Octopus
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
Top
Octopus
- Artist: Gentle Giant
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1972
- Total Time: 33:59
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
Returning to Gentle Giant's fourth album after any kind of lengthy absence, it's astonishing just how little Octopus has dated. Often written off at the time as a pale reflection of the truly gargantuan steps being taken by the likes of Jethro Tull and Barclay James Harvest, the band's closest relatives in the tangled skein of period prog, Gentle Giant often seemed more notable for its album art than its music. Octopus, however, marries the two seamlessly, with the cover speaking for itself, of course. And the mood continues within, the deliciously convoluted opening "The Advent of Panurge" itself riding waves of sonic tentacles as Gary Green's guitar shrieks short but so effective bursts around the thundering bass and, occasionally, churchy organ. Against the pulsating volume of the album's heavier tracks -- "Panurge" is joined by "A Cry for Everyone" -- the band's excursions into less excitable territory are never less than captivating. Twiddly though they are, the sometimes a cappella "Knots," the lilting "Dog's Life," and the Yes-with-fiddles-ish "Raconteur Troubadour" all have moments of sublime sweetness, while the instrumental "The Boys in the Band" is a succession of quirky showcases for, indeed, all the boys. Occasionally arrangements do get overly cluttered -- with each of the six bandmembers doubling up on at least three different instruments, there's a distinct sense of overdubs for overdubbing's sake. Follow the key instruments alone, however, and the soundscapes not only make perfect sense, but so do the flourishes and intrusions that rattle around. And the end result is an album that has withstood the test of time a lot better than anyone might have expected. ~ Dave Thompson, Rovi| Octopus (1969 Album by Octopus) | |
| Octopus (2007 Album by The Bees) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Octopus (Gentle Giant album)
| Octopus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Gentle Giant | ||||
| Released | December 1, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | July 24 - August 5, 1972, Advision Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 34:24 | |||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Columbia (U.S.) |
|||
| Producer | Gentle Giant | |||
| Gentle Giant chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
US and Canadian release.
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Octopus is an album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1972. It marked a change in drummers from Malcolm Mortimore to John Weathers. The new line-up of the band delivered the Octopus album later in 1972, generally considered to represent the start of the band's peak period. The hardest and most "rocking" Gentle Giant album to date, Octopus was allegedly named by Phil Shulman's wife Roberta as a pun on "octo opus" (eight musical works, reflecting the album's eight tracks).
In 2004, Ray Shulman commented "(Octopus) was probably our best album, with the exception, perhaps of Acquiring the Taste. We started with the idea of writing a song about each member of the band. Having a concept in mind was a good starting point for writing. I don't know why, but despite the impact of The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia, almost overnight concept albums were suddenly perceived as rather naff and pretentious". The album maintained Gentle Giant's trademark of broad and challengingly integrated styles. One of the highlights was the intricate madrigal-styled vocal workout "Knots", lyrically inspired by the work of R. D. Laing.
In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #16 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".[2]
|
Contents
|
Track listing
All songs composed by Shulman, Shulman, Shulman and Minnear.
Side One
- "The Advent of Panurge" – 4:40
- "Raconteur, Troubadour" – 3:59
- "A Cry for Everyone" – 4:02
- "Knots" – 4:09
Side Two
- "The Boys in the Band" – 4:32 (instrumental)
- "Dog's Life" – 3:10
- "Think of Me with Kindness" – 3:33
- "River" – 5:54
Notes
The song "The Advent of Panurge" is inspired by the books of Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais.
The song "A Cry for Everyone" on the album is inspired by the work and beliefs of the Algerian-French writer Albert Camus.
The song "Knots" is inspired by the book Knots by the Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing.
Personnel
- Gary Green - Guitars, percussion
- Kerry Minnear - All keyboards, vibraphone, percussion, cello, Moog, lead vocals on tracks 1, 4 and 7, backing vocals
- Derek Shulman - Lead vocals on all tracks except 5 to 7, alto saxophone
- Phil Shulman - Saxophones, trumpet, mellophone, lead vocals on tracks 1, 4, 6 and 8, backing vocals
- Ray Shulman - Bass, violin, guitar, percussion, backing vocals
- John Weathers - Drums, percussion, xylophone
Cover
The UK release of the album featured art by Roger Dean. Dean's logo appears inside the lyrics booklet.
North American releases featured a different cover by Charles White. Early versions of this cover were die-cut into a jar shape.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | US Billboard 200 | 170 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom.svg | December 1, 1972 | Vertigo Records |
| United States | February 1973 | Columbia Records |
References
- ^ "allmusic ((( Octopus > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r8189. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
- ^ Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, 2005.
|
|||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
