Octopus (Gentle Giant)

Year: 1972

At one point, Gentle Giant was one of my favorite bands.  But my enjoyment of their music did not come naturally at first listen.  In fact, I distinctly remember my first listen to this unique band and my thought was "What in the world is this crap?"  That was my first impression of Gentle Giant and the album I was listening to was Octopus.

But after about three of four listens, tracks like "Knots" and "The Boys in the Band" caught my ear and grabbed me.  It wasn't long after that I bought Free Hand and In a Glass House, and my love affair with Gentle Giant had begun.

While I really like all of the early albums, I sincerely believe that this album is truly the best of the bunch.  Gentle Giant's signature sound is put on full display from the opening track "The Advent of Panurge," a haunting number with a quirky blend of vocals and instruments which builds in a dramatic fashion all the way to the final note.

"Raconteur Troubadour" immediately follows creating a rich medieval atmosphere with an appropriate storyline.  "A Cry for Everyone" is a rocker with various instruments providing some nifty solos.

"Knots" is one Gentle Giant's most famous songs as it establishes a type of sound that will forever be linked to them as multiple vocal parts are sung alongside music which initially seems to clash, but works in a dizzying array of musical complexity.  This is one of those songs that you hate the first time you hear it, like it on second listen and then fall in love with it the third time.

The rest of the disc is more prog goodness with "The Boys in the Band" being a fun instrumental, "Dog's Life" and "Think of Me with Kindness" being gentle ballads and finally "The River" as another quirky Knots-like number.  This is Gentle Giant's finest hour and strongest album from start to finish.  Definitely a must-have for any collector of prog.

Brain Salad Surgery (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)

Year: 1973

I can only give this album three stars and I feel mildly generous in doing that.  (I
gave the album a bonus due to the amazing art work and rounded 2.4 up to 3.)
While ELP is without a doubt an influential band in this music that we call
progressive, they struggled with putting out solid albums.  Brain Salad Surgery, in
my opinion, really has one decent song (Karn Evil 9).

While I like "Jerusalem" and think that ELP does a decent job performing it, it seems
sorely out of place on this album.  There is also a weird volume discrepancy early on
in the song (which may be a flaw in the remastered recording) which keeps the last
three-quarters of the song in an audio fog.  If that was the intended effect (the
sudden decrescendo), I am puzzled what the reasoning behind it was.

"Toccata" is a bit violent for an instrumental, which is why ELP liked it so much, no
doubt.  However, I can only take this song in small doses.  It's just too much for
even this well-developed prog palate to handle.  So despite the original composer
being impressed with Emerson's adaption, I am not as impressed as I reach for an
aspirin to calm the headache that usually accompanies the hearing of Toccata in its
entirety.

"Still...You Turn Me On" (while I hit SKIP).  Seriously, this is a great little tune.
However, for this prog lover, I was bored to tears after hearing it five times.  For
those of you wondering if a song is "progressive" or not, give it the unofficial prog
test by listening to it five times in a row (yes...even the epics...especially the
epics).  If a song sounds good and catchy on the very first listen, that spells trouble
(pop song...definitely not prog).  If by the fifth listen, you are bored and there is
nothing new to hear in the song, then it fails the prog test.  However, you know
you are listening to good "progressive" music if you are just starting to see (and
hear) some new things in the song on the fifth listen.  This is a long-winded way of
saying that Still... miserably fails the unofficial prog test.  I should have known when
I thought it sounded pretty cool the very first time I heard it.  Now I just have to
skip it.

I said "Toccata" was tough for me to listen to.  "Benny the Bouncer" is just
dreadful.  I dare anyone to try the unofficial prog test with this song.  You may
swear off music all together if you were forced to listen to this waste of vinyl five
straight times.  Let's face it, this song is a filler as part of ELP's "formula" which
they thought was popular.  (No guys, it's your good songs that make you popular,
not these silly capers into music hell.)  I'd like to try and describe "Benny" to you,
but really...what's the point?  It's a tongue-in-cheek vaudville act which makes me
appreciate the SKIP button on my CD player.  (That's two skips in a row, for those
of you keeping score at home.)

"Karn Evil 9".  Is this a planet?  Is it a weird carnival?  Is it a computer?  Ask ELP and
they will probably answer "YES" to all three questions as it relates to this song,
easily the highlight of the album.  It comes in four flavors, with each of them tasting
a little different.  I prefer Parts 1 and 2 of the first impression, mainly because I am
a sucker for lyrics.  The second and third impressions seem to drag on with nothing
but keyboards on top of other keyboards.  If you are a guitar man, you probably
don't like ELP in the first place.  But you also might come across this highly
acclaimed song and wonder what all the fuss is about.  Obviously, Keith Emerson
shows some dazzling talent in all three impressions of this song and I would have
loved to have seen him perform it live (as I understand ELP knew how to dazzle in
their musicianship).  Carl Palmer asserts himself nicely on the drums as well in this
epic.  If this song weren't so impressive, this album really would be a stinker, in my
opinion.  But this song alone makes Brain Salad Surgery a decent addition to a prog
lover's collection (you might just have to SKIP some songs along the way).

Close to the Edge (Yes)

Year: 1972

This album is truly timeless.  It is as impressive now as it was back in the early 70s.  But
despite that, I am not willing to give it the full five stars.  I am stingy with my stars and
I really have to be BLOWN AWAY by an album in order to label it "essential."  (I have
been told to have quirky tastes anyway, but I digress.)

"Close to the Edge" is a mesmerizing composition in many ways.  It ebbs and flows and
sucks you in before you know it.  (Having spoken American English all my life, what in
the world does "total mass retain" mean?  Again, I digress.)  Obviously, this first track
is considered to be one of the cornerstones of progressive rock and rightfully so.
Stunning guitar work layered on top of keyboard riffs combined with Jon Anderson's
entrancing vocals create an auditory feast.

"And You and I" really is a wonderful song, but often gets overshadowed by its greedy
predecessor.  Do not overlook this tune as it has all of the great components of "Close
to the Edge" but isn't quite as catchy.

"Siberian Khatru" is my least favorite song on the album, but I still think it is a decent
song.  However, compared to the first two, it is easy to forget.  In fact, I would be
willing to bet that if this song were on a different album, it would be a great song.  But
it always leaves me feeling disappointed after relishing the first two tracks of the
album.

To summarize, I think this is a very strong album and would certainly be considered a
classic of the genre.  However, at no times am I "blown away."  For that, I give this
album 4 stars and highly recommend it.