Gentle Giant - Free Hand - 1975 - 24/96 & 16/44.1 - UK Vinyl Rip - Chrysalis CHR 1093 - A1 / B1

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Gentle Giant - Free Hand - 1975 - 24/96 & 16/44.1 - UK Vinyl Rip - Chrysalis CHR 1093 - A1 / B1

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With its new release, Gentle Giant displays a maturity that few groups can
boast. Keyboardist/composer Kerry Minnear, whose fame has been long in
coming, is on the road to establishing himself as one of rock's most
interesting keyboardists. Playing everything from harpsichord to
phase-shifted Mellotron, Minnear's lines weave in and out of maze-like
rhythmic structures with a grace that reflects the touch of a master
architect.

The album itself reveals a conscious effort to move away from the
Webern/rock of their previous album, "The Power and the Glory," into a fluid
melodic style that is reminiscent of Elizabethan England. One cut in
particular illustrates this move, "On Reflection." Within this piece,
Minnear's orchestration between harpsichord, synthesizer, Mellotron, etc.
serves as a firm stylistic base upon which the group's complex polyphonic
vocal style rides.

Minnear's solos, which are rare, seem more like integral parts of an overall
group timbre, focusing sound in such a manner as to display the technical
mastery of the entire group rather than just one instrumentalist. The first
piece of the album, "Just the Same," reveals Minnear's ability to blend into
the arrangements, unifying an intense rhythmic structure with his piano, and
later threading an exuberantly voiced synthesizer solo throughout the
meshing timbres.

This LP is definitely one of the group's finest efforts, as well as one of
the finer rock albums to be released this year.