Toad in the Hole

Album Information: Title: Toad in the Hole Artist: Gentle Giant Year: 1998 Type: unofficial live recording

About The Album

Recorded live at the Toad's Place, New Haven, Connecticut, on May 18, 1980. No information or even labeling is present on the discs themselves, which are gold Advanced Media Products CDR74 74-minute (680MB) recordable CDs.

A recording of this concert is also available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UeKJDLXGfM.

A fan reports: "The performance itself is brash, exuberant, and skilled. Derek muffs the odd high note, especially on Inside Out and All Through The Night. However, the band is tight, and many stand-out performances are included, especially the Giant For A Day/Inside Out medley - a perfect medley, considering that both songs use a floating guitar/bass line as their core!"

A fan reports on the sound quality and track ordering: "This is exactly the ways the songs separate and line up on copies of the tape on collectors' circles. However, the quality is much better (a little tape hiss at the beginning notwithstanding) and the recording is a bit more complete than those tapes."

Another fan reports: "Nice piece of work, although there are some unfortunate breaks or splices in the recording here and there. The shrieks of feedback during some of the quietest parts of Memories of Old Days are criminal. With time and a little mellowing, I found the Civilian cuts on the boot a pleasant surprise. Particularly the somewhat ethereal one that, I think, follows Playing the Game. The segue into it reminded me of how effective Kerry's segues from one live tune to another invariably seem to be. They don't whack you upside the head, but they don't descend into noodling either; at least from my perspective, they are always interesting, and pregnant with possibility."

Musicians

"The Boys In The Pond are:"

Derek Shulman: Shulberry, lead vocals, bass guitar, descant recorder and percussion

Ray Shulman: Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals and percussion

Kerry Minnear: All keyboards, electric guitar, tenor recorder, vocals and percussion

Gary Green: Electric lead guitars, acoustic guitar, alto recorder, vocals and percussion

John Weathers: Drums, tambour, vocals and percussion

Track List

Lily Pad 1:

1. Convenience
2. All Through The Night
3. Free Hand
4. Memories Of Old Days
5. Knots
6. Playing the Game
7. Giant For A Day
8. Inside Out

Lily Pad 2:

1. It's Not Imagination
2. Underground
3. For Nobody
4. The Advent Of Panurge
5. Number One