Nice remaster for transitional album from the band 3 1/2 sta
Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 02/27/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Drastic measures had to be taken because Gentle Giant had reached a plateau and couldn't move beyond it; the band had a big following in the U.S. but they still hadn't cracked the top 20 in album sales. "The Missing Piece" was the radical surgery the band felt they needed at the time--making a more accessible album that would reach the same audience as Yes.
Gentle Giant felt that they had something to prove (hence "Betcha Think We Couldn't Do It")with "The Missing Piece".
The remaster of "The Missing Piece" doesn't sound quite as "harsh" as the previous CD incarnations and because it's drawn from the original master tapes improves on some earlier reissues of teh album. The bonus live performance of "For Nobody" (which could be from a sound board recording but sounds more like it was pulled from a bootleg) isn't included here. It would be nice to see a live album from this period of the band released and based on some comments from Derek Shulman perhaps it will happen (as an archive type limited release). Keep your fingers crossed because while "The Missing Piece" isn't "In a Glass House", "Free Hand" or "Octopus", it's still a good album worth exploring.
The only way to improve this release would have been to make it a two disc set with a live disc from the same period/some outtakes and/or liner notes on the making of the album. If you have the DRT this reissue is a slight improvement on that that release.
"The Missing Piece" wasn't that album. While it IS a compromise of sorts it also was a bold, new direction whether it was the RIGHT direction is based on how you feel about Gentle Giant. I actually like "The Missing Piece" and if you combine the best tracks from this album with "Giant for a Day" (particularly "Word for the Wise")you'd have a four star album. The change in direction gave guitarist Gary Green more room to solo and, in a sense, moved the Shulman's closer to their original sound (The Howling Wolves, The Road Runners and the early singles of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound) while incorporating elements of Giant's sound.
"The Missing Piece" in retrospect 32 years on is a good album with an exceptional band searching for a new valid direction.
"
Actually got better with age
David Sleger | West Allis, WI | 05/10/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I was initially quite disappointed in this release back in '77. I regarded it is a total abandonment of virtually everythin GG stood for. "Disinterested" would best describe my feelings for this album for the past two decades. After viewing this CD on Amazon recently I recalled actually liking a couple of songs and when the price was right I decided to give it another go.
'Two Weeks in Spain' is a funky and catchy piece that I was always accepting of. It could have appeared on any number of earlier GG albums. 'I'm Turning Around' is a melodic yet lightweight number that would be better suited for a Phil Collins era Genesis record (WIND AND WUTHERING or AND THEN THERE WERE THREE). 'I Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It' is an uncharacteristic basic rocker that never shocked me as it did so many others. 'Who Do You Think You Are' is a generic and disposable R&B influenced track as is the following 'Mountain Time' which sounds more like Little Stevie Winwood (Spencer Davis era) than anything GG should be wasting their time with. 'As Old As You're Young' is classic Giant. 'Memories of Old Days' lies somewhere between older Giant and the lighter sound of 'I'm Turning Around.' It's definitely a couple of minutes too long but doesn't sound noticeably out of place. Although more of a straight ahead rocker 'Winning' possesses just enough off-kilter quality to be an acceptable GG song that could perhaps have appeared on an earlier record (albeit a weaker track). 'For Nobody' falls along the same description as 'Winning,' not a great song but decent and not too far off the Giant beaten path. Finally, the added track 'For Nobody (Live)' adds nothing.
Not a bad record. Three and one half stars."
You call this a remaster?
Edmund Jones | Anaheim,CA | 05/02/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Well I pretty much agree that this is an underrated album by one of the better prog rock bands ever, what I want to discuss here is the sound quality of this so-called remaster. What was the remastering done on a Commadore 64? I have been dubbing alot of my vinyl onto cd when I pulled out my very used "The Missing Piece", and noticed a few scratches so I went to Amazon and bought the "remastered" edition. I have never been so disappointed with a cd until now. The highs are harsh and the bass response is almost none existent. DRT Entertainment should be ashamed of themselves to put out a "remastered" cd of this poor quality."
