A Steven Wilson remix of progressive rock band Gentle Giant‘s The Missing Piece is out now on Chrysalis Records – It’s available CD, 5.1 Blu-Ray and 180g vinyl, and includes a previously unreleased bonus track in ‘Winning’.
The Missing Piece was the band’s ninth studio album, originally released in 1977. It was a time of change. Punk and disco were altering the musical landscape and even this well-established progressive rock band were willing to explore new directions. Side one saw them experimenting with quirky pop, such as the Radio 1 played ‘Two Weeks In Spain’, a grandiose power ballad in ‘I’m Turning Around’, syncopated funk on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and even the punky aggression of ‘Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It’. Meanwhile the call and response soul shouting of ‘Mountain Time’ hearkened back to their R & B days as Simon Dupree & The Big Sound.
Normal service was resumed on side two with the breezily baroque ‘As Old As You’re Young’, ‘Memories Of Old Days’ out now on video, and the percussive ‘Winning’ setting things up for a blazing finale with ‘For Nobody’.
However, The Missing Piece remains a polarising effort amongst fans to this day, some bemused by its diversity, others enchanted by its versatility and sense of humour. It certainly proved Gentle Giant could play anything they set their minds to, albeit that it was the last Gentle Giant album to chart in the USA.
Award winning producer and musician Steven Wilson continues his association with the band, remixing the album in Dolby Atmos, Stereo and 5.1 surround sound. In addition, the digipak CD/Blu-ray version also contains an instrumental mix, the original 1977 stereo mix and videos for each track. All remixes except the Atmos contain a bonus track, a previously unreleased outtake of ‘Winning‘.
The band continued to feature Derek Shulman (Lead vocals), Kerry Minnear (Keyboards, vocals), Ray Shulman (Bass Guitar, 12 string guitar), Gary Green (Electric and acoustic guitars), and John ‘Pugwash’ Weathers (Drums and percussion).
Track featured on Side One are: ‘Two Weeks in Spain’, ‘I’m Turning Around’, ‘Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It’, ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and ‘Mountain Time’. While Side Two features: ‘As Old As You’re Young’, ‘Memories Of Old Days’, ‘Winning’, ‘For Nobody’ and as bonus track ‘Winning (Outtake)’.
Gentle Giant released a video for ‘Memories Of Old’ back in February. A yearningly elegiac number, with a particularly heartfelt vocal from Derek Shulman, you can check out the video here at RAMzine.
Previously the band issued a new video for the single ‘Two Weeks In Spain’ – Animated by Ryan Byrne, it suits the jovial nature of the song, and features a number of visual easter eggs fans will enjoy. you can also check out the video for that here at RAMzine
The Missing Piece can be ordered by clicking here.
