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THE REVIEW
More than a review, it's a curiosity, a technological update, a commercial operation, call it what you will this new release of the "Giants of Prog" from the '70s. Is there nothing new? Actually, some previously unreleased material wisely comes to light, but I'll proceed in order.
"Three Piece Suite" is a technically qualitative collection, in the sense that the author, Steven Wilson, did not delve into the significant production of the first three masterpieces of the British group active, as you know, from 1970 to 1980, choosing those of greater success or at his unquestionable judgment the best, but rather he found himself with only 9 multitrack tapes of the 21 tracks that collectively make up the first trilogy of the Gentle Giants. Consequently, alas, the remaining 12 were lost, unlike those of "Octopus," which had already undergone a facelift by the same Wilson, and the subsequent albums, which had already been reworked.
The technical operation results in the publication of this work released in both double vinyl and CD+Blu Ray. Personally, I went for the first option, and it is this to which my impressions refer. The CD contains the same material for over an hour of listening, while the Blu Ray is definitely rich in the sense that it contains the full original presentation of the first three albums, the same remixed CD, and purely instrumental versions of the tracks contained therein. From an economic point of view, the second choice seems winning, but for the elders of the sector, the first will be inevitable.
Looking at the tracklist: 11, but the numbers don't add up. Indeed, the first vinyl contains "Giant," "Nothing at All," and "Why not?" from the debut album, followed by "Pantagruel's Nativity" and "The House, the Street, the Room" from "Acquiring the Taste." While the second features on the third side: "Schooldays" and "Peel the Paint," followed on the fourth face by: "Mister Class and Quality?" and "Three Friends"; finally, we have an unreleased "Freedom's Child" and a reworking of "Nothing at All" by Wilson himself.
I quickly dismiss the analysis of the 9 "resurrected" tracks, simply noting that the cleaning operation was certainly successful, also thanks to the fact that the originals sometimes suffered from non-excellent quality, especially in digital reproduction, even in Japanese reissues on SHM-CD. And I come to the "novelties": the first rediscovered from the Giant recordings of late '69 allows us to find a decidedly melodic track that highlights both Derek Shulman's voice and his brother Ray's qualities on the violin, truly inspired in this circumstance; more than an out-take, in my opinion, it is a demo, who knows for what reason spared from the destruction of time, very pleasant but certainly not capable of sending shivers down the spine of a listener accustomed to very different grit and sounds. Quite consistent with the unreleased is the tranquil reworking of "Nothing at All," which from a technical point has almost performed a miracle: it indeed seems like a posthumous arrangement of the track in the form of a calm ballad by the same authors.
And I come to the core, the judgment of this production that Wilson himself describes in the (long) liner notes as: "based on sophisticated software capable of cleaning the sounds of the individual tracks giving greater definition and clarity to the elaborate, without however modifying in any way the original musicality," which can undoubtedly be said to succeed with flying colors, returning those tracks with a detail that unfortunately the originals somewhat concealed, without surprising us too much if we consider both the publication year of the albums and the financial capabilities of the first Giant's producer, that young Tony Visconti who, as he himself states, "bet a lot on this Group that was supposed to save the musical world from mediocrity!"
Therefore, the listening is undoubtedly very satisfying, with the only sad note being that it is limited to less than half of the production of the prog giants, for the rest we will have to "settle" for what we have in our discotheque........
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Summary by Bot
The review explores Gentle Giant's 'Three Piece Suite,' a remixed collection curated and restored by Steven Wilson. Despite only having access to 9 of the original 21 multi-track tapes, the release offers improved sound clarity and includes some previously unreleased tracks. Available on vinyl, CD, and Blu Ray, the edition satisfies longtime fans but leaves some longing for the lost material. Overall, it's a valuable technical and musical update for prog rock enthusiasts.Tracklist Lyrics
01 Instrumentals (00:00)
02 Blu Ray Extras Original Album Mixes (Transfered Flat 96/24 Stereo Lpcm) (00:00)
03 Gentle Giant (00:00)
05 Three Friends (00:00)
06 Giant (00:00)
07 Freedom's Child (00:00)
08 Giant (00:00)
09 Nothing At All (00:00)
10 Why Not? (00:00)
12 The House, The Street, The Room (00:00)
14 Peel The Paint (00:00)
16 Three Friends (00:00)
17 Nothing At All (00:00)
18 Freedom's Child (00:00)
19 Giant (00:00)
20 Funny Days (00:00)
23 Nothing At All (00:00)
24 Why Not? (00:00)
28 Why Not? (00:00)
29 The House, The Street, The Room (00:00)
32 The Moon Is Down (00:00)
33 Black Cat (00:00)
37 Working All Day (00:00)
38 Peel The Paint (00:00)
41 Three Friends (00:00)
42 The House, The Street, The Room (00:00)
44 Peel The Paint (00:00)
46 Three Friends (00:00)
47 Giant (06:27)
48 Freedom's Child\t (03:58)
49 Nothing At All (Steven Wilson 7" Edit)\t (04:54)
50 Nothing At All\t (09:07)
51 Why Not? (05:32)
52 Pantagruel's Nativity\t (06:57)
53 The House, The Street, The Room\t (06:08)
54 Schooldays\t (07:42)
55 Peel The Paint\t (07:36)
56 Mister Class And Quality?\t (05:52)
57 Three Friends (02:56)
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were an English progressive rock band active from 1970 to 1980, frequently described (in these reviews) as among the genre’s most technically accomplished groups, known for multi-instrumentalism, complex rhythms, and choral counterpoint.16 Reviews
