Gentle Giant
Three Friends

THE REVIEW

There is already a very competent review of this magnificent album. It's dated 2006, and in the digital world, this could correspond to a geological era. I apologize to the previous reviewer, but I am doing this only to make the invitation to listen to the album "Three Friends" contemporary.

Even Gentle Giant comes from a past era, or perhaps from another dimension. Listening to them is an all-encompassing experience, an almost titanic effort. There are no solutions at hand, no easy listening. Like an ancient deity, the Music of Gentle Giant ultimately demands a "mystical" surrender, and only after numerous listens can one penetrate the complexity of the sound textures and grasp the melody.

"Three Friends" is a concept album and tells the unfolding of the life of three friends. After school (Schooldays), the three separate and embark on opposite paths. One becomes the typical representative of the working class (Working All Day), another a painter (Peel the Paint), and the last a businessman (Mister Class and Quality?). But the friendship born on school benches cannot be corrupted, and the three are eventually reunited in the majestic finale (Three Friends).

The conceptual intent, miraculously, captures for a moment the usual kaleidoscope of sounds in a homogeneous mood, and for the writer, "Three Friends" is the most accessible long-playing of the early Gentle Giant. The musicians are, as usual, extraordinary and never celebrated enough.