The Missing Piece

Album Information: Title: The Missing Piece  (#10/12) Artist: Gentle Giant Year: 1977 Type: official release

About the Album

Gentle Giant's first foray into pop music. Side 2 is much stronger than side 1. An essay is available from the Truck CD liner notes.

See cassette covers:

• Capitol:
• Chrysalis: .

Musicians

Gary Green, Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, and John Weathers. No instrument credits are given.

Other liner notes:

  All tracks written by Shulman/Shulman/Minnear
  A Gentle Giant Production
  Alucard Publishing, Ltd./Chrysalis Music, Ltd.

  Recorded at Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, Holland
  Remixed at Scorpio Sound, Euston Centre, London
  Recording engineer: Paul Northfield
  "Sound" advice: David Zammit

  Cover concept: Ray and Tanner. is Ray Shulman, and "Tanner" is his wife Barbara's nickname.
  Photography: G.G. Green, not Gentle Giant
  CD package: Phil Smee at Waldo's Design

Track List

1. Two Weeks In Spain (3:00)
2. I'm Turning Around (3:54)
3. Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It (2:20)
4. Who Do You Think You Are? (3:33)
5. Mountain Time (3:19)
6. As Old As You're Young (4:19)
7. Memories Of Old Days (7:15)
8. Winning (4:12)
9. For Nobody (4:00)

Lyrics

All lyrics reproduced with the permission of DRT Entertainment (USA) and Alucard Publishing, Ltd. (UK).

- submitted by Geir Hasnes, from the lyrics as transcribed by a music writer at Chrysalis Records.

Two Weeks In Spain

Lead vocals: Derek

Two weeks in Spain makes the year disappear easy
Two weeks in Spain, you forget, bored and yet weary
We're back again, drink the wine, weather's fine, only
Two weeks in Spain's not enough

Never think where you're going
Paradise a while knowing
Everything that you're doing
It's a carnival

Let it go so remember
Counting sheep in September
Let 'em know you're the master
It's a roundabout

(Note: Some people hear "Two weeks in Spain's not enough" as "Two weeks in Spain starting now," but the vocals on the BBC In Concert album seem to make it clear that "not enough" is correct.)

I'm Turning Around

Lead vocals: Derek

Where's the love that you once promised. Where's the pride, was it all lies?
Taking all, but giving nothing. Did you want a compromise?

All these years we spent together.  It was me who sold my time
Now I've made my life's decision.  I'll take yours so please take mine

I'm turning around, there was no other way
I'm turning around, taking you come what may

How long did you think we'd make it. How could this affair survive?
Making mine a new direction. Could we keep us both alive?

All I am I have to offer.  Someone new but still the same
Life for us an empty shelter.  Now I'll play a different game

Betcha Thought - We Couldn't Do It

Lead vocals: Derek

I betcha thought we couldn't do it.  And if you did we wouldn't try
I betcha thought we couldn't do it.  But if we didn't we would die

We built our house stone by stone.  Little help, we were on our own
Made the town, torn it down. Now you know, tell me how it feels

We've been waiting such a long long time.  To fit the pattern, fill the rhyme
Now we can't stick in our old ways.  Now it's out we'll see how you feel

Who Do You Think You Are

Lead vocals: Derek

Yeah, now I'm back here in Hollywood, I pick up the phone, turn the pages
Hi, got a friend and he said I should not be on my own, Come on over,
take you to our show. What are you doing?

Who do you think you are?  You're not even the main star
Even if I could come, how would I know you're the one?
Who do you think you are?  You can put around you're a star
Well I might not be on time.  Leave my name at the door

Well, you can bet here that anyone wants to take a ride
No tomorrow
So you can bet here that everyone will be at your side
Doesn't matter

You can't fool around, you're a star

Mountain Time

Lead vocals: Derek

Mountain time, mountain date.  Hope to be there, before it's late
I need to see you, looking fine.  Gotta be there, mountain time

Last night I had to tell you, made up my mind I need to see you
Got on the road to ride
I thought all of it over, now I have to be at your side

Somewhere, be there

So hard seeing it your way.  I'm glad, what more can I say
This lane taking me back today

As Old As You're Young

Lead vocals: Kerry; Derek (last verse)

Look at the mirror over there, what do you see?  Tell yourself a lie
Are you as old as you seem?  Feel something that you have to
Being open, an innocent, wise only when.  Age can mellow the haste
New hopes, ambitions undone - you're only as old as you're young

Out of your youth and you'll find that the time goes
slipping away where no-one knows
Soon enough Winter is changing to Spring
always understand one life it goes

Never as old as you're young and everything still yet to find
Dreams not realized
Thoughts rising, duties and vows continue, can't wait for you

Now is the day, tomorrow comes without an end
Mark time follow the sun - you're only as old as you're young

So as you look around, look at the things you knew
Never seeking the past
Forget all the things you have done - you're only as old as you're young
Still open eyed and promises never quite complete
Working head in the air
The coming of age never comes - You're only as old as you're young

Memories Of Old Days

Lead vocals: Derek

Now the wings fell to ground as the miles they were crossed
All the years seemed like days as the time it was lost
For without his solutions and reasons for why
He should come up for air to the town once his by

So soon on his way
Shadows from the pathways
Memories of old days

That the journey was long many thoughts filled his mind
As he neared the stop always a dream he would find
But the road that he knew could no longer be seen
And the city lights flickered where lake waters gleamed

With sadness today
Hopes of joy yesterday
Memories of old days

Sky and the trees of his youthful time spent
Only smoke, only paper.  No colour or scent

With sadness today
Hopes of joy yesterday
Memories of old days

Winning

Lead vocals: Derek

Once he could smile maybe happy
Fighting for his future and his destinations
There were his friends he'd rely on
Everyone had nothing but their aspirations
Soon dreaming found realization
Winning was his target with deliberation

Now he has everything, tell me why
No one knows him, the veils shut out cutting the tie

So now he's made his own island
Not familiar even to his understanding
Thoughts turning sour, did he want it?
Something reassuring in his time and planning
What did he miss, needing nothing?
Seeing that it was the fighting and not the winning

No returning, no looking back, on with his way
Rising winner but falling man, gaining the day

For Nobody

Lead vocals: Derek

Running away, I'll leave you my address, don't want you to reply to anybody
Forward my mail to the next place.  I'll be responsible for nobody

Given my best to the people I knew.  I'll always maintain my situation
And through it all, no one told me that I was doing it for nobody

Tried to forget everything that we did
And thinking we did it all together
How it went wrong, can't remember
It doesn't matter much for nobody

Nobody tells, everyone understands
It's anybody for nobody
Anyone for everybody
I'll be responsible for nobody

Taking my leave leaving many regrets
I'll go without meeting understanding
Maybe one day realizing
That everybody is for nobody

Liner notes

These liner notes are reproduced with the kind permission of Terrapin Records (UK) Ltd. Transcribed by Bill Noland.

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

This is the release of The Missing Piece in Argentina by Phonogram Records (6307604). The liner notes and track list are in Spanish.

Spanish Track List

1. Dos Semanas en España
2. Estoy Dando Vueltas
3. Seguro Pensaste Que No Podriamos Hacerlo
4. Quien Crees Que Eres?
5. Es Tiempo de Montaña
6. Tan Viejo Como Eres Joven
7. Recuerdo de los Viejos Tiempos
8. Ganando
9. Para Nadie

Reviews and Ratings

Keyboard Magazine
Simon Brader
Rankings:
On-Reflection album ranking
Proclamation album ranking

[[Category:John Weathers]