Gentle Giant - Octopus - 1972 - 24/96 & 16/44.1 UK Vertigo Swirl LP - 6360 080

Gentle Giant's fourth album has a harder, more rocking edge, making a striking contrast with their more symphonic third album. No doubt the reason was the introduction of John Weathers on drums. The album still contains a wide variety of sounds and textures, from the rocking power of The Advent Of Panurge to the vocal intricacies of Knots to the beauty of Think Of Me With Kindness.
The title was allegedly invented by Phil Shulman's wife, Roberta. It is short for "Octo Opus," or eight musical works.
The album was released with a Roger Dean cover in the UK.
Considered by many to be Gentle Giant's best album, Octopus represented a key transitional time for the group. This was simultaneously Phil's last and John's first album as members of Gentle Giant. The result is a fascinating blend of the old and the new.

The Advent of Panurge revives the story of Pantagruel, the giant in the famed novel by Francois Rabelais, begun on Acquiring the Taste with Pantagruel's Nativity. If you've never read the book, you should: the lyrics to this song are pretty faithful to the actual meeting between Pantagruel and Panurge. Like Pantagruel's Nativity, the song shifts back and forth between "gentle" and "giant." Instantly, John's firmer beats provide the pulse that gives the tune more balls than the group had evidenced on its first three albums.

Raconteur Troubadour is a fantastic song, the pure medievalism of the band's early years in rich display. The contrasts between the vocal melody and Ray's violin countermelody, not to mention Ray's great bass work, and the richness of Derek's vocal make this a minor masterpiece, covering a lot of musical ground in only four minutes.

A Cry for Everyone is a bone-cruncher, the highlight being Kerry's multi-synth solo section. The musical interludes between the verses, with Kerry's organ joining Gary, Ray, and John, are a potent and propulsive mix. I'm not sure if Phil even plays on this one.

Knots is an uncanny creation, featuring stunning vocal and instrumental arrangements. Again, if you haven't read the book of the same title by R.D. Laing, you should. There are even more complex examples in the book than those adapted for the song. John makes his presence felt with a manic xylophone solo over Kerry's crazed piano.

The Boys in the Band, in my opinion, is the best instrumental the band recorded. It truly gives everyone a chance to show off, and frankly, I find I appreciate different band members' contributions more with almost each new listen. With the unusual (even for Giant) intro of a laugh and coin spin, the song perfectly blends all aspects of the group's combined musicianship.

As the liner notes themselves say, Dog's Life offers the highly unusual combination of a medieval reed organ and string section. Still, this song is the slightest of the eight "tentacles" on the album.

Think of Me With Kindness, for all its tenderness and simplicity, is irresistible. Kerry's vocal is gorgeous and the dynamics are perfectly exploited for sheer emotional effect. Phil plays some simple but effective trumpet during moments of heightened intensity.

River is the "experimental" tune, but I never got into it that much. It's the only song of decent length, but it has kind of a dull, plodding melody, accentuated all the more by John dragging the beat. I also don't appreciate the souped-up drums in the middle of the instrumental section; I would have preferred a straight drum solo or percussion arrangement. Gary's solo is nice and bluesy, however.

As I said, many consider Octopus the best Giant album. I disagree. I think it's a tie between In a Glass House and Free Hand. But Octopus definitely comes next, an impressive end to one phase of the band's evolution, and an inspiring start to the next.

- Jason Rubin

Tracks

1 - Advent of Panurge
2 - Raconteur, Troubadour
3 - Cry For Everyone
4 - Knots
5 - The Boys In The Band
6 - Dog's Life
7 - Think Of Me With Kindness
8 - River

Musicians

Gary Green - Guitars, percussion
Kerry Minnear - All keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, cello, Moog, lead and backing vocals
Derek Shulman - Lead vocals, alto saxophone
Philip Shulman - Saxophones, trumpet, mellophone, lead and backing vocals
Raymond Shulman - Bass violin, guitar, percussion, vocals (note typographical error, "bass violin")
John Weathers - Drums, percussion, xylophone.

Many thanks to Martin Rushent for laugh coinspin and variable speed oscillator, and Mike Viccars, Moog operator.

NOTE: The "Mike Viccars" credited above is actually Mike Vickers, guitarist, saxist with the Manfreds, the band who used to back Manfred Mann in the 1960s. He was called in for the album as he had one of the very early Moogs (well before Manfred in fact) and was into setting up the sounds patches. He also did orchestration and arranged the string part on the Beatles All You Need Is Love with George Martin."



Here's a rip I made a few years ago, I posted it to a few torrent sites but not here, so here it is :)
N.B This vinyl is almost 40 years old, and for the first few years of it's life was played on less than ideal equipment, (remember Dansette? ;)) so there is some groove wear, but overall it's not too bad.