Giant on the Box

Rating:
Summary: a present from the past
Review: All these DVD' from the 60' and 70' coming out now to the light can only bring joy to all fans and are must to all rock lovers. Unlike the gigs done now by these groups (reunion ect.) which are boring, these ones really catch the groups in their best days and with all the power that they had. Gentle Giant is a unique group which had its roots in classical music and made some strange combinations between the classical and the rock music. Some of the music is amazing some is less but the atmosphere, the thrill and the will to do music and the search for new borders reflects no less then 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A giant of a dvd
Review: Astounding music and a fantastic musicianship. After watching this dvd, Gentle Giant has escalated on my all time favorites list. You will be amazed at the variety and complexity of the music on this dvd.
The only unfortunate part is that the video and sound quality is from the 70's but that should not deter anyone from experiencing GG playing live.

Rating:
Summary: See why this band is truly a progressive giant!
Review: I have been a fan of Gentle Giant for over 25 years, so my four star rating is biased, however this does capture the band near the peak of their power (I've seen them three times live) and makes for a fascinating archival gem from the depths of the experimental 70's when rock groups were truly breaking new ground. This was produced by Kerry Minnear, the keyboard wizard, one of the writers and probably main arranger for Gentle Giant. Kerry composed some really intriguing new music for the menus that reminds one of the glory of days gone by.

There are essentially two concert films here both from 1974 with very similar sets one 50 minutes from German ZDF television where the band simply tears it up playing a screaming set of complex, powerful rock with tremendous interplay before a audience that is nearly catatonic. Weird. The second film is a half hour concert in Long Beach, CA with four tracks, all repeats of the ZDF show, but with a much more enthusiastic audience and a better vibe solo from Kerry on "Features from Octopus". The camera work is unfortunately sub-par, there are insufficient group shots, to many close-ups that don’t show instruments being played and frustratingly few shots of Gary Green riffing on his guitar. Oh well, it’s still such a treat to see this! The close-ups of John Weathers on drums reminded me of how maniacal he was in a fun and friendly sort of way…

Finally, there is a short film from Italian TV "Guitar & Drums" from "In a Glass House" that I felt was fairly interesting but unrecognizable(!) â€" some kind of jam between Gary and John. Dispensable and just 3 minutes.

The extras include an interesting interview (well it would be more interesting if nearly all of it weren't dubbed in Italian!) Still it gives a rare glimpse of the personalities of the extraordinary individuals that made up the band. Lastly there are 36 photos from Gary Green's private collection showing the lads at work in Advision studio including Phil Shulman the elder brother of the band who quit after Octopus.

All in all this is absolutely indispensable for any Gentle Giant fan as well as even casual aficionados of 70s experimental progressive rock! Like I said I'm biased and hold Gentle Giant in greater esteem than the most of the more well known prog acts of the such as Yes. In fact say no to yes and yes to Gentle Giant if you dare to escape the matrix!

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: I just received this DVD in the mail yesterday, and let me say that it is one of the most amazing live DVD's I have ever seen. If you are a Gentle Giant fan, you have to buy this DVD. I was not alive to see them in concert, so I was absolutely floored. The classical guitar duet in "Knots" is out of this world. Kerry Minnear on the keys will blow your mind, and John Weathers is so much fun to watch. Ray Shulman has got a great onstage personality, not to mention talent coming out his ears. Gary Green and Derek complete this phenomenal quintet. The recorder quartet in the "Advent of Panurge" is so original, quirky, and fun. GET THIS DVD!

Rating:
Summary: Joy and disappointment combined =
Review: I think it's a weird think giving this dvd 5 stars.
I take for granted that every owner of it lover gentle giant,
so you should not rate the music in it. Am i right?
Well, here goes..:

The performance is pretty good,
i guess what they do it is a hard thing to accomplish
so a few wrong played tunes doesn't really matter
(even less since the blurring sound quality hide them rather good)
But other things are just great! Like Kerrys vibraphone-solo.
And they are fun to watch, interacting with eachother
as the songs roll on.

The quality of the picture is not great, but its lovely!
I love that 70th feeling whit the colors and thick film-grain.
The only think that sometimes bothers me is the work with the camera.

Then we have this thing with the U.S show -
why the the hell have they chosen to show 4 songs we have already heard? The U.S show is not as good as the german
so to me is feels almost unnessecary.
Is that a sign of how extremely little recorded material
that really is left? Well, i think its poor and i hope well soon see a sequel to this dvd.

Then we have the extramaterial:
An Interview dubbed in Italian, so you can just hear
a few traces of words between the blabbering.
Not enough to get a clean picture of what they are talking about. They could at least have had an english subtitle?!

BUT OK, I will give this dvd three stars
since its my all time favourite band and
its so magical to see them that it doesnt really matter
that i lacks of over-all quality ITS A MUST-HAVE DVD!

Rating:
Summary: On The Box -- and more
Review: I would only add to comments about this must DVD for Gentle Giant fans:
- the package contains a bonus audio CD of the German TV concert, so you get 50 min and 28 sec of listening pleasure away from the TV
- the background music to the menus is new music composed by Kerry Minnear. It's brief but quite good.

Rating:
Summary: A treasure from the past
Review: I've been a Gentle Giant fan since I first saw them backing Jethro Tull in 1972. For me, GG was the best of all the progressive rock bands from that era. Their music was full of melody and very inventive. You might find several different song styles and counter melodies in one five or six minute track, and all of them extremely beautiful and interesting. They never indulged in the excesses that some of the prog bands did at that time. Just virtuoso performances of totally unique music that could be both haunting in it's beauty, or rock your socks off. Their music styles ranged from rock to English folk, as well as baroque classical music. Jazz was definitely an influence as well as blues, and it all came together in a style that was uniquely their own. The sheer joy of making music is evident on every track of their first 8 or 9 albums. All of the other prog rock bands could get bogged down in pretentiousness or sometimes bore you with long tedious unmelodic compositions. Not Gentle Giant. There was never a wasted note.
It's been twenty four years since they disbanded, and I'd given up thinking I'd ever get to see them again. This DVD is like finding home movies of a lost loved one. The performances are from an old German TV broadcast as well as an American TV broadcast (I think from the old Don Kirshner's "In Concert" series), as well as some brief black and white Italian TV footage. The film and sound quality from 1975, though not up to todays digital standards, looks and sounds remarkably good. The camera work sometimes annoys (a blistering guitar solo, while the camera shows a face), but that's typical of far too many concert films unfortunately. The music from the American show culls a few songs from the German performance for the briefer American TV appearance. The American audience is livelier than the Germans, but the GG performances from both shows are equally excellent! It's just so great to see them again, I refuse to take away any stars for these minor imperfections. If you love Gentle Giant, and you miss seeing them perform (or worse, never saw them perform), then enjoy this gift from the past.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant - waited a long time for GG on dvd
Review: The other reviews here sum this new DVD up nicely. I had seen them several times live also, and the DVD brought back how brilliant they were in person. Really, there is no other group then or now with such incredible musical knowledge and virtuosity. One example: Ray Schulman playing bass, acoustic guitar, violin, trumpet, recorder, percussion - and all played flawlessly, effortlessly and with a skill that any musician will totally respect! And never mind Kerry Minnear on keyboards, vibes, cello...unbelievable, all of them. And all this with intricate vocal harmonies that will amaze you. I found it difficult years ago to interest people in their albums - definitely an "Acquired Taste" - some would find it too clinical with the extremely intricate timings and arrangements. But seeing it live - hey, everyone respects sheer talent on stage - and these guys have a blast playing! If you're a Gentle Giant fan, you must have this. If not, at least try to watch this somewhere - their combined musical talent will totally amaze you. Best CD to get: Octopus.

Rating:
Summary: A Gift From the Gods
Review: This is something you should own if you merely like Gentle Giant. (Are there such people?) If, however, you see Gentle Giant as an essential component of the Cosmos, then, well, this is something you simply have to have. Your life will not be complete without it.

Rating:
Summary: Joyful noise
Review: Words fail. This is sublime noise, music, raw creativity. But it's bloody brilliant. If you are a fan of this band and never got to see them then this is a must purchase. If you saw them, like I did for the Interview tour, and just forgot how intense the experience could be, then buy this and let all those memories come flooding back.

I have to say this is one of the few music dvd's I have watched in sequence from beginning to end. There is admittedly a little filler, the Italian interview is perplexing (though you can read the English transcript at the official GG web site - http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/ ) and the photographs, while interesting - lack captions, and there is duplication between the two main features. However that is a needless quibble. The quality of sound and video are generally quite good and the selection of material is excellent, primarily from In a Glass House, Octopus and Power and the Glory.

The band is tight, powerful, extraordinarily talented and what's even better, play like they love what they're doing and take great joy in playing with one another. There is a lot of interaction between band members, who are quite emotive and self reliant in front of (well at least in the first segment) an audience that doesn't quite know what to make of them.

To sum up, worth every damn penny. I can only hope that there is more video somewhere in the vaults that covers off the next segment up to The Missing Piece. I'll book mine now, please.