Album: Three Friends

Song Title

Time

Prologue

Schooldays

Working All Day

Peel the Paint

Mister Class and Quality?

Three Friends

Album: Three Friends

Song Title

Time

Prologue

Schooldays

Working All Day

Peel the Paint

Mister Class and Quality?

Three Friends

Performer Notes

All songs written by Phil Shulman, Ray Shulman, Derek Shulman and Kerry Minnear.
Personnel: Gary Green (vocals, guitar, percussion); Derek Shulman (vocals, guitar); Ray Shulman (vocals, 12-string guitar, violin, percussion); Phil Shulman (vocals, saxophone); Kerry Minnear (vocals, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, percussion); Malcolm Mortimore (drums).
More influential than successful, the U.K. prog-rock act Gentle Giant was always overshadowed by 1970s contemporaries such as Jethro Tull, King Crimson, and Yes. However, 1974's THREE FRIENDS reveals that, musically, the group, which featured brothers Derek, Phil, and Ray Schulman, was on par with the aforementioned bands, both in establishing mood (see the wonderfully dreamy passages of "Schooldays") and crafting complex, memorable tunes (the jaunty "Working All Day"). While later recordings found Gentle Giant taking a slightly more straight-ahead approach, THREE FRIENDS presents the ensemble at what is perhaps its adventurous best.

Professional Reviews

Record Collector (magazine) (p.87) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Weird harmonies, weirder time signatures....Listening to it again after two decades or so, it's possible to discern an affinity with the Canterbury school....A classic."