Tracks Side 1:

1. Prologue (6:15)

2. School Days (7:37)

3. Working All Day (5:12)

 

Tracks Side 2:

1. PEEL The Paint (7:31)

2. Mister Class And Quality (5:51)

3. Three Friends (3:02)

Listen On YouTube:

GENTLE GIANT's third effort 'Three Friends ' was their First concept album, and may I add that they managedToKeep On exploring consistently in their own abilitiesTo expand creativelyThe boundariesof rock. The remiscences of childhood and school days and The respective portraitsofThe three characters are used in orderTo provide some intellectual unityFORThe repertoire, although clearly each track works as an individualFOR its own merits. Generally speaking, it doesn't equal The level of perfection incarnated in its immediate predecessor ('AcquiringTheTaste ') and successor ('Octopus '), sinceThe repertoire doesn't exhibit as much exquisiteness as inThe aforementioned albums - yet it's appropriateTo consider it as Oneof their greatest achievements, both in their own career and inTheGENERAL contextofThe prog genre. The overall Sound in The album feels at times rockier than ever before, specially inThe fairly aggressive and/or distorted guitar and organ sections, and sometimesThe wah-wah electric violin (pay attentionTo tracks 3, 4 and 5), as well as new drummer Malcolm Mortimore's solid playing:HIS stylings are as jazz-infected asHIS predecessor's, but Mortimore displaysA tighter punch in HIS performance. As always, The vocal parts are delicious and varied, The sax parts are colorful enough, and last but not least... Both master keyboardsman Kerry Minnear's and bassist extraordinaire Ray Shulman's playing are immaculately precise. The weird melodic lines and chord progressions of 'Prologue' are actually quite catchy, and so is The half-Celtic/half-bluesy hard rocker 'Mister Class and Quality?'... and let's not skip THE SWEET , deceitfully naive melancholy of 'Schooldays' orThe cynical disappointmentof 'Working AllDay '. But The absolute highlights IMHO are ' PEELThe Paint' andThe closing title track. The former is an awesome two-part minisuite, featuring an exciting guitar/drum kit Cream-meets-TenYearsAfter jam in The second part's interlude. 'Three Friends ', which completes The musical ambience delivered by 'Mister Class and Quality?', is built upon beautiful layersof organ and mellotron: it comprises an eerie, brilliant choral coda thatSTILL echoes inThe listener's ears afterThe song ends. Undisputedly, this is One ofThe best vocal arrangements in GG's history. What A way To end an album!! Once You Know this song, it doesn't leave youMind - in fact, it'sTheFirstSound that comesTo myMind every time I evoke this album's title. Well, as I said before, this is an excellent work that doesn't reach The status of perfection... but almost - A sort of masterpiece, anyway. ( CESAR Inca/progarchives.com)

Derek Shulman - Vocals
Philip Shulman - saxophones, vocals
Gary Green - guitar, percussion
Ray Shulman - bass, violin, twelve-string guitar, vocals
Kerry Minnear - keyboards, vibraphones, percussion, synthesizers, vocals 
Malcolm Mortimore - drums
&
Calvin Shulman - Boy's Voice (Track 2)

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