Gentle Giant is really a band apart from all the other progressive rock bands. Basically, they are all classically trained, so they excel on their main instrument, as well as at least one other. But that's not really what puts them apart, but what does is the complexity of most of their compositions, both instrumentally and vocally. Unfortunately, also because of this, sometimes their music is hard to digest. But there is a consensus about their musical prowess.
This DVD is really a jewel. It contains, in addition to old interviews and pictures, two concerts that were filmed for TV. One was filmed in 1974, the other in 1975. Yes, its age really shows, like watching a movie from the 70's, but its qualities are still there. The concerts are untouched (unlike modern concert DVD's where they record multiple shows, remix everything to have the best performance, even retouch some parts in the studio, sometimes resulting in non-matching sound and video - I just dislike that, as it is non-representative of the true performance), the sound is pretty good considering the period, and the musicianship can be qualified with the word 'awesome'! Instruments vary from the common guitar, bass, multiple keyboards and drums, to violin, cello, flute, trumpet and xylophone. All played like masters (in my point of view anyway). Even some songs that I do not totally enjoy on record, I enjoyed much more seeing them perform it live. And I like the variations they did live, which puts a new twist to the songs. My only complain is I wished the shows were either longer, or the set-list from both shows be different from each other, because all the songs of the 30 minute concert were played in the 50 minute one. But hey, at least we have this.So in a few words, if you're a fan of the 70's prog, even if you do not like Gentle Giant, you will probably enjoy this DVD. And for those who like them, well obviously, it's a must!
My rating: ****½
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