The band's onetime stated aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular," although this stance was to alter significantly with time. While never achieving the commercial heights of progressive rock contemporaries such as Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes or Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gentle Giant was considered to be one of the most experimental bands in the genre (as well as one of the most experimental rock bands of the 1970s).
Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated mediaeval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal events but from philosophy and the works of both François Rabelais and R. D. Laing.
Band members:
Members of classic lineup listed in bold.
Derek Shulman - lead vocals, saxophone, recorder, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, "Shulberry" (3-string custom electric ukulele) (1970-1980)
Ray Shulman - bass, trumpet, violin, vocals, viola, drums, percussion, recorder, guitar (1970-1980)
Kerry Minnear - keyboards, lead vocals (on recordings only), cello, vibraphone, xylophone, recorder, guitar, bass, drums (1970-1980)
Gary Green - guitar, mandolin, vocals, recorder, bass, drums, xylophone (1970-1980)
John Weathers - drums, percussion, vibraphone, xylophone, vocals, guitar (1972-1980)
Phil Shulman - lead vocals, saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, recorder, percussion (1970–72)
Martin Smith - drums, percussion (1970–1971)
Malcolm Mortimore - drums, percussion (1971–1972)
Interview
Gentle Giant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we're together even now.
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Isn't it clear just when and how.
What can we tell you?
At the beginning had no direction,
Any other way.
After the fourth one, realization,
Well we all hear, everyone, no-one,
Not to not say, we like a lot.
Want to be seen rock and roll music,
Don't take us something that we're not.
True it looks better, tide looks like turning,
So all in all we feel we are alright.
Yes we had troubles, much more than many,
Rather have none and do we think what's right.
What are your plans for the future now?
And can you say who does the writing then?
How did you get who gave the name of the band?
Now that he's gone, turn off our faces,
Wait for the new man to arrive.
Soon the same song, sung for the next one,
Saying our piece, though not alive.
What can we tell you?
At the beginning had no direction,
Any other way.
After the fourth one, realization,
Finding our road, the same as if today.
The lyrics to Gentle Giant's "Interview" reflect the band's experience in the music industry, particularly in terms of their early struggles to find direction and establish themselves as rock and roll musicians. The opening lines, "Yes it's been hard, going a long time/And we're together even now," suggest that the band has faced adversity and challenges throughout their career, but have persevered and remained united.
The second stanza describes the band's early struggles to find their sound and style, with the lyrics "At the beginning had no direction/Any other way." However, the fourth album marked a turning point, with the lyrics "After the fourth one, realization/Finding our road, the same as if today" suggesting that the band had finally found their niche and established their musical identity.
The final stanza reflects the transience of the music industry, with the lyrics "Now that he's gone, turn off our faces/Wait for the new man to arrive." The band recognizes that they will inevitably face changes and challenges, but they remain committed to their music and their artistry.
Overall, the lyrics to "Interview" reflect the band's mature perspective on their experiences in the music industry, recognizing both the challenges and rewards of their chosen career path.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes it's been hard, going a long time
We've faced a lot of challenges over the years.
And we're together even now.
Despite the difficulties we've faced, we're still a band and still united.
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
We're not sure why you're asking this question - our story has been well-documented.
Isn't it clear just when and how.
Our story should be clear to anyone who has followed our career.
What can we tell you?
We're open to answering any questions you might have.
At the beginning had no direction,
When we first started out, we weren't sure what our sound should be.
Any other way.
We tried a lot of different approaches to find our sound.
After the fourth one, realization,
It took us a few albums, but we finally figured out our identity as a band.
Finding our road, the same as if today.
That identity is still with us and informs our music to this day.
Well we all hear, everyone, no-one,
Our music is for everyone - it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from.
Not to not say, we like a lot.
We're proud of our music and enjoy playing it.
Want to be seen rock and roll music,
We see ourselves as a rock and roll band and want to be recognized as such.
Don't take us something that we're not.
We don't want to be pigeonholed into a particular genre or style that doesn't reflect who we are.
True it looks better, tide looks like turning,
Things are going well for us and we're optimistic about the future.
So all in all we feel we are alright.
Overall, we're doing well and are satisfied with where we're at.
Yes we had troubles, much more than many,
Despite our success, we've also faced our fair share of difficulties and setbacks.
Rather have none and do we think what's right.
We'd prefer not to have had those problems, but we try to learn from them and always do what we think is best.
What are your plans for the future now?
We have plans for the future and are excited about what's to come.
And can you say who does the writing then?
We're open to discussing our creative process and who contributes to our music.
How did you get who gave the name of the band?
We're happy to share the story of how we came up with our name.
Now that he's gone, turn off our faces,
We mourn the loss of our former bandmate.
Wait for the new man to arrive.
But we also look forward to working with new musicians in the future.
Soon the same song, sung for the next one,
Our music will remain true to our identity, even if our lineup changes.
Saying our piece, though not alive.
Our music will always represent us, even if we're no longer around to perform it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CARLY SIMON, DON WAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eduardo Augusto
[Spoken intro]
[?]
"And who are you?"
"Oh I'm, Derek"
"And what's your surname?"
"Shulman"
"Where should we begin then?"
[Verse 1]
Yeah it's been hard, going a long time
And we're together even now
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Isn't it clear just when and how
[Chorus]
What can we tell you? At the beginning
Had no direction any other way
After the fourth one, realisation
Finding our road, the same as if today
[Verse 2]
Yeah, we all hear, everyone, no-one
Not to not say, we like a lot
Want to be seen rock and roll music
Don't take us something that we're not
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[Chours]
True it looks better, tide looks like turning
So, all in all, we feel we are alright
Yes, we've had troubles, much more than many
Rather have none and do we think what's right
[Bridge]
What are your plans for the future now?
And can you say who does the writing then?
How did you get -- who gave the name of the band?
[Whispered bridge]
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
Why do you ask? Surely you know it!
Had no direction any other way
[Verse 3]
Now that he's gone, turn off our faces
Wait for the new man to arrive
Soon the same song, sung for the next one
Saying our piece, though not alive
[Chours]
What can we tell you? At the beginning
Had no direction any other way
After the fourth one, realisation
Finding our road, the same as if today
[Verse 4]
Well we all hear, everyone, no-one
Not to not say, we like a lot
Want to be seen rock and roll music
Don't take us something that we're not
[Chorus]
True it looks better, tide looks like turning
So all in all we feel we are alright
Yes we had troubles, much more than many
Rather have none and do we think what's right
Luka Meah
Minnear's piano solo is inimitable. Part honky-tonk blues, part Monk, part Stravinsky. Truly underrated keyboardist.
fernando perdomo
John Weathers and Ray Shulman were one of the best rhythm sections of all time.. not just for their sheer talent and groove but for the amazing sound of their instruments... That gold sparkle ludwig kit and precision bass were absolutely fine tuned machines of prog warfare!
James Littlewood
They really were. And with very little in the way of drama or ego within the band, especially once Pugwash was in and Phil had left (no offence to Phil or any of Pugwash's predecessors by any means, they were all fab but obviously lineup changes tend to involve tension etc) and they entered the Free Hand era and so forth, it really shows that all the members genuinely had a wonderful time with each other and appreciated each other's talents and skills. John and Ray bounced off each other so well, but the others did too. Their energy at live concerts was so infectious, big grins, smiles, jokes and good times all round. There was no limelight hogging, no nonsense, just a bunch of guys all passionate about music in different ways giving every note their best. I wish I could have seen them in person!
Tony Komarytska
@James Littlewood I'm only hearing them for the first time. Strange vibes. Immediately, I want to reference classic Yes. I even heard some Jon Anderson in the drummer's vocal solo. I even heard a little Alan Parsons. Did this band get a lot of the comparisons whilst coming up?
James Littlewood
@Tony Komarytska I'd imagine that contemporary comparisons were somewhat uncommon and not always accurate. With GG being made of of musicians with a very broad spectrum of individual influences (for example Kerry Minnear being classically trained, Gary Green being a blues guitarist, Ray being a jazz fan, etc) and therefore a multitude of different styles forming their sound, causing even different songs on the same album to appear to be totally different genres to a layman, so comparisons would have probably seemed a little difficult and some I've seen from articles and posters of the time were definitely amusing. With the benefit of hindsight and the internet it's much easier to ring-fence or quantify things but I can understand why at the time they'd have seemed very unusual. Sometimes when supporting other artists on tour they'd be literally booed off stage! And yet other headliners' fans roared and cheered for GG even more than the act they'd presumably paid to see. A weird one for sure - and part of what I like about them. They were utterly unafraid (especially from Free Hand onwards) to do what they wanted, not what others felt they should.
Bill Griffin
@ProblemProductionsLD To be fair, they were bood offstage by Black Sabbath fans, which I've seen give the Outlaws a rude response (it was probably one guy armed with rolls of toilet paper and impeccable aim-he hit Huey's microphone twice with two shots. Huey didn't come back the second time but they were doing their encore by then)
fernando perdomo
@Bill Griffin Black Sabbath fans are not a good musical barometer...
Feijó Fabiano
The best band of all time🤤
chuck z.
confirmed.
Freddie’s Overbite
I wholeheartedly concur