Gentle Giant fans have had much to be happy about the last few months, as quite a few of the "official bootleg" CD's have been released by Voiceprint Records as 2 disc sets. While most have only fair-to-good sound quality, the performances on all the ones I have heard so far are top-notch. Endless Life is no exception-the shows picked for this release are The Music Hall in White Plains, NY from 10/3/75, and The Community Theatre in Berkley, CA from 10/28/75, both on the tour for the album Free Hand, long considered one of the bands best releases.
The White Plains show in CD 1 is absolutely stellar, and a must hear for Gentle Giant fans. Opening up with the insanely complex "Cogs in Cogs" and then rampaging into "Proclamation", both from the Power and the Gloryalbum, it becomes quickly apparent that the band was really on that night, musically and vocally. The majestic and sad "Funny Ways" is up next, featuring weeping violin work from Ray Shulman. The band then blasts through a medley from In a Glass House , namely "The Runaway/Experience", and proves they could rock with the best hard rock bands yet still retain their complex proggy nature. Perhaps the bands most amazing vocal piece, "On Reflection" is up next, with all the members contributing in an accappella medieval fugue that comes off as well live as it does on the studio version on Free Hand. The requisite "Excerpts from Octopus" is up next, and is always a great little medley of the best tracks from the classic album Octopus. The intricate "So Sincere", with its angular guitar/keyboard lines, finds a home for a John Weathers drum solo, and the medieval rock of "Plain Truth" lets Ray Shulman rip a wild extended violin solo.
Disc 2 is just as impressive, kicking of with "Free Hand" and "Just the Same", two classics from the Free Hand album. This ends the White Plains show. The remainder of the songs are from the Berkley concert, and basically it is a similar but abbreviated set list. I found the White Plains show to have a bit more aggression and fire to it, but the band seemed to be a bit more on the clever and playful side at Berkley. The Octopus medley though is extremely powerful here , especially the snippet from "The Advent of Panurge", and the wonderful recorder solo. As far as the sound quality of the shows go, they are both about the same, which is average, with the slight edge to the White Plains show. Not much as far as drop-outs are concerned, which is a good thing, and you can hear all the instruments and vocals clearly. The worst thing is that the sound is a bit muddy throughout and the recording level is a little low. Other than that the performances are killer, and some of the best in the series so far. For those of us who were not able to see this great band when they were around, this "official bootleg" series allows us to hear, for an affordable price, what a powerful live machine Gentle Giant really was.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
1) Cogs in Cogs (3:44)
2) Proclamation (4:55)
3) Funny Ways (9:16)
4) The Runaway / Experience (9:38)
5) On Reflection (6:22)
6) Excerpts From Octopus (15:58) (The Boys In The Band / Knots / The Advent Of Panurge)
7) So Sincere (9:39) (including drum solo)
8) Plain Truth (7:37) (Including Violin Solo)
Disc 2:
1) Free Hand (7:40)
2) Just The Same (6:12)
3) Opening (2:28)
4) Cogs in Cogs (4:08)
5) Excerpts From Octopus (15:38) (The Boys In The Band / Knots / The Advent Of Panurge)
6) So Sincere (10:15) (Including Drum Solo)
7) Plain Truth (7:25) (Including Violin Solo)
8) Free Hand (5:52)
9) Just The Same (6:12)
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