Of the first three albums by progressive rock masterminds Gentle
\nGiant (in chronological order;
\nGentle Giant<\/i>,
\nAcquiring the Taste<\/i>, and
\nThree Friends<\/i>)
\nThree Friends<\/i> was and still is my favorite. That’s possibly
\ntrue because of the harder edge they created on that release,
\nprobably more so because they came together as a more solid group,
\ntighter and more polished than the previous two albums. These songs
\nshowcase the combination of esoteric styles and complexity that
\nmakes GG unique, yet they remain very accessible to the casual
\nlistener as individual songs. Somewhat less dense than the
\nextravagant, complex work that would become their trademark,
\nThree Friends<\/i> is probably the most mainstream set of songs
\nthey ever wrote — not that anything GG ever did can be considered
\nmainstream, but this comes close.<\/p>\n
The core for most of GG’s tenure was Gary Green (guitar), Kerry
\nMinnear (keys, vibes, percussion), and the multi-talented Shulman
\nbrothers; Ray (bass, violin), Phil (sax) and Derek (lead vocals).
\nThe revolving door of drummers found Malcolm Mortimore on skins at
\nthe time
\nThree Friends<\/i> was recorded. In addition to their formidable
\ninstrumental talents, every member is given a vocal credit, and it
\nshows in the complex harmonies and vocal acrobatics that appear
\nliberally on any GG recording.<\/p>\n
\nThree Friends<\/i> is a concept album. Some people shy away from
\nconcept albums, for various reasons. Many to this day still sit
\nscratching their heads over the likes of Genesis’
\nLamb Lies Down On Broadway<\/i>, or Jethro Tull’s
\nA Passion Play<\/i>, trying to fathom the murky metaphorical
\ndepths of those cryptic writings. Fear not gentle reader, in
\nThree Friends<\/i> the concept is very simple; three friends grow
\nup, and then grow apart, following different paths and
\nphilosophies. Loosely following the philosophies of Marx, the three
\nfriends represent the three factions of society in its simplest
\nform. The first becomes the Marxist proletariat — a common
\nlaborer; the second, the aesthete — an artist; the third, a
\nbourgeois intellectual — the white-collar capitalist. Storyline
\naside, the music is what carries this album, from soft pastoral
\npieces featuring gentle strings and choral arrangements, to
\nblistering hard rock.<\/p>\n
\nThree Friends<\/i> begins with a “Prologue,” built upon Gary
\nGreen’s bold guitar work and an insistent bass line laid down
\nmasterfully by Ray Schulman as we are introduced to our three
\nfriends, and to some of the musical themes that appear in latter
\ntracks on the disk. The inclusion of thematic elements
\ncross-pollinated across many tracks is one of the attractions of
\ntheir excellent compositions. “Prologue” gives way to “Schooldays,”
\ndominated by a quirky, syncopated electric piano and vibraphone,
\nand vocal harmonies that would make Brian Wilson smile and nod.<\/p>\n
In the next three tracks, we catch up with our three friends,
\nthe first of which becomes a blue-collar laborer, and is introduced
\nin “Working All Day.” The track starts off with an acoustic guitar
\ncouplet, which quickly dissolves into a muscular bass and sax
\nfueled foot-stomper, perfectly matching the lyrical theme of the
\njaded, life-hardened highway worker with the instrumental theme.
\nThe laborer shows his disdain for unrealistic ideals “When I was
\nyoung I used to have illusions \/ Dreams ain’t enough,” and
\nsatisfies himself with his lot in life:<\/p>\n
“Working all day, I’m digging up the roads, just working all day
\nDig for my pay and spend it where I like. I’ve nothing to say Drown
\nin my sweat but money buys escape. I’ve got no regrets.”<\/p>\n
The second friend becomes an artist, introduced in “Peel The
\nPaint.” To the world at large, he is respected and held in esteem
\nas ostensively being purer of character and demeanor due to his
\nartistic sensibilities. The song paints its own musical image of
\nthe artist, with a cool coffeehouse groove and gentle strings.
\n“Peel The Paint” portrays the artist as genteel and cultured, but
\nunder the pastoral exterior is a “savage beast” capable of the most
\nbase and venal acts. As this is revealed lyrically, the music
\nbecomes harsher, and builds to a ferocious denouement as the truth
\nis revealed in Derek’s vocals, building in intensity and rage:<\/p>\n
“Peel the paint \/ Look underneath \/ you’ll see the same, the
\nsame old savage beast Strip the coats \/ the coats of time \/ and
\nfind mad eyes and see those sharpened teeth.”<\/p>\n
In reality, he is no more or less pure than any of us, the
\nbeauty of his work not being a reflection of his own psyche, as
\nmany believe.<\/p>\n
The last of our three subjects, the capitalist social climber,
\nis told in “Mister Class And Quality.” Our last friend reveals the
\nreal crux of this whole concept\/story, alienation of people based
\non class, ability and opportunity. Our capitalist presents these
\nsocial gaps most succinctly:<\/p>\n
“Never understood the artist or the lazy workers The world needs
\nsteady men like me to give and take the orders.”<\/p>\n
In summary,
\nThree Friends<\/i> is probably the most accessible GG album to
\nthe casual listener with its rock-based arrangements, and I find
\nmyself wondering why GG never found a similar degree of success as
\ntheir contemporaries like Yes, Tull, Genesis or ELP. With equal
\ntalent as both musicians and composers, it’s a shame they never
\nbroke out the same way their prog-rock brethren did.
\nThree Friends<\/i> is sure to please the ears of prog-rock fans,
\nand would be a perfect introduction to Gentle Giant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":26793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7058],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38066","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-gentle-giant","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38066"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}