Description
Gentle Giant’s 1976 concept album “Interview” marked a turning point in their golden age. This superb live album lets you experience the scene. This work is a recording of the “May 2, 1976 London performance.” It’s a super clear audience recording. Speaking of the 1976 live performance, the traditional official work “Playing the Fool” is also available, but of course (?) this is a completely different performance. To clarify the situation, let’s first take a bird’s-eye view of their activities at the time and approach the position of this work. “INTERVIEW” released April 23rd: April 30th – May 17th: UK (13 shows) ←★here★; May 21st – June 7th: Europe #1 (12 shows); June 17th – July 28th: North America (30 shows); September 16th – October 7th: Europe #2 (16 shows) ←※A super-clear recording that surpasses the standards of the PLAYING THE FOOL era and audience records. This is GENTLE GIANT in 1976. The band spent the entire year on the “INTERVIEW Tour,” and the official live album “PLAYING THE FOOL” was produced on the final “Europe #2” leg. The following year, 1977, saw the band switch to the “PLAYING THE FOOL Tour.” Conversely, the London performance on this album was early in the tour, marking the third performance of the “UK” leg, which began immediately after the album’s release. This vacuum-packed recording offers a blisteringly clear recording. A powerful core penetrates the very center of the crystal-clear atmosphere, and the details are crystal clear down to the finest details. Even when the ensemble intertwines to an indecipherable degree, the sense of separation is awe-inspiring. While the timbre exudes an audience-like quality, each sound quality check is no different from a soundboard. Every note is beautifully rendered, but the bass is particularly striking. While audience recordings tend to be either sparse or explosive, this work is relentlessly beautiful. Every attack sound stands out, and whether the phrases are played quickly or blaring, there is no muddiness or cloudiness whatsoever. Despite its power, there is absolutely no distortion in the peaks, and the beauty is unwavering from the moment the first note rises to the moment it fades away. Even now, half a century later, in 2025, it’s rare to encounter such a stunning sound. This truly is a timeless recording. A complete set different from “PLAYING THE FOOL.” Such miraculous clear sound depicts a stage that is similar but not identical to “PLAYING THE FOOL.” The evolved version of the official traditional work, “THE COMPLETE LIVE EXPERIENCE,” is still fresh in our memory, but it also showcases repertoire not available there. Let’s organize it by comparing it here. Interview: Interview (★) / Give It Back (★★) / Timing (★) / I Lost My Head Classics: The Power and the Glory: Proclamation / Valedictory (★) / So Sincere / Cogs in Cogs (★★) Free Hand: Talybont (★★) / Just the Same / On Reflection / Free Hand Others: The Boys in the Band (★★) / The Runaway / Experience / Excerpts from Octopus *Note: “★” indicates songs not available on the traditional album “PLAYING THE FOOL.” In particular, the “★★” marks are songs that were not even included in “THE COMPLETE LIVE EXPERIENCE.” …And so on. Because there are many medley arrangements, a strict comparison of the number of songs is impossible, but the show, with rare songs interspersed at key points, is still very refreshing. Another interesting piece is the mid-show “Intro (Instrumental).” This performance was actually divided into two parts, with “So Sincere (and percussion solo)” marking the end. The band members left the stage for a few minutes. “Intro (Instrumental)” is a tape played during that intermission. While not a live performance, the compilation of various audio sources is extremely unique. It includes drum and glockenspiel sounds, portions of the intro tape used at the beginning of the concert, and even a portion of another pre-recorded tape used at the start of a concert in late 1975. These various sounds are jumbled together, sometimes playing forward and sometimes backward. This tape itself is a rare, almost unrecorded sound source, and it can be enjoyed with superb sound. Gentle Giant, a band second only to the Big Five, never made a comeback or performed in Japan. This cultural heritage album allows you to experience that precious stage in person. This ultra-clear audience recording of the “May 2, 1976 London Performance” is a soundboard-quality recording, with a powerful core that penetrates the audience and details that are crystal clear down to the finest details. Even when the ensemble becomes indecipherably intertwined, the sense of separation is undeniable. Experience a delicious show with repertoire not even heard on “Playing the Fool,” including “Give It Back,” “Cogs in Cogs,” and “Talybont.” Live at Theater Royal Drury Lane, London, UK 2nd May 1976 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(48:52) 1. Intro 2. Talybont 3. Just the Same 4. Proclamation / Valedictory 5. Interview 6. On Reflection 7. The Boys in the Band 8. The Runaway/Experience 9. So Sincere / Drums & Percussion Solo Disc 2(49:49) 1. Intro (Instrumental) 2. Cogs in Cogs 3. Excerpts from Octopus 4. Give It Back 5. Timing 6. Free Hand 7. I Lost My Head Derek Shulman – vocals, saxes Gary Green – guitars Kerry Minnear – keyboards Ray Shulman – bass, violin John Weathers – drums
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