Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Gentle Giant
Label: Vertigo Records
Release: 1972
Rating: 5/5
With “Octopus,” Gentle Giant created one of their finest works. The album offers a whole spectrum of unique musical ideas that the band could always toss off like it was nothing. As outstanding masters of countless instruments and musical innovators the likes of which rock hasn’t seen many, Gentle Giant keep proving with their early albums that this band will always have its loyal listeners and a cult status among lovers of good music. A bag of musical parts this varied and complex, such superbly played multi-voice vocal harmonies and such outstanding arrangements as on this album, and on most of the band’s work, deserve all the admiration in the world. Their vocal harmonies influenced far better-known and commercially more successful bands (Queen, for example). Besides their professionalism and top-notch tightness, Gentle Giant always put their wonderfully colorful, mischievous and intelligent humor into their music, which the band’s very name already reflects. “Octopus” is dominated by a mostly “folky” sound that constantly cross-pollinates with an incredibly diverse range of musical elements, pushing boundaries from jazz fusion all the way to hard rock. After “Three Friends” (1972), the band gained even more complexity and dropped most of the hard rock parts that dominated the previous album. Malcolm Mortimore was replaced behind the drums on “Octopus” by the even more technically skilled John Weathers. The album once again features a whole spectrum of all sorts of instruments, proof that every member of the band, led by the Shulman brothers, was a multi-instrumentalist. The album is also graced by a great cover from Roger Dean (who also did covers for bands like Yes, Uriah Heep, Asia, Osibisa…).
“The Advent Of Panurge” opens with Derek and Philip trading vocals. They’re soon joined by Weathers’s drums, Green’s lightning-fast solos and the rest of the instrumental arsenal, instantly creating a one-of-a-kind sonic fusion. On this track you can freely pick which musical parts stick in your ears at any given moment, there are that many of them. The vocal split and interplay between the two singers is interesting too, with guitars joining them in parallel, hard left and hard right, the whole way through. If you listen to the lyrics, the song is yet another of their witty and intelligent tales, inspired by the literary work “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by Francois Rabelais (1494-1553). “Raconteur Troubadour” has some great baroque “folk rock” parts. Here Gentle Giant show themselves to be the modern heirs of medieval English troubadours. Derek’s vocals are brilliant, and the dazzling violin and superb woodwinds will simply take your breath away. “A Cry For Everyone” is built on Green’s hard rock, almost metal riff and his great solos. Minnear is excellent too, with his organ solos. The band could be plenty “heavy” and complex at the same time whenever they felt like it. Judging by the lyrics, the song is inspired by the works and beliefs of the French writer Albert Camus. “Knots” is one of the band’s classics, where their trademark multi-voice vocal harmonies reign supreme. The composition is built on the musical structure of a madrigal. The multi-voice vocal harmonies are tracked all the way by Weathers’s wonderfully witty and unique percussion (xylophone), which really conjures up the movement of a friendly giant when you listen. Yet another one of the band’s trademark musical elements, then. “Knots” is a masterpiece that many modern prog rock bands (Spock’s Beard, for instance) were still “copying” years later. The multi-timed vocals and frenetic drums will surely stay with you for a long time. “The Boys In the Band” opens with a lucid sneer and a coin rolling across a table, and in an instant it sucks us into an amazing fusion of the band’s many musical ingredients. To those typical musical elements that only they can conjure up, the second part adds solos on Derek’s saxophone and Green’s guitar, plus “a few” other solos, trading places all the way to the end of the piece. On this track you can really feel how tight the band is. “The Boys In the Band” is without a doubt one of the greatest works of art they ever created. “Dog’s Life” is built mostly on violin and is another of those folk rock creations from the band, with the playful musical touches so typical of them. The xylophone once again rocks us into the giant’s gentle embrace. The guys get a bit more “serious” again with “Think Of Me With Kindness,” a gorgeous ballad and an extremely melodic composition built on piano and woodwinds. Kerry Minnear is truly excellent here on lead vocals. The closing “River” is an experimental folk rock composition based on Green’s recognizable riff and Ray’s violin. Minnear’s keyboards (moog synthesizer) build a sonic backdrop that creates an atmosphere of incredible intensity.
“Octopus” is one of those progressive rock classics that was way ahead of its time when it came out. It also influenced many modern prog bands, the Americans Spock’s Beard and Echolyn, for example. “Octopus” is one of the best and most accessible works of this legendary yet hugely overlooked band. The album is flawless, and the only thing you could perhaps hold against it is its rather short running time, which was nothing unusual given the recording technology of the day. More than any other album of theirs, “Octopus” defines this band and clearly shows that Gentle Giant are simply too good a band to stay overlooked by fans of symphonic progressive rock and good music in general. This album is also the ideal starting point for anyone just discovering the band. “Octopus” will wrap you in its tentacles in no time, or after a few listens at the latest. And believe it or not: after this album, Gentle Giant got even better!
Line-up
Derek Shulman – vocals, alto saxophone
Gary Green – guitar, percussion
Philip Shulman – saxophone, trumpet, mellophone, vocals, backing vocals
Raymond Shulman – bass guitar, violin, guitar, percussion, vocals
Kerry Minnear – keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, cello, moog, vocals, backing vocals
John Weathers – drums, percussion, xylophone
Production
Gentle Giant
Track list
1. The Advent Of Panurge (4:45)
2. Raconteur Troubadour (4:03)
3. A Cry For Everyone (4:06)
4. Knots (4:11)
5. The Boys In The Band (4:34)
6. Dog’s Life (3:13)
7. Think Of Me With Kindness (3:31)
8. River (5:52)
Album length: 34:15
