The Power And The Glory
	Produced by Gentle Giant
	Released on 1974
	US CHART POSITION #78
	Find it at GEMM
9322 cover

"The band’s most irritating, least listenable record." So wrote Alan Niester in the second edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Remembering for the moment the antipathy toward progressive rock at the time (1983), it’s no wonder only Free Hand was deemed a record of “average worth” from the GG catalog. Of course, The Power And The Glory is no “average” album; louder and heavier than previous Giant productions, this is a concept about a man coming to power (probably written with some prime minister or past politico in mind). I used to have this one on cassette, but tapes being transitory things, I’m now left only with the cassette cover. I always enjoyed it, maybe not as much as softer works like Octopus and Three Friends, but moreso than any of the GG albums that followed (i.e., Free Hand, Interview). In A Glass House is by all accounts a “difficult” album, so it may be the closest cousin to The Power And The Glory. I have seen Power get low marks from some reviewers, so maybe there are GG fans who really shy away from the band’s more abrasive arrangements. I enjoy the band at both ends of the spectrum (light and dark), so it’s never been a stumbling block to my enjoying this record. If you enjoy the band for their deft arrangements, they’re here in spades, so enjoy.

TRACK LISTING

1. PROCLAMATION
2. SO SINCERE
3. ASPIRATIONS
4. PLAYING THE GAME
5. COGS IN COGS
6. NO GOD'S A MAN
7. FACE
8. VALEDICTORY
9. THE POWER AND THE GLORY

CREDITS

GARY GREEN --
KERRY MINNEAR --
DEREK SHULMAN --
RAY SHULMAN --
JOHN WEATHERS --
Gary Martin -- engineer

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