GENTLE GIANT BOXED
Unburied Treasure holds 30 CDs – and a golden prize for one lucky buyer.
Gentle Giant fans will need to get into training when it comes to lifting the forthcoming Unburied Treasure boxed set due for release in December, bulging with 30 discs, including a brand new surround sound mix for the self-titled 1970 debut by Steven Wilson as well as newly remastered versions of their entire studio and live output.
Aimed at the collectors market the £250 big box is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide and comes with a 136-page hardback book chronicling the band’s life and times, signed photo, items of memorabilia and no less than a whopping 15 previously unreleased live shows. One reason for including so many live discs that run from 1972 through to the band’s demise in 1980 is a recognition of how different the band were when it came to playing gigs, observes vocalist Derek Shulman. “The way we looked at it was that the recording was the sketch but the live show was the painting,” he says of the band’s habit of creating new medleys and segues. “I’m quite impressed as to how we played as precisely as we did. The group as a live band has a lot of character. You could hear the joy in our ability to pull it off.”
When it came to unearthing all the material, Shulman says every member of the band set about raiding cupboards and storerooms to see what they had. “I think our guitarist Gary Green had more than anyone else in the band when it came to the paraphernalia and photos, including the multitrack tapes that Steven Wilson was able to remix from.”
While Gary Green has played Gentle Giant music in concert as Three Friends in the past, given the continuing interest in the band hasn’t Shulman ever been tempted to get the members back together for one last hurrah? “No. it was a fantastic chapter in my life and while I’m gratified there’s so much interest in today I don’t think you can’t relive and rewind. “
One of the 2,000 boxes includes a golden jigsaw piece entitling the lucky recipient to claim special collectors’ mirror screenprinted with The Power And The Glory artwork. Surely it should have been the Shulberry, the unique three-string instrument invented by the band? “Ha! You know what happened to it? Gary was cold on one occasion so he chopped the original Shulberry up for firewood. True story!” laughs Shulman.
“The recording was the sketch
but the live show was the
painting.”