Gentle Giant - The Missing Piece (2024 Steven Wilson Remix)

Gentle Giant – The Missing Piece (2024 Steven Wilson Remix)

As I mentioned last year in my review of Interview, I had not delved into any Gentle Giant releases beyond their eighth album, given how sharply public opinion seemed to drop off after that. The appearance of this Steven Wilson reissue however, tempted me to boldly go where I hadn’t gone before. And to tell the truth, I shouldn’t have been so worried.

It’s true that The Missing Piece sees the iconic band finally stoop to commercialism after ‘prog’ had become a dirty word by the late 70s. But rather than blatantly eschewing their integrity, Gentle Giant do commercialism their way with catchy numbers that are still pretty complicated when you think about them.

Two Weeks in Spain is classic Gentle Giant: catchy, earnest and featuring the sort of brain-melting instrumental interplay you’ve come to expect from this group, but the flighty lyrical themes have been replaced with lyrics about a bog-standard British holiday. “Weather’s fine, only two weeks in Spain is not enough.”

I’m Turning Around brings the band closer to radio airplay by taking a leaf from the Genesis book. Soft verses give way to power chords in the chorus, and while the proceedings are straightforward (certainly by this band’s standards) they can’t help but add a few idiosyncratic beats to the chorus to make it that little bit wonky. Great stuff.

Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It is the band’s self-referencing attempt at taking on the rapidly emerging punk scene and is pretty successful too. A short, sharp rock injection that still holds a few Giant-ian twists as well as a self-mocking sensibility. With its tongue firmly in its cheek, it hardly lives up to actual punk classics, but it’s delightful to see GG spar with the very genre that ousted progressive rock in the first place.

A couple of duds fill out the otherwise excellent Side One. The awkwardly lurching, syncopated Who Do You Think You Are? is forgettable filler material while Mountain Time is catchy but utterly bereft of the brilliant touches that make Gentle Giant songs what they are. Mountain Time would be more interesting if there was some variation.

Side Two of the album is known as the less commercial side, but I’m not sure this actually makes it any better than the first side. The catchiness of the first three songs only made them better to me, but nothing on the second side is what I’d describe as catchy. It’s certainly more complex though.

As Old As You’re Young is the only place you’ll hear Kerry Minnear’s soft signature vocals; the rest of the vocals on this album are performed by shouty Derek Shulman. The track bobs along unevenly without much to root for and feels a little complex for the sake of being complex.

I’ve seen Memories of Old Days, the longest track on the album at over seven minutes, described by fans as a masterpiece and the best track on the album. I could not agree less. This soft piece features no percussion and very little dynamic contrast, already making it a hard sell. The lyrics are sung with emotion, but I really can’t get into the melody. The instrumental sections between these verses are noodly and offputting. Finally, the track peters out. What piece am I missing here?

Winning reinstates the percussion for a polyrhythmic experiment that is wholly unsatisfying. The instruments (including the vocals) seem to be at odds with each other and tend to clash. This was a song that I endured rather than actively listened to.

After a series of mediocre tunes, the last track finally delivers something I can sink my teeth into. Opening with a fantastic rock riff, this is an anthemic delight, decorated in all sorts of nice twiddly bits. The breakdown allows for the group to do an a cappella chant before a return to the main theme. A magnificent way to close out this latter stage album.

This Steven Wilson remix certainly sounds just as great as you’d expect it to and includes a bonus track: an instrumental outtake of Winning that I’m sure fans will find interesting. On the Blu-ray (which I haven’t seen or heard) there are different album mixes including an instrumental mix I’d be fascinated to hear. There are also custom visuals for each track, four of which have been released on YouTube so far which you can view on this very page. The Two Weeks in Spain video is so clever and creative that I had high hopes for the rest, but Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It let me down with its random animation involving insects and planets. What does that have to do with the music? I’d love to have had the opportunity to view the rest of the videos, but as the label decided not to send over those files, what can I do?

While it doesn’t match the band’s earlier output in quality, The Missing Piece is hardly the fall from grace I had expected it to be. If anything, I actually prefer it to their previous album Interview. At its best, this album showcases how to do pop-prog well, by writing short catchy pieces that still boast some technical flair. And I thought they couldn’t do it…

TRACK LISTING
01. Two Weeks in Spain (3:05)
02. I’m Turning Around (3:59)
03. Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It (2:17)
04. Who Do You Think You Are? (3:38)
05. Mountain Time (3:22)
06. As Old as You’re Young (4:22)
07. Memories of Old Days (7:23)
08. Winning (4:16)
09. For Nobody (4:10)
~ Bonus track
10. Winning (Outtake) (3:32)

Total Time – 39:57

MUSICIANS
Derek Shulman – Lead Vocals on all tracks
Gary Green – Electric & Acoustic Guitar (7)
Ray Shulman – Bass, 12-String Guitar (7), Percussion (8)
Kerry Minnear – Hammond Organ (1, 2 & 5-9), Electric Piano (1, 2, 5 & 7), Piano (4-6 & 8), Synthesiser (1, 4 & 7), Minimoog (3, 6 & 8), Clavinet (6), Percussion (8), Vocals (6)
John Weathers – Drums (1-6, 8 & 9), Tambourine (1, 5, 6, 8 & 9), Cymbal Crash (7), Percussion (8), Drum Machine (8)

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Chrysalis
Catalogue#: CHRB1152
Country of Origin: U.K.
Date of Release: 16th February 2024

LINKS
Gentle Giant – Website | YouTube | Burning Shed