This is just a phenomenal interview. A real piece of musical history. Thank you all for doing this! So wonderful to hear Ray and Derek being interviewed by Mike and Anthony who are both truly brilliant musical minds in their own right. Rest in peace Ray Shulman. ❤
Ray’s description of how Gentle Giant approached complex meter changes & polyrhythms is very insightful, and more akin to traditional composition. He mentioned they thought of parts as individual themes, rather than as a “7 section into a 5/4 part” (paraphrased). I believe that’s the key for coming to grips with complex rhythms, and I’ve also heard members of Meshuggah use similar language for the same issue. It’s one thing to break everything down, but at some point, an instrumentalist just needs to play by it by feel. Taking objective analysis out of the process just gets a player & the band to performance level that much faster.
@@MakeWeirdMusic I saw GG open for J Tull at the Baltimore Civic Center as a young teen. Blew me away then. Amazing watching them play multiple instruments. They still blow me away. Have you seen the Cover of On Reflection video by Jo Deer? Needs to be seen and shared IMO. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mlR7YbM7_Jc.html
21:15 Don’t sell yourself short, Derek. Not just John, but all five remaining members of GG (I know Ray is no longer with us, sadly; my condolences) have fascinating takes on the creative processes involved in making GG’s music, along with plenty of personality and individuality, and yet harnessed effectively in creating beautiful, fun, and engaging musical art. I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on what I see as extraordinary amounts of level-headedness, good humor, and even humility shown by each of you.
SOOOO glad to hear THUNDERCAT get his deserved praise even amongst "old rock folks" if you will. I'm glad to hear some of our generations good stuff IS getting out there and being enjoyed.
Mike Keneally is the best person who can describe how GG’s music is distinct and stunning. Besides I’m so happy both Ray and Derek are fine to recall their music. Next Gary and Kerry ? Anyway thx so much for sharing this precious interviews !
Ordered Free Hand remix. Power and the Glory remix and Octopus remix by SW. I have the original vinyl from the 70s. GG were incredible Live. 1975 and 76. I was 19 years old. Ray's talent among others in the band were mindblowing. Derek's voice was incredible. A visual phenomenon of genius. Ohhh. My 1975 GG t Shirt doesn't fit now. but I odered their xl on the GG website. Yaaaahooooo.
I know I'll be a lone voice out here, but I can't wait for the missing piece remaster. That was my first foray into GG after hearing tracks from it played on Alan Freeman's Saturday afternoon show on R1 (remember that?!) I got into their previous albums from there. I've got the freehand remaster and it's truly amazing.
Fond memories of "Fluff"! It's on his show I first heard all the stuff I'm still listening to now. GG, Genesis, ELP, Renaissance, VdGG....and Mountain (those wonderful jingles from Nantucket Sleighride).
Slowly the band has reunited with their fans again. It used to be like "well that was then, let's get not too excited about it". Fans have been abandoned orphans for a long time.
I was lucky enough to live in a Chicago where almost every band came to preform. The cost was so reasonable in the 70s we were able to see many concerts. Gentle Giant was just at another level and stands out as the best, the music and performance was the show. So many bands live were to say the least disappointing. GG has been my favorite band since seeing them preform octopus live. An outstanding catalog of music thank you GG! Thank you Mike for a great interview!
Wonderful presentation. I hesitate to say interview lol! I’m always thrilled to hear more insight into the genius of Gentle Giant. Thank you Ray and Derek for sharing. And thank you MWM for creating this content. Personally Just the Same, On Reflection and Freehand put this album into the stratosphere of greatness. Personally, side 2 not so much. I suppose music just resonates differently for different people. Fortunately I saw you live once. So tight and talented. I’ll always treasure that concert.
I still to this day throw on Free Hand regularly and play drums to what would be the first side...gotta keep your chops up...such powerful, complex drumming. I was doing it one morning at 7am and my asshole neighbors called the cops on me...granted, I DID have the windows open, but they could have just come over and asked me to keep it down....bastards!!
My first gaze at Gentle Giant was Utica , New York 1975. They warmed up the crowd for the J. Giles Band !!! I left the venue before J. Giles took the stage! We got back stage to offer up a well crafted drawing of the Giant from my artist friend.
So can anyone tell me is there any chance of ever getting some version of IAGH on a new CD release, it's the only studio album I don't have. I know the master tapes have gone AWOL and so SW can't work his magic on them, but the album has been previously released and presumably was in the Unburied Treasure box set, so can't we just have it again in whatever form it's available in? It is available as mp3 from The Evil Zon, but you know ...
@@MakeWeirdMusic So was the album in the Unburied Treasure box set, and if so why can't what was on the CD simply be replicated bit for bit? I'm not talking about an SW do-over but just replicating what was previously released. Presumably there's a reference copy of the files that were used to create the CDs?
@@stevewhiteside4525 Alucards own version of this album is the best sounding out there on cd, but let's be honest, it's not the best sounding album I've ever heard. But the important thing is that it's listenable, ulike some of the other versions I've heard.
@@progqueen6219 Thanks for the pointer, but Alucard don't seem to be selling it at the moment, I guess I'll have to see if I can track it down 2nd hand for a not too crazy price.
@@stevewhiteside4525 Try discogs, that's where I got my copy. IAGH is generally the most expencive of GG albums to get a hold of, probably because there's so few good versions of it.
