Gentle Giant's third album (and their first self-produced effort, Tony Visconti having run the sessions on the two previous records) was another advance, this time in the direction of a harder rock sound -- everything sounds turned up here, especially the guitars, the bass, and the electronic keyboards. Three Friends hardly sacrificed any of the group's progressive intentions, however, and there are some softer moments here, such as the playful, sprightly first half of "Schooldays"; the harmonies and arrangements still had a distinctly medieval feel, and the melodies, though a little harder to discern here (which made them even more appealing when they did become obvious), were quite engaging. This is supposed to be a concept album, about the relationship between three friends across a lifetime, and the original notes and lyrics have been reprinted, but none of that is necessary in order to enjoy the songs here. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Tracks
Track Title
Composers
Performers
Time
Prologue
Gentle Giant, Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman, Phil Shulman, Ray Shulman
Gentle Giant (Main Performer), Gary Green (Guitar), Gary Green (Percussion), Gary Green (Vocals), Gary Green (Producer), Kerry Minnear (Percussion), Kerry Minnear (Keyboards), Kerry Minnear (Vocals), Kerry Minnear (Moog Synthesizer), Kerry Minnear (Producer), Kerry Minnear (Vibraphone), Martin Rushent (Engineer), Derek Shulman (Bass), Derek Shulman (Guitar), Derek Shulman (Vocals), Derek Shulman (Producer), Phil Shulman (Saxophone), Phil Shulman (Vocals), Phil Shulman (Producer), Ray Shulman (Bass), Ray Shulman (Percussion), Ray Shulman (Violin), Ray Shulman (Vocals), Ray Shulman (Guitar (12 String)), Ray Shulman (Producer), Malcolm Mortimore (Drums), Malcolm Mortimore (Producer), Rick Breach (Cover Design)
The Three Friends were formed in 1954 at a time when Rock N Roll was in its infancy. The group came together while all three members were attending New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, NY. The Three Friends were comprised of Tony Grochowski, Frank Stropoli, and Joe Villa. Stropoli and Grochowski had previously been in a group called the Heartbeats that recorded one record for Jubilee in 1955 (Finally backed with Boil & Bubble). After the records release, the Heartbeats went through some personnel changes and Joe Villa was recruited in to their ranks. Originally, the guys were intent upon developing a pop oriented vocal/comedy act, and had started to have some success performing in that vein. But the birth of Rock N Roll and a song about a girl named Blanche would thrust them in a different direction. Before the end of 1955 a record called "Crazy For You" was getting a lot of New York City action thanks to deejay Alan Freed. Well this record was also by another Heartbeats group, the one that is familiar to most doo-wop lovers. To avoid confusion, our guys decided that they needed a new name for their group. About this time, they had begun to collaborate with Teddy Randazzo of the Three Chuckles. Joe Villa credits Randazzo as the one who suggested the group's new name, the Three Friends.
"Blanche" was an original song penned by the group, and inspired by a young lady who had attended their High School. The group came to the attention of Leo Rogers, who had them record the tune on his newly formed Lido label. The dreamy teen ballad was released in September of 1956 with the mid tempo "Baby I'll Cry" on the back-side. The record was reviewed in Billboard the week of October 27 and received a three stars or "very good" rating. Alan Freed liked the record, which meant it got excellent exposure on his New York City radio show, and almost immediately put the Three Friends on the map. "Blanche" became an east coast hit and landed the guys some excellent performing venues. Freed booked the group for his 1956 blockbuster Christmas show at the Brooklyn Paramount. The Three Friends shared the bill on that show with Shirley and Lee, The Moonglows, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, The Dells, Jesse Belvin, The G-Clefs and the Heartbeats. They also appeared at the prestigious Apollo theatre in Harlem.
The group had an interesting episode in the "Blanche" saga on a trip to Philadelphia in November of 1956 to promote the record with deejay Hy Litt on WHAT radio. When neither Hy Litt nor the group could find a copy of the platter, to the delight of the radio audience, they gave a live performance of "Blanche" and several other tunes.
Riding high on the success of "Blanche" the Three Friends took almost a year to release some follow up discs. The first, issued as Lido 502 in October 1957 was "I'm Only A Boy (To Her)", a teen coming of age ballad backed with "Jinx" a mid tempo pop number. Lido 504 was also released about the same time with a pairing of two ballads "Now That You're Gone" covered with "Chinese Tea Room". The groups polished pop sound may have been too "adult" sounding for teen audiences and the records failed to chart. Brunswick reissued "Jinx" paired with "Chinese Tea Room" in 1957 but didn't fare much better than Lido with the tunes. Although the group were fine singers, they could not recapture their initial success with "Blanche".
The Three Friends also used their polished harmonies to back up other artists. They can be heard (although un-credited) behind Eddie Robbins on his 1958 Power release of "Dear Parents" backed with "A Girl Like You". They also provided back-up vocals to Eddie Reardon on his 1958 Brunswick recording of "Who Is Eddie" and "Just Trying".
Following his tenure with the Three Friends, Joe Villa would go on to front a combo called the Royal Teens, who had a big success in 1958 with the novelty rocker "Short Shorts" originally released on Power and later picked up by ABC Paramount. And on some of the Royal Teens later recordings such as "Believe Me", it's none other than the Three Friends providing the vocal harmonies. After leaving the Royal Teens, Joe Villa worked as single artist, recording for a variety of labels including Dee-Lite, issuing an LP as well as several singles. He would reprise "Blanche" on two occasions, in 1963 on the Chevron label with a nice female RnB backup group and later in the 1980's, when Teddy Randazzo joined him on background vocals and production. Joe Villa continues to perform regularly as a solo artist, and also with a Three Friends group on 1950's shows. Much of the Three Friends recorded output is currently available on several various-artist compilation CDs. ~ Jim Dunn
It is Gentle Giant's first concept album, dealing with three childhood friends whose lives take them very different places. It was also their first self-produced album. The two former albums were produced by David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti.
Gary Green's guitar solo on "Peel the Paint" uses an echoplex belonging to Mike Ratledge that Green's brother Jeff, a roadie with Ratledge's band Soft Machine, had borrowed.
