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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Scraping the Barrel Artist: Gentle Giant Label: Alucard/Gentle Giant Records 3 Audio CDs: 79 Tracks/230 Minutes; 1 Data CD w/8 hours of Audio, Video, Pictures, and More Giant on the Box
You have a difficult task. You possess a plethora of artifacts from your favorite band. Loads of old tapes, pictures, movies, etc. Much of this stuff has never been seen, or unseen for years. Some is timeworn and in bad shape. You want to create a document of this band, and you want it to sound and look high quality, a lasting tribute to this group of musicians. Gentle Giant’s Scraping the Barrel Box Set, and the separate DVD/CD set Giant on the Box are what you might come up with if this job was done right! I can’t imagine a better, more fitting recognition of a great band then these two projects. These two projects provide a blueprint of how all such compilations should be assembled. Hats off and a big ol’ pat on the back to the “Advisory Team” and the members of Gentle Giant for creating a masterpiece! Some background: Gentle Giant was an influential progressive rock band born in the musically rich atmosphere of late '60’s England. They created a stream of top-notch progressive rock albums (including Gentle Giant, Acquiring the Taste, Three Friends, and Octopus- several that reached the top 50), achieved a measure of fame on both sides of the big pond, developed a devoted following, and dissolved in 1980. Gentle Giant’s music is difficult to categorize…a tasty blend of rock, classical music, and unique, medieval-sounding vocals. The Italian TV special included in the DVD is titled “Baroque & Roll”-- that might be a decent description for this seminal band. Fans of Yes, Jethro Tull, early Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, and current artists Neal Morse and Spock’s Beard will love the Giant and their musical legacy. Scraping the Barrel is a nicely assembled box set with two CDs worth of treasured rarities, special mixes demos, rehearsals, instrumental tracks, studio run-throughs, vocal tracks, alternate takes, studio outtakes, etc. These show the Giant’s material in the formative stages, and shed a whole new light on the songs and albums that make up the bands canon. Each of Gentle Giant’s twelve original studio albums is represented on these two CDs. CD 3 is a compilation of post-Giant solo work by various members of the band, including three new compositions that reunite four members of the band (“Home Again,” “Moog Fugue,” and “Move Over”) and unreleased tracks from Simon Dupree and the Big Sound (a '60’s R & B combo that featured members of Gentle Giant). My favorite addition just might be CD, a data disc chock (what a GREAT idea!) chock full of over 200 mp3 files of bonus audio (over 8 ½ hours!) featuring rehearsals, demos, 200 photos, mini-movies, PDF files of tour booklets and Gentle Giant collectibles, music manuscripts, and more. There is also a library of almost 100 Gentle Giant studio samples so you can create your own gigantic Gentle Giant sounds.. The whole package is nicely wrapped in a functional box decorated with classic art by the Giant’s original artist of choice, George Underwood. The Giant on the Box DVD is another well thought out offering. The DVD features two Gentle Giant concerts, rare footage from European TV (including black & white footage of the band from an Italian TV interview), and a nice 50-minute bonus CD of one of the concerts featured on the DVD. Archival photos and new music for the menu composed by Giant keyboardist Kerry Minnear round out this spectacular package. The only thing to keep in mind as you watch these great sounding concerts is this was recorded in the '70’s. Beware, there are some, adventurous fashion statements and hairdos to be viewed on these videos. But the music and performance is jaw-droppingly good! Gentle Giant the band is a pleasant memory now, but these two fine projects bring the memory into focus much better, and provide fitting closure to the career of a fine and original band. Check out Gentle Giant @ http://www.gentlegiantmusic.com or http://www.blazemonger.com/cc DJ Barry 1/11/2005
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