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The Missing Piece: Difference between revisions
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== Liner notes == | |||
<cite> These liner notes are reproduced with the kind permission of Terrapin Records (UK) Ltd. Transcribed by Bill Noland. </cite> | |||
If the years 1974 to 1976 had been a vindication of Gentle Giant's dogged determination to be accepted on their own terms, the period which followed was to be something of an anti-climax, as the band suffered mixed fortunes in a changing marketplace. For a number of reasons, 'Playing the Fool', a double album of live material recorded on their 1976 European tour and released eight months before 'The Missing Piece', proved to be a turning point in the band's history. | |||
Giant acquired a sizeable European following quite early in their career, the Italians, Swiss and Germans proving particularly enthusiastic. The breakthrough in the States had come with 1974's 'The Power and the Glory', and although British listeners remained largely unimpressed, by 1976 the band were beginning to enjoy the rewards of six years of hard work. "Playing the Fool' appeared in January 1977, when the British music scene was in upheaval with the advent of Punk Rock and the so-called New Wave. What little recognition the group had gained at home was cruelly swept aside by fashion, and the musical skills which were the cornerstones of Giant's musical philosophy were suddenly despised. | |||
Bassist Ray Shulman remembers taking stock: 'It was a kick in the teeth, but also a jolt to stop complacency - it was a general shake-up for everybody, really. With the pressure to become more commercially viable on the one hand, and the fact that we had a very loyal audience on the other, we were in a dilemma...' Chrysalis, who had seen the band do very well, especially in America, over the previous eighteen months, now viewed Giant's commercial prospects rather less optimistically. 'They could still rely on us to recoup our advances, to sell a reasonable number of records in all territories - we'd become a pretty reliable act, but it was getting no bigger." | |||
The impact of the new music was less marked on the Continent, and in the States, at least for a time, its effect was negligible. Not surprisingly, giant were persuaded to concentrate on the European and American markets, and apart from an appearance on the BBC's 'Sight And Sound' (a simultaneous broadcast on TV and radio) in January 1978, the band never took to a British stage again. They inclined towards a more direct style, making a conscious effort to inject more energy into their output, and with an eye on contemporaries, like Genesis, adopted a less complex, more commercial sound. | |||
Classically-trained keyboardist Kerry Minnear looks back on this period of Giant's development with mixed feelings" 'At this stage, certainly, one or two members of the band were becoming frustrated by the straitjacket we'd made for ourselves... Because of the nature of what we were, we felt obliged to play quite experimental music all the time. Ray was getting quite heavily into Punk because it was just a total burst of energy and enthusiasm, and I think that appealed to him because it was so completely different to what we were. I confess I was a bit nonplused by some of the things that were going on in the band... Personally, I had much less enthusiasm for breaking free of these restrictions we'd placed on ourselves.' | |||
Another factor also influenced this shift to a more straightforward style. Until now, Giant had taken new material out on the road only after it had been recorded. There was a feeling in the group that a different approach might bring a new vitality to the music, and several of the numbers included here were played live before being taken into the studio. Different arrangements were tried in concert and those which worked best on stage were used when the songs were finally recorded, bringing a more concise feel to the end product. | |||
Although transitional in nature, 'The Missing Piece' boasts several numbers equal to anything the band released on earlier albums. 'As Old as You're Young' is a charming example of Kerry Minnear's medieval minstrelsy, and 'I'm Turning Around' is a powerful ballad which deserved a better reception than it received hen issued as the first of two singles lifted from the album. 'Memories of Old Days' is a finely-crafted, atmospheric song graced by Gary Green's delicate acoustic guitar work, and 'Two Weeks in Spain', the second of those unsuccessful single releases, is an excellent straightforward rocker. Despite the quality of the material, 'The Missing Piece' was not a commercial success. It was their last US chart album, and die-hard Gentle Giant fans generally seemed reluctant to accept the change of dynamic it offered. | |||
Ray Shulman remains philosophical about the choices that were made: 'Perhaps we should have carried on being ourselves and resisted advice from anyone else, just seen what happened. Maybe if we'd reconciled ourselves to a small, loyal audience we could've stayed more experimental, but you can't turn back the clock, and I think that what we went on to do was still interesting, still very good... From the outset, all the different changes in Giant happened for a reason, and every album reflected the mood of the band at the time.' | |||
'The Missing Piece', available now for the first time on CD along with Gentle Giant's four other Chrysalis-period studio albums, remains a fine collection. If anything, the range of music it includes encompasses more than ever the versatility of the band. Its relatively poor sales say more about the changes taking place in the music scene at the time than they do about the album itself, and all the excitement of Gentle Giant's unique chemistry is here to enjoy. | |||
''- Alan Kinsman. Many thanks for their assistance to Kerry Minnear and Ray Shulman.'' | |||
== La Pieza Faltante == | == La Pieza Faltante == | ||