GENTLE GIANT "PEEL THE PAINT" (reaction)

[@raymullett6571]

Gentle Giant were a hell of a band.Frank Zappa had great praise for them. You need to check out the live shows on KZbin to see how awesome a band they were. Probably the most complex Prog band ever.

[@benoitdesmarais2948]

You want super-arty GG ? Try Pantagruel's Nativity or Knots. Funky GG ?: Proclamation, Playing The Game. Zappaesque GG ? The Boys in The Band, Prologue. All-out mad prog GG? In A Glass House, Cogs in Cogs. Singer-songwriter GG ? Aspirations, Think Of Me With Kindness. They had it all!

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks Benoit!

[@chazblitz]

It's almost criminal that Gary Green doesn't get the recognition he deserves. The guy is an absolute monster!

[@Rowenband]

And ray Schulman on bass… these lines are so incredible and out of the common…

[@matreynolds1]

Totally agree, just listen to the vibrato at the end of the notes in the solo, he never lets a note get away without it! And he was only 20 or 21 when he recorded this. Phenomenal!

[@brianparker663]

Goes for the whole band. Hardly ever used guest musicians as just about all of the instrument groups were covered by its members. 99% of what you hear is played by them.

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

This is actually 2 singers. The soft part is Phil Shulman and the heavy part is Derek Shulman. Great ear as always guys

[@benoitrenaud519]

Ray Shulmann was one of the greatest bass players ever. RIP.

[@mikeloomis687]

Underrated Prog Rock band, but they have their faithful fans. One of a kind and worth the investment.

[@wendellwiggins3776]

(1972) third album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant. It was the band's first release to chart in America which is a CONCEPT ALBUM called THREE FRIENDS about schoolmates who go their separate ways to lead different lifestyles. This song is about the Artist. The forth album is when their more definitive style began. They were very unique amongst the peers and were innovators of a particular brand of Classical, Jazz influenced Rock which later became known as ProgRock. Incorporating more avant-garde non-commercial & experimental ideas made them popular amongst a more eclectic non-mainstream audience so they never received the same level of notoriety as their peers, YES & Genesis. What made them exceptional was their complex arrangements & diverse musicianship with a multi-instrumentalists lineup. They would switch from electric Rock to Classical acoustic string & percussive instruments often during a single song. They also sang in syncopated 4 part harmonies quite a bit. The 2nd album was called 'Acquiring the Taste" which is exactly what one needs to do in order to fully appreciate their brilliance as writers and musicians. They also one of the most entertaining Prog bands to watch perform. There is a great complete live video on KZbin called Gentle Giant - Sight an Sound in Concert with great audio and footage. Virtuosos GG worked magic on the stage. They lasted until 1980. Gentle Giant - Sight an Sound in Concert. The Power & the Glory & Freehand are thought to be their best by many fans but I love all of their music

[@HisboiLRoi]

In their last years, GG employed two large neon signs as stage props. One was their giant head logo, which was usually hung or mounted above and behind the band. The second simply said "Pretentious", which was their tongue in cheek response to the many detractors in the musical press that labeled their music as such.

[@michaelbaucom4019]

Ah, the beautiful chaos that is Gentle Giant(although not so chaotic if you're closely paying attention). They do take more than one listen to fully appreciate, though

[@TheMinster1960]

Gentle Giant's discography spans from 1970 to 1980. They went through several stylistic changes along the way, but each album still sounded like Gentle Giant. Songs I suggest you check out are On Reflection from their album, Free Hand, and In A Glass House from the album of the same name.

[@stevedotwood]

Looooove Gentle Giant. I own every album. They were not as popular as Genesis, Yes, Tull or Pink Floyd. But they were very brave. It's basically a band of multi-instrumentalists. They're masters of counterpoint and polyrhythm. Zappa once commented on GG, saying: "I heard some interesting things there". (While anybody else just would have said: "I love them")

[@christinerobinson9372]

The first time I heard them I thought "What a mess, that's horrible!" I tossed the tape aside, it was probably a year before I gave it another try. I still didn't like it, except for that one little part there, that was pretty. And just like that, I was hooked.

[@benmolnar]

Me Too!!!

[@teelurizzo8542]

Okay true, they were perhaps the most radical, dissonant, experimental and outlier of all, but to be fair, Genesis were kinda like a 'cult band' until 1975 and only got big and popular well after Peter Gabriel left, meaning when they wrote their IMHO best stuff between 1971 and 1974 they were nowhere near as popular as bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull or ELP, but I reckon Gentle Giant remains the least understood, arguably the most musically accomplished and definitely the weirdest, most musically eclectic of the bunch - musically way too smart for its own (commercial and popular) good.

[@mikeloomis687]

@@teelurizzo8542 Well said! They were a diamond in the rough. I am SO GLAD I found them. They still shine and listen to them often. Saw them in 1976 at the Shrine in Los Angeles.

[@charlyhrs]

yes but another thing they were was an incredible band to see live. had more people done that they would have seen them switching instruments throughout the show besides all of them playing percussion. you are right they are the most complex and competent musicians I have ever seen

[@HisboiLRoi]

I was introduced to Gentle Giant not long after they released their first LP (almost everywhere but the US). As I have mentioned before I was fortunate enough to have grown up (in Tucson) with a world class free-form underground FM station that was not afraid to play obscure imports. I became an instant fan, and still have their complete LP catalogue. I saw GG twice. The first time was in 1977 as the opener for Renaissance at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix (an in the round venue of 2,650 capacity with no seat further than 70 feet from the revolving stage). The second time was on June 11, 1980 for the second of two sold out shows at Dooleys in Tucson (a converted Baptist church that was later destroyed in an arson fire). Their last show ever was just five days later at The Roxy.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Gentle Giant, what can I say? Amazing doesn’t seem to say quite enough. Great reaction thanks

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for watching Hartlor!

[@wowwhywow]

The beginning part... the weird stuff...? The arty stuff? That's the stuff that Zappa REALLY loved about this band. It would be in your best interest to listen to ANY Gentle Giant song twice.

[@tixximmi1]

Got into them in the early '70s. Then they seemed to slowly be squeezed out of the mix. A lot of people still haven't heard of them. These last few years they've reemerged to be a favorite.

[@adolphlopez1462]

One of the best classical electronic rock band ever as of the 60s and the 70s.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Gentle Giant is one of these outlier bands that seeing live is more impressive than it should be. All band members played multiple instruments and sang. The band also made quite heavy use of things like counterpoint lines both instrumentally and vocally (like in On Reflection), as well as polymetrics (Cogs in Cogs middle section).

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for the info Bruno!

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for the info Bruno!

[@benoitrenaud519]

10 years of fun and virtuosity!

[@brooksboyd1959]

This one comes at you pretty hard…just like life.

[@christinerobinson9372]

The bigger voice didn't come from the first singer, it came from the first singer's brother, who is an all-around bigger guy. The first singer is the younger (I think) brother who is not comfortable being out front and belting it out. He is playing the keyboard, and soft is the style of his singing. The quiet part of the song is also his style of writing. He writes beautiful chord changes.

[@tweer64]

I think you're confusing Phil with Kerry.

[@martyk656]

Calling GG a band isn't enough. They were an elite unit of musicians that were locked into each other in a way very few could achieve. It was pure joy seeing them live.

[@SightAfterDark]

Would’ve loved to see them!

[@reidwhitton6248]

This tune is unique in their discography due to the huge sounding, extended ballsy guitar solo by Gary Green. You won't hear anything else like this in their other songs. Three Friends is a great sounding analog recording from back in the day.

[@michaosanna]

The mighty Giants, yes! They don't make prisoners concerning their special version of seventies british so called Prog Rock. Not as classicaly overblown as ELP, not as epic as Yes in these days, not as much walking british rural landscapes and fairytales as Genesis, not as much free jazz and crazyness as Van der Graaf, not as much soundscapes as PF, but they put it to the nutshell in a lot of their music. They are often forgotten when it comes to classical prog, don't know exactly why. I could never get myself into being a big fan, sometimes they are just arty because of artyness (as you quotet their artyness), but they have done some very exeptional music over the seventies for sure. At last, I like them.

[@brunopoizat3987]

Groupe inégalé et unique,des musiciens de très haut niveau, j'adore ce groupe !

[@HisboiLRoi]

I didn't recall what GG song you originally reacted to either, so I looked it up. It turns out it was the last two cuts on their early 1977 "Playing the Fool - The Official Live" double LP. The first was a short rendition of the classic 1920s jazz song (later adopted as the Harlem Globetrotter's themesong), "Sweet Georgia Brown". The second was a medley of the second half of (!) "Peel the Paint" and "Lost My Head". Gentle Giant's first show took place on May 9, 1970, in Portsmouth England. Their last ever was on June 16, 1980, at The Roxy in West Hollywood (thanks to The Gentle Giant Tour History website for the details). I was fortunate to have seen them five days earlier in Tucson. Tickets were a mere $6.50.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks so much for sharing! Wow what a price!

[@MrFtoudalk]

I only heard a little bit of this band back in the day, but what I heard I remember liking. However, there were so many great bands back then, my budget couldn't sustain buying all of them..

[@djmcgranary714]

Peel the paint girl!!!

[@robertwands9185]

yes underground was the terms of the time back in the early 70, that mixed with dash of jazz fusion made them a special and unique band i was into thier early stuff 3-4 albums at that time

[@mikedemike5393]

underground is today ''independent.''..

[@robertwands9185]

@@mikedemike5393 I,m not saying that underground is still around today. i am just saying your the first person who has used that term on a reaction site and most people refer to it as prog that was not a term back in the 70,s. I,ve never heard the term independent ever used as connected to the term underground. there are so many genre terms going around today. i tend to use the terms I grew up with as to eduacate people today

[@mikedemike5393]

@@robertwands9185 The term underground existed in the 60's and inferred there was a scene that was not exposed or wanted to be exposed to commercial realities..

[@robertwands9185]

@@mikedemike5393 yes i would say it officially started at the time of the SGT Peppers band not that was a underground album things just go deeper artisticaly, I don,t know the beatnik sound era which somewhat lead into the underground era with more musical content but keeping the lyrical style

[@mikedemike5393]

@@robertwands9185 yeah...beat music or poetry was fifties i believe...

[@matreynolds1]

I'm sure others have already covered this, I'm pretty certain it's Kerry Minnear (or maybe Phil Shulman) singing the beginning and Derek Shulman the heavy section. And it's pizzicato strings in the first bit, not a harp.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for the info Matthew!

[@andremartin5446]

Side note, it is 2 singers, Kerry Minnear at the beginning, and Derek Shulman in the up tempo part. And the plucking is the violin

[@reidwhitton6248]

It's Phil Shulman on the first part.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for the info!

[@thomasvieth578]

In the seventies I was a slight fan of them because they reminded me of Jethro Tull in many aspects but they never had the charisma of Ian Anderson. This one piece comes quite close to what I did like about them so many years ago, though the song was unknown to me

[@hilmarkoerner2603]

My favorites from that album are Nothing At All and Why Not? Then Three Friends. what a wonderful album. great pick! Of course, listen to the Steven Wilson Mix and on a 5.1 system, get spoiled with the medieval sounding chorus on Pantagruel's Nativity. Phenomenal!

[@michaelbochnia5686]

You really should try the cut Why Not. Straight forward hard rockin song that rips it up.

[@klausheckendorf649]

I remember sitting "potwise" on an oven and almost burning my bum - but never minded at this stage of "sophistication" - hearing this strange, almost whispering intro with some kind of a tick-tock-violin. How does that kind of thing fit into rock music? But I already knew this band since some time and therefore was not that surprised. One must not like their almost limitless variety of music. But if all else fails, just hear the funkiness of "Free Hand live" and Kerry´s harpsichord all the way through their catalog and attest that none of these "progressives" could keep up them rythmically. No- one.

[@bryanhale5254]

Yeah he was plucking the violin that's what they call pistacado or Latin or Italian version of just plucking the instrument actually it might have been a different singer of the guitarist could have done the first part and then Derek Shulman sang the second part the rocking part of the song actually though the cellos and the guitars together doing those harmonies that they do are really interesting at the end of that phrase there's that little cluster cord between the two that's just really unconventional and the way the Baseline counterparts the cello in the violin pretty nice stuff and you know that whole peel the paint part of the thong it needed an intro if you think about it just coming in like that would have been just too abrupt sorry kids I came in late in the game I didn't know you guys reacted to this one all right you Brooklyn Heights yeah you know this whole album three friends it's all a concept album the story about three kids when they grew up and they were in school and and then it shows what they all three grew up to become pretty cool concept already

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks Bryan!

[@ericjurgens6976]

1st vocal-Phil Shulman (also played sax). 2nd vocal Derek Shulman. Bass and violin-Ray Shulman. Drums-Malcolm Mortimore, Keys and cello-Kerry Minnear. Guitar-Gary Green

[@Alix777.]

Schooldays

[@raymonddricker974]

Is that a Faust t-shirt you are wearing, Dan?

[@markdrechsler5660]

Looks like Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” album

[@billsmith5166]

When you're a Gentle Giant fan watching a reaction video I'd imagine many of OUR reactions are "No, not that one.." but in the end there is NO song that is a perfect example of their unbelievable talent. I could pick 15 songs that might represent some of what they did, but even that many would be too few. There is no band that combines composition, technical proficiency and lyrics that compares to them. Even today they are unbelievably original and beautiful at the same time. The only band that I can think of that might compare might be Radiohead, but they've worn out their welcome with some.. so take my comparison with a grain of forgiveness.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks for sharing Bill!

[@amarok5048]

You have to give this type of music a good few time to properly appreciate it. This is typical of Gentle Giant and much of prog rock. Three Friends is a concept album. You need to listen to it in the context of the full album. This isn't a five minute job. You have to break yourself in to it over many plays. Three Friends is the story of three schoolfriends which takes you from their schooldays to their breaking apart and the different paths/occupations they ended up taking in life. Although this is time you may not have to invest, the potential rewards are off the scale.

[@amarok5048]

OMG, I just read this back. What a condescending load of tosh! Sorry! Hahaha! I'm gonna leave it though. Who TF do I think I am?

[@paulfenwick8767]

one of the grand daddies of prog. Just about all the band were multi-instrumentalists, good multi instrumentalists at that . The band, although relatively successful, never quite got the credit they deserved. So much more sophisticated than the likes of Genesis, makes them sound so plain.. Like this a lot, from 1972.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks Paul! Also, there’s a nice comment just made by a viewer thanking you on the Marillion video

[@christinerobinson9372]

I love to watch their videos, casually putting down one instrument and picking up another, or passing it to the person who will play it. Everything is choreographed smoothly.

[@paulfenwick8767]

@@SightAfterDark Not sure if I like the idea of anyone agreeing with me!! Joking. I know some people don't like me, some say I'm a troll. Don't set out to upset people, lol.

[@paulfenwick8767]

@@christinerobinson9372. One of my regrets is that Gentle Giant was one of the very few bands from this era I never saw.

[@teelurizzo8542]

OK I disagree a bit, I'd never call Genesis 'plain', coz to my ears they were more sophisticated harmonically and more creative in terms of arrangements, than just about every Prog band, - except for Gentle Giant. And sure, the fact that the guys in GG were multi instrumentalists, in tandem w/ their Jazz Rock and Modern Classical sensibilities gave them an edge in terms of range, and arrangement possibilities that kinda remains unmatched in Rock.

[@mikedemike5393]

bands like to have domestic issues and having 3 brothers in one band could have seen sibling rivalry go to new heights.....'''mum loved you more then me''...more then who gets the credit for a song or who's song is being used on an album....they need to get a thyroid examination and become belligerent giant.

[@chrisbywater275]

This samples the Peel The Paint riff - kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3rEgXmwoJeom5Y

[@rk41gator]

I love this drummer. Need to check who this is. I know it is not Phil Collins, but this sounds like him with Brand X. THAT guitar solo is INSANE.

[@jimhardiman3836]

Malcom Mortimer is the drummer and he only played on this album because he was in a motorcycle crash soon after it was recorded and was too injured to go on the road.

[@chrisbywater275]

@@jimhardiman3836 Mortimore

[@cybore213]

The drums during the guitar solo made me think of Bill Bruford.

[@rk41gator]

@@cybore213 I'll have to listen again. Bruford is great (and a friend of Phil's).

[@timbukh3]

I have to subscribe to anyone who does a reaction to Peel the Paint. To hear something similar I suggest The House, The Street, The Room by GG.

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks so much Tim!

[@SightAfterDark]

Thanks so much Tim!

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

Views? 666 😈🤘🏻

[@SightAfterDark]

😆

[@Joe-Flow]

What's that you say? You want to know what I think of that song? Blech…blargh…bleagh…eww…gack… BBBLLLAAARRRGGGHHH!!!...😫🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮...LMAO!!!

[@SightAfterDark]

So you liked it then?

[@Joe-Flow]

@@SightAfterDark You guys were right, it was artsy and it was fartsy!

[@markenmel1]

Artsy fartsy...I certainly hope so ! Reminds me of Rick Wakeman's response when asked what he thought about criticism of Yes music being pretentious, Rick laughed and said "I know, isn't it great!"