British symphonic rock group Gentle Giant was already an oddity during their existence in the 1970s. The group lacked the swagger of stylistic peers such as
Yes and
Emerson, Lake & Palmer and stood out primarily because of extremely complex compositions and playing that was as lucid as it was virtuosic. The quintet around brothers Derek and Ray Shulman could groove solidly in mostly deviant time
… signatures, but the five multi-instrumentalists also mastered classical instruments such as violin, cello, vibraphone and recorder. In'terview followed in 1976 with the successful Free Hand (1975). The pretentious genre of prog rock was plummeting at the time; punk and new wave were on the horizon. Now more than ever, they abandon the baroque passages of their early work and successfully seek more rock and melody without sacrificing complexity. For example, Give It Back even beckons with reggae, but in a different 5/4 time signature. The concept in which the band musically answers obligatory questions from the press ("What kind of music do you make?") was not a good idea. The record could count on mostly resentful reviews. This CD and music Blu-ray contain several new mixes by Steven Wilson. The initially underrated In'terview is thus ready to be appreciated in the 21st century (MR).more
