with a marked change of style, even from the relative simplicity of 'The Missing Piece'. In the States, its poor showing is harder to understand - perhaps 'Giant for a Day' fell between two stools, being neither complex enough to please their old audience, nor straightforward enough to attract a new one. | |||
The album's packaging probably didn't help. the sleeve, reproduced here, invited buyers to cut out their own Gentle Giant mask. It was rather gimmicky, and tended to cheapen the band's image at a time when a more serious approach might have paid greater dividends. According to Kerry Minnear, it wasn't a conscious effort to shake off their intellectual image, nor was it intended to be particularly flippant. 'There was never an deliberate attempt to insult the intelligence of those who were into what we had done before... It was just thought of as a bright idea, a fun idea, to see loads of people at a concert wearing these masks. there's no doubt that it doesn't have the intrigue of say 'In a Glass House' or the seriousness of 'The Power and the Glory', but I just look on it as the hallmark of the album...' | |||
During the winter of 978/79, Giant toured North America to promote 'Giant for a Day', then everything went quiet. It seemed as though the band had decided to throw in the towel in the light of the poor reception the album had received, but two years later they reconvened to write and record what really would be their swansong, 'Civilian', before moving on to very different futures. | |||
By the early Nineties, Derek Shulman was a record label boss, his brother Ray had established himself as an in-demand producer, and John Weathers was still playing and recording with Welsh legends Man. Kerry Minnear was making a living from teaching music, whilst Gary Green had moved to a remote part of Illinois, and played occasionally with local bands. | |||
Unjustly shunned when originally released, 'Giant for a Day' is now making its first appearance on CD. True, in this format the mask will prove difficult to get into, but the music shouldn't - this album remains as accessible as it ever was, and once more confirms Giant's ability to master widely differing musical styles. | |||
''- Alan Kinsman. Many thanks for their assistance to Kerry Minnear and Ray Shulman.'' | |||
== Reviews and Ratings == | == Reviews and Ratings == | ||