Gentle Giant – Unburied Treasure – Box 29 CD + 1 Blu-ray Audio Alucard – 6-12-2019

Come lascia intuire l’etichetta che lo pubblica, che è quella personale del gruppo, il cofanetto pantagruelico (per rimanere all’interno della iconografia dei Gentle Giant) non sarà indubbiamente facile da reperire, considerando pure che si tratterà di una edizione “limitata” a 2.000 copie per tutto il mondo (che non sono poi così poche considerando che il manufatto dovrebbe avere, a seconda dei paesi, un prezzo molto indicativo tra i 300 e i 400 euro). In ogni caso per gli appassionati della band si tratta, per chi se la può permettere, di un’opera imperdibile: contiene i 12 album originali pubblicati tra il 1970 e il 1980 (compreso il live Playing The Fool), 15 CD di materiale dal vivo, di cui 7 mai pubblicati prima, 7 che hanno circolato solo a livello non ufficiale, e uno mai prima disponibile in CD, inoltre due album postumi, uno dal vivo del 1971 Winchester e uno di outtakes del 1977 intitolato Pinewood Rehearsal. Oltre al Blu-ray audio del primo disco omonimo, remixato da Steven Wilson in 96/24 Stereo LPCM, 96/24 5.1 surround LPCM e DTS-HD 5.1 surround, per ciò che riguarda i contenuti musicali. Poi, come vedete dall’immagine sopra, ci sono anche due libri, uno rilegato da 136 pagine che racconta la storia dei Gentle Giant, e ancora foto rare,un puzzle, pass di concerti e memorabilia varia, tra cui una foto autografata da Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, Gary Green, Kerry Minnear e John Weathers, ovvero alcuni dei componenti originari del gruppo, escluso il batterista Weathers subentrato nel 1972. Dimenticavo il secondo libretto di 96 pagine che traccia la storia concertistica della band.

La grafica della copertina del cofanetto rielabora il disegno quella del primo album del 1970: i 15 concerti inediti sono questi riportati qui sotto.

• Essen 1972 *
• New Orleans 1972 (feat. three previously unreleased BBC recordings)
• Hollywood Bowl 1972 *
• Vicenza 1973 *
• Torino 1973
• Munster 1974 *
• St Gallen 1974 *
• Cleveland Agora 1975
• Basel 1975 *
• Dusseldorf 1976 Part 1 †
• Dusseldorf & Brussels 1976 Part 2 †
• Munich 1976 †
• Paris 1976 †
• Chester 1977
• Roxy 1980

* Audience recording remastered for the highest possible quality, che tradotto vuol dire che quelli con l’asterisco sono vecchi bootleg registrati tra il pubblico.

In ogni caso, per chi ha la pazienza di leggersi tutto, ecco la lista completa e dettagliata dei contenuti dei dischetti inclusi nel box.

CD 1 – Gentle Giant

1. Giant [06:22]
2. Funny Ways [04:27]
3. Alucard [06:01]
4. Isn’t It Quiet And Cold? [03:46]
5. Nothing At All [09:07]
6. Why Not? [05:31]
7. The Queen [01:40]

CD 2 – Acquiring The Taste

1. Pantagruel’s Nativity [06:49]
2. Edge Of Twilight [03:48]
3. The House, The Street, The Room [06:04]
4. Acquiring The Taste [01:36]
5. Wreck [04:37]
6. The Moon Is Down [04:45]
7. Black Cat [03:53]
8. Plain Truth [07:42]

CD 3 – Three Friends

1. Prologue [06:11]
2. Schooldays [07:33]
3. Working All Day [05:08]
4. Peel The Paint [07:27]
5. Mister Class And Quality? [05:51]
6. Three Friends [03:02]

CD 4 – Octopus

1. The Advent Of Panurge [04:40]
2. Raconteur, Troubadour [04:01]
3. A Cry For Everyone [04:01]
4. Knots [04:08]
5. The Boys In The Band [04:32]
6. Dog’s Life [03:10]
7. Think Of Me With Kindness [03:32]
8. River [05:52]

CD 5 – In A Glass House

1. The Runaway [07:24]
2. An Inmate’s Lullaby [04:30]
3. Way Of Life [07:53]
4. Experience [07:50]
5. A Reunion [02:11]
6. In A Glass House [08:08]

CD 6 – The Power And The Glory

1. Proclamation [06:47]
2. So Sincere[03:48]
3. Aspirations [04:38]
4. Playing The Game [06:43]
5. Cogs In Cogs [03:07]
6. No God’s A Man [04:28]
7. The Face [04:11]
8. Valedictory [03:17]

Bonus Track

9. The Power And The Glory – single [02:52]

CD 7 – Free Hand

1. Just The Same [05:34]
2. On Reflection [05:43]
3. Free Hand [06:15]
4. Time To Kill [06:06]
5. His Last Voyage [06:27]
6. Talybont [02:40]
7. Mobile [05:03]

CD 8 – Interview

1. Interview [06:51]
2. Give It Back [05:09]
3. Design [05:02]
4. Another Show[03:31]
5. Empty City (Interview) [04:39]
6. Timing [04:34]
7. I Lost My Head [06:59]

CD 9 – Playing The Fool – live

1. Just The Same/Proclamation [11:13]
2. On Reflection [06:21]
3. Excerpts From Octopus [15:36]
4. Funny Ways [08:28]
5. The Runaway/Experience [09:29]
6. So Sincere [10:19]
7. Free Hand [07:37]
8. Sweet Georgia Brown [01:18]
9. Peel The Paint/I Lost My Head [07:32]

CD 10 – The Missing Piece

1. Two Weeks In Spain [03:06]
2. I’m Turning Around [03:59]
3. Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It [02:21]
4. Who Do You Think You Are? [03:32]
5. Mountain Time [03:23]
6. As Old As You’re Young [04:21]
7. Memories Of Old Days [07:19]
8. Winning [04:14]
9. For Nobody [04:04]

CD 11 – Giant For A Day

1. Words From The Wise [04:12]
2. Thank You [04:47]
3. Giant For A Day [03:47]
4. Spookie Boogie [02:52]
5. Take Me [03:34]
6. Little Brown Bag [03:24]
7. Friends [01:58]
8. No Stranger [02:28]
9. It’s Only Goodbye [04:15]
10. Rock Climber [03:51]

CD 12 – Civilian

1. Convenience (Clean And Easy)[03:13]
2. All Through The Night [04:23]
3. Shadows On The Street [03:16]
4. Number One [04:44]
5. Underground [03:49]
6. I Am Camera [03:32]
7. Inside Out [05:52]
8. It’s Not Imagination [03:58]

Bonus Track

9. Heroes [04:47]

CD 13

1. Giant (Winchester 1971) [05:31]
2. Hometown Special (Winchester 1971) [05:24]
3. City Hermit (Winchester 1971) [05:56]
4. Funny Ways (Winchester 1971) [08:42]
5. Plain Truth (Winchester 1971) [10:46]
6. Alucard (Winchester 1971) [08:47]
7. Isn’t It Quiet And Cold? (Winchester 1971) [02:30]
8. Why Not? (Winchester 1971) [04:59]
9. The Queen (Winchester 1971) [02:58]
10. Peel Off The Paint (Winchester 1971) [08:51]

CD 14

1. Alucard (Essen 1972) [07:44]
2. Funny Ways (Essen 1972) [10:32]
3. Nothing At All (with Malcolm Mortimore drum solo) (Essen 1972) [12:55]
4. Plain Truth (Essen 1972) [09:21]
5. The Queen (Essen 1972) [02:10]

CD 15

1. Prologue (New Orleans 1972) [06:04]
2. Alucard (New Orleans 1972) [06:23]
3. Funny Ways (New Orleans 1972) [07:32]
4. Nothing At All (New Orleans 1972) [02:23]
5. Funny Ways (BBC Session 1972) [07:15]
6. Plain Truth (BBC Session 1972) [06:42]
7. The Advent Of Panurge (BBC Session 1972) [04:47]

CD 16

1. Prologue (Hollywood Bowl 1972) [08:16]
2. Alucard (Hollywood Bowl 1972) [08:00]
3. Funny Ways (Hollywood Bowl 1972) [08:24]
4. Nothing At All/Plain Truth (Hollywood Bowl 1972) [23:56]

CD 17

1. Prologue (Vicenza 1973) [06:12]
2. Alucard (Vicenza 1973) [08:05]
3. Funny Ways (Vicenza 1973) [09:42]
4. The Advent Of Panurge (Vicenza 1973) [07:08]
5. Nothing At All (Vicenza 1973) [13:49]
6. Plain Truth (Vicenza 1973) [14:21]

CD 18

1. The Runaway (Torino 1973) [05:42]
2. Way Of Life (Torino 1973) [07:10]
3. Funny Ways (Torino 1973) [08:50]
4. Excerpts From Octopus (Torino 1973) [12:46]
5. Nothing At All (Torino 1973) [15:27]
6. Plain Truth (Torino 1973) [07:16]

CD 19

1. The Runaway (Munster 1974) [10:04]
2. Prologue (Munster 1974) [06:13]
3. Funny Ways (Munster 1974) [09:22]
4. Excerpts From Octopus (Munster 1974) [13:14]
5. Nothing At All (Munster 1974) [15:53]
6. Plain Truth (Munster 1974) [13:53]
7. In A Glass House (Munster 1974) [09:26]

CD 20

1. Cogs In Cogs (St Gallen 1974) [04:20]
2. Proclamation (St Gallen 1974) [05:14]
3. Funny Ways (St Gallen 1974) [09:26]
4. The Runaway (St Gallen 1974) [03:41]
5. Experience (St Gallen 1974) [07:08]
6. Excerpts From Octopus (St Gallen 1974) [14:35]
7. Nothing At All (St Gallen 1974) [16:42]
8. Plain Truth (St Gallen 1974) [13:19]

CD 21

1. Cogs In Cogs (Cleveland 1975) [03:12]
2. Proclamation (Cleveland 1975) [05:02]
3. Funny Ways (Cleveland 1975) [08:48]
4. The Runaway (Cleveland 1975) [03:54]
5. Experience (Cleveland 1975) [05:59]
6. Excerpts From Octopus (Cleveland 1975) [13:27]
7. So Sincere (Cleveland 1975) [09:21]
8. Mister Class And Quality? (Cleveland 1975) [05:08]

CD 22

1. Cogs In Cogs (Basel 1975) [05:51]
2. Proclamation (Basel 1975) [05:03]
3. Funny Ways (Basel 1975) [08:29]
4. The Runaway (Basel 1975) [03:56]
5. Experience (Basel 1975) [03:52]
6. Excerpts From Octopus (Basel 1975) [15:36]
7. So Sincere (Basel 1975) [10:44]
8. Plain Truth (Basel 1975) [09:04]
9. Free Hand (Basel 1975) [08:38]
10. Just The Same (Basel 1975) [06:10]

CD 23

1. Just The Same/Proclamation (Dusseldorf 1976) [13:04]
2. On Reflection (Dusseldorf 1976) [06:10]
3. Interview (Dusseldorf 1976) [06:58]
4. The Runaway/Experience (Dusseldorf 1976) [10:41]
5. So Sincere (Dusseldorf 1976) [10:03]
6. Excerpts From Octopus (Dusseldorf 1976) [17:16]
7. Funny Ways – snippet (Dusseldorf 1976) [00:43]

CD 24

1. Timing/Violin Solo (Dusseldorf 1976) [10:45]
2. Free Hand (Dusseldorf 1976) [08:47]
3. Peel The Paint/I Lost My Head (Dusseldorf 1976) [07:24]
4. Timing/Violin Solo (Brussels 1976) [11:22]
5. Free Hand (Brussels 1976) [09:42]
6. Peel The Paint/I Lost My Head (Brussels 1976) [07:21]

CD 25

1. Just The Same/Proclamation (Munich 1976) [12:19]
2. On Reflection (Munich 1976) [06:18]
3. Interview (Munich 1976) [07:26]
4. Excerpts From Octopus (Munich 1976) [17:22]
5. Funny Ways (Munich 1976) [08:45]

CD 26

1. The Runaway/Experience (Paris 1976) [10:13]
2. So Sincere (Paris 1976) [10:49]
3. Excerpts From Octopus (Paris 1976) [18:02]
4. Funny Ways (Paris 1976) [08:34]
5. Timing/Violin Solo (Paris 1976) [11:21]
6. Free Hand (Paris 1976) [08:59]
7. Peel The Paint/I Lost My Head (Paris 1976) [07:23]

CD 27

1. The Runaway/Experience (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [09:52]
2. As Old As You’re Young (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [05:18]
3. On Reflection (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [06:35]
4. Just The Same/Playing The Game (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [10:00]
5. Memories Of Old Days (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [06:58]
6. Winning (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [07:47]
7. For Nobody – part (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [02:52]
8. Funny Ways (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [07:47]
9. The Face/Plain Truth (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [04:17]
10. So Sincere (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [09:17]
11. Free Hand (Pinewood Rehearsal 1977) [02:34]

CD 28

1. Two Weeks In Spain (Chester 1977) [03:00]
2. Free Hand (Chester 1977) [08:10]
3. On Reflection (Chester 1977) [05:59]
4. I’m Turning Around (Chester 1977) [04:07]
5. Just The Same/Playing The Game (Chester 1977) [09:51]
6. Memories Of Old Days (Chester 1977) [07:45]
7. Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It (Chester 1977) [04:20]
8. The Face (Chester 1977) [14:25]
9. For Nobody (Chester 1977) [04:28]
10. Excerpts From Octopus – part 1 (Chester 1977) [06:05]
11. Excerpts From Octopus – part 2 (Chester 1977) [09:56]

CD 29

1. Convenience (Clean And Easy) (The Roxy 1980) [03:21]
2. All Through The Night (The Roxy 1980) [04:12]
3. Free Hand (The Roxy 1980) [08:28]
4. Knots (The Roxy 1980) [02:41]
5. Playing The Game (The Roxy 1980) [06:05]
6. Memories Of Old Days (The Roxy 1980) [08:13]
7. Giant For A Day (The Roxy 1980) [05:19]
8. Inside Out (The Roxy 1980) [06:03]
9. It`s Not Imagination (The Roxy 1980) [03:52]
10. Underground (The Roxy 1980) [03:40]
11. 5 Man Drum Solo (The Roxy 1980) [06:47]
12. Band Member Introductions (The Roxy 1980) [02:09]
13. For Nobody (The Roxy 1980) [04:51]
14. The Advent Of Panurge (The Roxy 1980) [07:14]
15. Number One (The Roxy 1980) [06:29]

Blu-Ray

1. Giant (Gentle Giant) [06:22]
2. Funny Ways (Gentle Giant) [04:27]
3. Alucard (Gentle Giant) [06:01]
4. Isn’t It Quiet And Cold? (Gentle Giant) [03:46]
5. Nothing At All (Gentle Giant) [09:07]
6. Why Not? (Gentle Giant) [05:31]
7. The Queen (Gentle Giant) [01:40]

Per il sottoscritto i primi quattro album dei Gentle Giant sono dei capolavori assoluti del prog rock britannico, i dischi dal quinto all’ottavo più il Live sono dei dischi comunque ottimi e gli ultimi tre non sono comunque disprezzabili e ci permettono di ascoltare una delle formazioni più formidabili a livello tecnico, sia strumentale che vocale, della storia del rock tout court, in grado di intrecci sonori veramente superbi. Li ho visti dal vivo e vi posso assicurare che erano fenomenali, e negli anni ’70 erano molto popolari in Italia, se la battevano come fama con Genesis e Van Der Graaf Generator, come testimonia uno dei CD dal vivo, registrato a Torino. All’interno del post trovate alcuni video per confermare questa affermazione: veramente un tesoro dissepolto!

Esce come detto il 6 dicembre.

Bruno Conti