Gentle Giant - "Octopus" (1972)

A deep dive into the prog world via Gentle Giant's fourth album Octopus. Can that be something? In the prog world, it's often a balancing act between the beautiful, a bit difficult and too difficult. I usually argue that Gentle Giant always manages to stay on the right side of the balance point. Even their regular excursions into the more complex and strange soundscapes are nice to listen to, and are relatively accessible, at least at Octopus. That said, it should be mentioned that the Gentle Giant is considered one of the more experimental bands within the 70's progressive music, and the music they made was unusually complex. So they should not be underestimated. 

Gentle Giant consisted at the time of the recording of the three brother Shulmans, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and the new drummer John Weathers. Almost all members were multi-instrumentalists and extremely adept at their respective instruments. It's fun to watch concert clips of the band on Youtube, then they unconcerned switch instruments in the middle of songs and seamlessly continues playing. On the album, they often play up to three instruments each in the songs.

Octopus is considered by many to be the start of Gentle Giants best musical period, Ray Shulman argue that it is their best album (possibly second behind Acquiring The Taste). And as mentioned, I like Octopus. It is varied and fun to listen to. Although it can be very complex arrangements and creations that are often outside  the normal musical box, it is never too difficult. Which is one of the things that makes me like Gentle Giant. Many other bands within the same genre sometimes make music that one suspects is difficult just for the sake of it, and it becomes hard to appreciate what you hear. Gentle Giant does not fall into that trap on Octopus.

One of my favorites on the album is Think Of Me With Kindness. A beautiful song that is perhaps the least "progressive" on the record. If you like progressive music the album can absolutely be recommended, almost a must-have. If you like more accessible and "normal" rock and pop maybe Octopus will seem a bit too difficult and strange. A funny detail is that Gentle Giant, before the Octopus tour, was a supporting act for Black Sabbath  on a number of concerts. This combination did not go down well with the audience, one can safely say, which loudly expressed its displeasure with the prog band on stage.

The album I have is the North American pressing, I found it for 4 dollars in good condition in a local vinyl store, here in Montreal, which I of course couldn't resist (I have it on CD since long). The European cover looks like this:

Tracklist 

Side A 

1. Adevent Of Panurge 4:42
2. Raconteur, Troubadou 4:03
3. A Cry For Everyone 4:06
4. Knots 4.10

Side B 
1. The Boys In The Band 4:33
2. Dog's Life 3:12
3. Think Of Me With Kindness 3:32
4. River 5:51