Search - Gentle Giant: GG @ GG - Sight and Sound in Concert on DVD

Brilliance For The Ages

W. Dent | Baltimore, MD | 04/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At the time that Gentle Giant's first album was released, I believe the average age of the band members was early twenties. I and my musical counterparts were only a year or two younger than they yet the music Gentle Giant played was so far above our own abilities. Technical prowess, versatility and youth aside, their talent to write and play like no one had written or played before or since was astounding. Originality was never a stumbling block for this band...NEVER! So given these credentials, one would expect a live performance from this band to be every bit as amazing and in so assuming, one would be correct. From the very first notes of Two Weeks in Spain to the last in Mountain Time, Gentle Giant (GG) are ON! Time ceases to exist as we are presented with ageless music, relevant to any decade. Unlike other bands from that era (Yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer for instance), GG's music is not dated. There is something about this music that just doesn't attach itself to any era and is as at home in 2006 as it was in 1978, when this performance was recorded. That each player is a virtuoso in his own right goes undisputed. That each member tosses off his "main" instrument for another which he plays, it seems, just as well, with the ease that most of us change shirts, is, well, amazing! That GG's music gives each his many opportunities to show off his abilities is obvious to the listener. With all of the flash each carefully crafted song gives off, perhaps the wonder of it all is contained in the subtleties. That which seems to capture my imagination is the once played and not to be repeated, perfect little guitar line so integral to the song that in its' absence, the song would be an entirely different matter....yet it appears only once and for less than ten seconds, its' understated importance nonetheless in tact! GG's songs are full of these "understated" elegant segments when woven together and stamped with that beautiful smiling face of THE Giant (whose face adorns so much of the band's work), make for the most interesting music (my opinion) ever written. What this DVD does is to confirm that GG was every bit the talented group of musicians as their records made them out to be. This was not a band that needed to hide behind studio gimmics. Their live performances were even more exciting than their studio albums. Audiences could see that these musicians could play with conviction and dynamic (with soul if you will) these difficult
pieces of music and be downright funky while doing it (see 'Playing the Game' for proof). In all, the twelve songs which make up the 'concert' portion of the DVD are incredibly played, impeccably captured by the cameras, and are perfectly transported per the extraordinary sound engineering which never betrays the live feel of the band. When the last note had faded, I sat with the same exhillaration I felt after seeing the band in concert (live and in person) back in 1978. That's when it hit me that watching this DVD is as close to experiencing GG live in concert as most will ever get. For my money, it is definitely worth it and then some! (oh....and then there are the 'special features'...another time perhaps....another time!)"