Three Friends - GENTLE GIANT***

Prologue/School Days/Working All Day/Peel The Paint/Mister Class & Quality/Three Friends

Three Friends from the British progressive group Gentle Giant is a concept album about three childhood friends whose lives take them to different places. It is mostly instrumental with brief vocal interludes. (US:197)

“Three Friends was the first concept album by Gentle Giant and it tells a story about three childhood friends. When the boys are young they're best friends but as they get older their lives take them in different directions.”

“Smooth progressive rock with a really good funky groove to it. Great tight playing, mellow easy to listen to melodies and harmonies, with also some complex structures in the music. The organ is a really good addition to guitar and bass, and all three of them get their moments, even going on in very playful takes with each other. A jamming feeling on some of the tracks.”

“The vocal harmonies are top notch as always, the melodies are strong but this album starts off a little slow and it seems like it takes until half way through to get warmed up before it develops into something truly interesting and then it ends too soon.”

“Three Friends defiantly lacks in quantity and needs to deliver in quality. While the songs here are good, complex and certainly progressive, they lack a key ingredient, passion. Gentle Giant have gone so over the top with the intricacy that the soul of the music is pretty diminished. While this style is likely to be pretentious, they succeeded in creating that spark on some of their other albums, but not this one.”

“The precision of the instruments and vocals, together with the clear, simple and touching lyrics creates a profusion of musical ambiance that carries the listener to empathically follow the well told story of the three friends, with the laughs and tears of their lives.”

“Gentle Giant were one of the lesser known prog bands of the 70s, but don't let their lack of radio hits scare you away. They had everything a great progressive rock group should have: complex lyrics and arrangements, lofty concepts, and above all virtuoso musicianship. Too bad music like this doesn't exist anymore and you are labelled retro if you listen to it.” .