Limited Edition 30-Disc Box Set Released December 6, 2019
Authorised by all band members
Madfish proudly present the ultimate box set of Gentle Giant
music - Unburied Treasure. Highly regarded in the prog-rock world for the 12
albums they released between 1970 and 1980, this comprehensive set sees the
band’s catalogue augmented by 15 new concert albums: seven never previously
released, seven never previously officially released and one never previously
released on CD. The 30-disc total also includes two posthumous live/outtake albums
and a Blu-ray bonus disc. Also included are books, posters, replica promotional
items and much more.
Unburied Treasure will be released on 6th December and is
limited to 2000 copies. Fans can pre-order it from here now:
https://madfish.lnk.to/GGunburiedtreasure
Gentle Giant members - Malcolm Mortimore, Kerry Minnear,
Derek Shulman & Gary Green – reunited to unbox the first-ever copy of
Unburied Treasure in front of fans at the 20th anniversary of GORGG (Global
On-Reflection Giant Gathering) in New Jersey, USA, October 2019.
Watch the band also reminisce over photos, albums,
performances and memorabilia: https://youtu.be/5L6kwOdTjHA
Giant emerged from the ashes of chart hitmakers Simon Dupree
and the Big Sound to become standard-bearers of the Seventies progressive
movement. Their career often paralleled Genesis, their neighbours in the record
racks, but while they frequently fought shy of commerciality – largely due to
their pop past – and paid the price in sales terms, their uncompromising
attitude won them a strong following in continental Europe.
They also enjoyed cult status in the States. When Frank
Zappa was asked in 1978 who he was currently listening to, he namechecked Queen
and Gentle Giant. (Coincidentally, Roy Thomas Baker not only engineered Giant's
earliest sessions but went on to produce the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.)
Strictly limited to 2,000 copies, this lavishly presented
collection is clad in Bob Venables' new artwork, based on the iconic sleeve
created by illustrator and Bowie alumnus George Underwood for the band’s
Vertigo label debut in 1970. That full album has been remixed for this
release's Blu-ray disc by prolific rock musician Steven Wilson, whose
reputation for remixing prog-rock classics in recent years is second to none.
The remix is available in high resolution 96/24 Stereo LPCM, 96/24 5.1 surround
LPCM and DTS-HD 5.1 surround mixes, and the instrumental mixes for every track
are also included.
The foundation of the set is the dozen albums officially
released during Gentle Giant's 11 years as a recording act – but, for all their
studio skills, Giant's musical abilities were given freest rein on stage. Yet
only one live album, 1977's double vinyl Playing The Fool, was issued in their
lifetime, so fans will be in seventh heaven at the prospect of 15 unreleased
sets. Covering almost every period of the band's existence, they allow the
individual members' multi-instrumental abilities to be appreciated to their
fullest extent.
Arrangements were changed and refined from tour to tour,
including many segues and medleys, so these concert recordings offer
year-by-year evidence of the band's progression. All the music, live and
studio, has been remastered by Pete Reynolds, acclaimed for his work on the
Wishbone Ash box of 2018.
The audio experience is enhanced by a magnificent 136-page
coffee table book. This combines rare photographs and memorabilia with a
painstakingly researched history by Alan Kinsman. A fan for 45 years, he has
achieved the near impossible by interviewing all members of the band in depth,
including Phil Shulman who left brothers Derek and Ray to pilot the band in
1973 after providing much of the initial impetus. The result is a must-read
that will unlock many mysteries, clear up misunderstandings and finally give
the music the context it deserves.
Also exclusive to this limited-edition set are:
A band photo signed by the classic line-up of Derek Shulman,
Ray Shulman, Gary Green, Kerry Minnear and John Weathers.
An exclusive 96-page tour history book compiled by Jack
Skelly offering informed commentary on the live recordings, set lists,
on-the-road memorabilia and more.
Two replica posters, one from Giant’s debut gig in 1970 and
the other promoting 1974's classic The Power And The Glory album.
Replicas of album giveaway items: the Playing The Fool LP
booklet (included with the initial pressing only) and the Giant For A Day mask.
A replica of the jigsaw used to promote the Missing Piece
album.
The chance to win a reproduction of Giant's rarest ever
piece of memorabilia – a screen-printed mirror produced to promote The Power
And The Glory; only 100 were originally created. A golden 'missing piece'
included at random in one box set may be traded in by the lucky winner for this
coveted item.
For too long prog-rock's best-kept secret, Gentle Giant
finally achieved wider recognition in 2015, upsetting the odds to scoop Prog
magazine's coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. Two years later, their home city
of Portsmouth honoured their achievements both as a band and individually by
inducting them into the Hall of Fame at the Guildhall; Derek went on to become
a leading record-business figure, Ray a noted producer. Unburied Treasure is
further recognition that this was a band ahead of its time, and one whose
unwillingness to compromise has ultimately enhanced its legacy.
“Giant always set out to have a good time and to make sure
the audience had a good time,” says drummer John Weathers. “We'd always go on
and see if we could play better than we did the night before. I can't wait to
see this definitive box set.”
Derek Shulman would “like Gentle Giant to be remembered as a
group with integrity. It wasn't done for any other reason than simply being
together playing music and challenging ourselves to be better. We hated
compromise, and we had a lot of integrity in terms of what the music was
about.”
For fans of quality progressive rock, Unburied Treasure is
the motherlode.
Watch the Unburied Treasure trailer here:
https://youtu.be/xlGEKIAyVJo
Pre-order the box set here:
https://madfish.lnk.to/GGunburiedtreasure
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