Gentle Giant - Three Friends (1972)
2008, Repertoire Records REP 5114
1. Prologue (6:13)
2. Schooldays (7:36)
3. Working All Day (5:10)
4. Peel The Paint (7:30)
5. Mister Class and Quality? (3:22)
6. Three Friends (5:24)
Total: 35:15
Gary Green - guitars, percussion
Kerry Minnear - keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, Moog, vocals
Malcolm Mortimore - drums
Derek Shulman - vocals
Phil Schulman - sax, vocals
Ray Shulman - bass, violin, 12 string guitar, vocals
Review:
Three Friends is one of Gentle Giant's simpler albums, and also one of their
best. Three Friends possesses all of the standard Gentle Giant qualities: odd
time signatures, vocal and instrumental counterpoint, great melodies, and a
variety of instruments and moods. However, Three Friends lacks the hyperactivity
of the other GG albums in this style (all GG albums are in this style, with the
exception of the albums released after Interview when they turned into a pop
band). By hyperactivity, I mean the constant switching (within a single song) in
tempos, moods, and time signatures. Three Friends proves that there is some
truth to the "less is more" theory. By simplifying the music, the GG qualities
stand out even stronger.
Three Friends also contains three of Gentle Giant's most well-loved songs (by GG
fans, anyway): "Schooldays", "Peel the Paint", and "Three Friends". "Schooldays"
is a haunting, eerie, and quirky snapshot of childhood and its emotions. Kerry
Minnear's keyboards create the mood on this song, through beautiful solemn
melodies, and odd, gently morphing rhythms. The canon-like vocals are also
excellent. "Peel the Paint" is a heavy progressive rock song complete with
saxes, aggressive singing and a faster tempo. The cool thing about this song is
that it rocks and it is very progressive. The main guitar/sax riff has a one,
two, three, four beat with two being drawn out; the effect is like taking the
standard 4/4 rock riff and knocking it off-kilter. My only complaint is that the
guitar solo drags on too long. "Three Friends" is wonderful, with the glowing
pipe organ sound and heavy, jagged bass working together to create a beautiful,
ethereal (and almost religious) mood. The choral singing puts this piece over
the top.
I strongly recommend Three Friends to anyone that enjoys progressive rock. It is
unfortunate that Gentle Giant is not ranked with the prog rock greats like King
Crimson, Genesis, and Yes. They certainly deserve it.
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