Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were formed from the remnants of late 60s psychedelic
beat group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, who scored a 1967 UK
Top Ten hit with the excellent Kites single - which
featured extensive use of the Mellotron.
Brothers Ray, Derek and Phil Shulman - who sang, played bass
and saxophone - teamed up with superb instrumentalist Kerry
Minnear (a keyboard-playing graduate from the Royal College of
Music), guitarist Gary Green and drummer Martin Smith, and spent
several months writing and rehearsing in a cottage in Hampshire,
honing their craft.
After signing a management contract with Gerry Bron the band
came to the attention of the newly-formed Vertigo label, who saw
the band as a potential rival for other major progressive acts of
the day such as King Crimson. Certainly Gentle Giant were as
accomplished musically, and their 1970 Tony Visconti-produced
debut album was suitably impressive, containing much fine material
such as Funny Ways and Nothing At All.
Although critical reaction to their first vinyl offering was
enthusiastic and reviews were favourable, sales in the UK failed
to match expectations. In Europe however, Gentle Giant found an
eager and receptive audience which reflected in greater commercial
success.
1971's Acquiring The Taste was a major leap forward
musically and proved to be one of the finest ever recordings by
the band. The standard of compositions such as Pantagruel's
Nativity and Black Cat was extremely high, although
the album liner notes which stated that the record
"abandoned all thoughts of perceived commercialism"
proved prophetic when it failed to chart in the UK once more.
By the time Three Friends was released in 1972 Martin
Smith had left the band to be replaced by Malcolm Mortimore. The
album was the bands first to be released in the USA, which led to
an American tour, during which Mortimore was seriously injured in
a motorcycle accident and had to spend many months recuperating in
hospital. To complete the American tour, Mortimore was replaced by
Welsh drummer John 'Pugwash' Weathers.
The US tour was well-received which refuelled the bands
creative energies and the resulting Octopus album was a
fine swansong for their time with Vertigo records. Shortly after
its release, Phil Shulman left the band and was not replaced for
1974's In A Glass House album,, released by the newly
created WWA label.
Following 1975's The Power and The Glory, Gentle
Giant signed with Chrysalis and enjoyed their most commercially
successful period with albums such as Freehand and Interview,
particularly in the USA. The band remained active until 1980 when
they disbanded following the release of their album, Civilian.
Derek Shulman became a much respected music business executive,
becoming Vice President of PolyGram Records in America and signing
acts such as Bon Jovi and Tears For Fears. Ray Shulman became a
writer of music for commercials and John Weathers joined the
legendary Welsh outfit, Man.
|
