Civilian review by Jason Rubin: Difference between revisions

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(New page: You may have read my positive review of Giant For a Day. If so, you're probably thinking I will also rave about Civilian. Well, rave may be a ...)
 
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You may have read my [[Giant for a Day review by Jason Rubin|positive review of Giant For a Day]]. If so, you're probably thinking I will also rave about [[Civilian]]. Well, rave may be a strong word to describe my feelings about this album, but I will say at the outset that Civilian is for me the quintessential "guilty pleasure." Why guilty? Because I should know better. This album is chock full of rock clich�s, is highly derivative, and panders to commercial radio programmers. It reeks of stuff stolen from the Who and Led Zeppelin - and yet I enjoy (most of) it.
You may have read my [[Giant for a Day review by Jason Rubin|positive review of Giant For a Day]]. If so, you're probably thinking I will also rave about [[Civilian]]. Well, rave may be a strong word to describe my feelings about this album, but I will say at the outset that Civilian is for me the quintessential "guilty pleasure." Why guilty? Because I should know better. This album is chock full of rock cliches, is highly derivative, and panders to commercial radio programmers. It reeks of stuff stolen from the Who and Led Zeppelin - and yet I enjoy (most of) it.


The most progressive thing about the album is the way the title is hidden within the lettering of Gentle Giant. A friend had to point it out to me and it still took me a minute to get it. I didn't care, though. When this album came out, I was already convinced that the group had broken up. I had read all kinds of swan song references into songs from Giant For a Day (like Thank You, Take Me, and It's Only Goodbye) and assumed that would be the last new release from the band. So when Civilian came out, I was shocked and ecstatic. I was also very into the Who and Led Zeppelin, so it's apparent lack of Gentle Giant-ishness didn't bother me much.
The most progressive thing about the album is the way the title is hidden within the lettering of Gentle Giant. A friend had to point it out to me and it still took me a minute to get it. I didn't care, though. When this album came out, I was already convinced that the group had broken up. I had read all kinds of swan song references into songs from Giant For a Day (like Thank You, Take Me, and It's Only Goodbye) and assumed that would be the last new release from the band. So when Civilian came out, I was shocked and ecstatic. I was also very into the Who and Led Zeppelin, so it's apparent lack of Gentle Giant-ishness didn't bother me much.

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