Octopus is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1972. It was the band's last album with founding member Phil Shulman and the first with new drummer John Weathers, who would remain with the band until their dissolution in 1980. Octopus remains a highly regarded example of the progressive rock genre and is generally considered to represent the start of the band's peak period.[citation needed]
| Octopus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 December 1972 | |||
| Recorded | July 24 – August 5, 1972 | |||
| Studio | Advision, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock[1][2] | |||
| Length | 34:09 | |||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Columbia (US/Canada) | |||
| Producer | Gentle Giant | |||
| Gentle Giant chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 US and Canadian release. | ||||
Production
Octopus was allegedly named by Phil Shulman's wife Roberta[citation needed] as a pun on "octo opus" (eight musical works, reflecting the album's eight tracks).[3]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".
Musical style and themes
The album maintained Gentle Giant's trademark of broad and challenging integrated styles. One of the highlights was the intricate madrigal-styled vocal workout "Knots". The album's lyrics are generally based on literature and philosophy: "The Advent of Panurge" is inspired by the books of Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais; "A Cry for Everyone" is inspired by the work and beliefs of the French-Algerian writer Albert Camus, while the song "Knots" is inspired by the book Knots by the Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing.
Releases
On 30 October 2015, a Steven Wilson remix was released on CD/Blu-ray via the band's Alucard label. Three tracks (1, 2 & 5)[4] could not be discretely remixed since one multi-track reel was missing. Instead, those three tracks were upmixed to 5.1 surround using the Penteo surround software. The remaining five tracks were remixed to 5.1 by Steven Wilson.[5]
Cover
The UK release by Vertigo featured art by Roger Dean. Dean's logo appears inside the lyrics booklet.
US and Canadian releases were released by Columbia and used a different cover by Charles White. Early versions of this cover were die-cut into a jar shape.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
Later reviews about the album have remained positive. AllMusic have declared that Octopus is "an album that has withstood the test of time a lot better than anyone might have expected."[6]
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".[7] In The 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time, by ProgMagazine, Octopus stands at number 65.[8]
In 2013, progressive death metal band Witherscape covered the track "A Cry for Everyone", and issued it for release on their The Inheritance album.[9]
The 2015 reissue of the album, mixed by Steven Wilson, entered the BBC Rock Chart at No. 34.[10]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kerry Minnear and Ray Shulman (music); lyrics jointly written by Derek Shulman and Phil Shulman (according to the 2015 Steven Wilson remix)
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Advent of Panurge" | Minnear | 4:41 |
| 2. | "Raconteur Troubadour" | Minnear | 4:01 |
| 3. | "A Cry for Everyone" | R. Shulman | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Knots" | Minnear | 4:11 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Boys in the Band" | R. Shulman | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Dog's Life" | R. Shulman | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Think of Me with Kindness" | Minnear | 3:34 |
| 4. | "River" | R. Shulman | 5:53 |
Personnel
- Gentle Giant
- Gary Green - electric guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8), percussion
- Kerry Minnear - piano (tracks 1-5, 7, 8), Hammond organ (tracks 1-5, 7, 8), Minimoog (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8), electric piano (tracks 2, 4, 8), Mellotron (tracks 2, 7, 8), Clavinet (track 1, 4), regal (track 6), vibraphone (tracks 4, 8), cello (tracks 2, 6), percussion, lead vocals (tracks 1, 4 and 7), backing vocals
- Derek Shulman - lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 8), alto saxophone (track 5)
- Phil Shulman - trumpet (tracks 1, 2), tenor saxophone (tracks 4, 5), baritone saxophone (track 4), mellophone (track 7), lead vocals (tracks 1, 4, 6 and 8), backing vocals
- Ray Shulman - bass guitar, violin (tracks 2, 5, 6), viola (track 6), electric violin (tracks 4, 8), acoustic guitar (track 6), percussion, backing vocals
- John Weathers - drums (tracks 1-5, 7, 8), bongos (tracks 3, 8), varispeed cymbal (tracks 4, 8), xylophone (tracks 4, 6)
Production
- Gentle Giant - Production
- Martin Rushent - Engineering
- Cliff Morris - Mastering
- Geoff Young - Tape operator
- Murray Krugman - Over-all American Supervision
Design
- John Berg - Cover concept & design
- Fluid Drive - Art
- Charles White III - Illustration
- Kenny Kneitel - Design
- Michael Doret - Lettering
Charts
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[11] | 170 |
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[12] | 34 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 December 1972 | Vertigo Records |
| United States | February 1973 | Columbia Records |
Literature
- Sivy, Robert Jacob (2016). Philippe Gonin (ed.). "Interwoven Patterns and Mutual Misunderstandings: Binding R.D. Laing's Psychology with Gentle Giant's Knots". Prog Rock in Europe: Overview of a persistent musical style. Dijon: Éditions universitaires de Dijon: 131–143. ISBN 9782364411753. (Conference journal. Analysis of the song Knots)