Band: Various Artists

CD Title: “Giant for another Hour”

Label: Independent Release

Release Date: 2007

Website: http://cdbaby.com/cd/gianthour2

Inspiration is a funny thing. You just never know where it comes from or what it might lead to. So when I received a disc in the mail called Giant for another Hour – More music inspired by and in tribute to Gentle Giant, I thought I knew what to expect. After all here on the cover is a character dancing on a clock and the character has that Gentle Giant face. But, like life, inspiration is a funny thing.

This disc came my way compliments of Andy Kubicki who is one of the masterminds behind this compilation and the previous disc. Andy also contributes a couple of pieces as well. There are a total of 20 tracks here with the disc a full 72 minutes. A few of the pieces are long; think 6 - 9-minutes and few are under a minute, while the rest hover in the 3 – 4-minute range. It would appear that Kubicki called for submissions for this disc and they came from around the world; Canada, Sweden, UK, Netherlands and of course the USA.

As for the music itself, with so many tracks it’ll be hard to credit everyone but the sounds run the gamut from those tracks that pattern themselves musically after GG such as “Let Truth Reveal the Beast”, “Adventures in Syncopia” or “Randy Searches for the Original” with their jaunty playfulness to those where they sound instrumentally like GG such as “As Young as I’m Old” that sounds very quirky and medieval. Some of the shorter tunes feature a lilting counterpoint melody such as “Eternal River” built with acoustic guitars and harpsichord sounds. Then mixed in are a number of tracks where it’s harder to find the inspiration, where the music is more folk inspired like “Come To My Land” or the combo-jazz band sound of “Look Out John” and perhaps the most unusual song being “Blitz” which consists of simple electronic atmospherics, synths and acoustic guitar blended together with war sound effects and voice tracks from the BBC’s WWII broadcasts. Sprinkled throughout are shorter musical vignettes each pattered in some form after actual Gentle Giant compositions. I’ll say it again, inspiration is a funny thing. For a complete track listing and samples you’ll have to check out the website listed above.  

This is actually a fascinating disc. With so many contributors it’s interesting to hear how a band like Gentle Giant impacted these composers’ lives. It’s not always easy for one to see or hear the obvious because inspiration goes deeper than that. This is certainly not even remotely a disc of ‘covers’ rather it’s a disc of highly original and in some cases highly artistic pieces of music. Even if you have only a sliver of knowledge of the work and style of Gentle Giant I think you will find much to enjoy here. Of course the more you know the more you’ll appreciate what’s going on. The more I listened to some of these tracks the more I came to enjoy and relish the familiarity. This will be a great disc to dig out from time to time when I’m in a quandary about what to listen to next. Fascinating!