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Ray Schulman-Gentle Giant

#3
One of the outstanding bassists of the prog-rock era IMHO

To this day I am still in awe of his ability to both keep perfect time and make it groove despite the truly mind-boggling complexity of the time signatures those guys routinely played in, with the tone of the bass sitting in the mix perfectly

Also some pretty impressive skills on violin, and a fine singer as well

Gentle Giant - On Reflection 1978 BBC [HQ] - YouTube

Needless to say I've been a fan ever since I heard them for the first time - on the radio, no less!

 
#8
You can tell that Ray is a great all-round musician just from the way he goes about playing the bass. He sees possibilities that just would not occur to most others. GG are like a musical world unto themselves. They just don't sound like anyone else, and Ray fits them perfectly. I would guess the main reason they are not more widely appreciated, and never really have been, is because they avoided musical clichés and are a bit more challenging than the more mainstream prog acts.
 
#9
The Canterbury sound...on steroids! :p

But sorry, I've just got a mental block on GG. While in college, I had a dormitory neighbor who would habitually wake me @ 6:00 am to the strains of Gentle Giant - at 9.5 on the Richter scale - while I was trying to sleep off a hangover! :eek: :spit:

The chronic sonic trauma permanently singed my cerebral cortex - and I've never been the same ever since... :atoz:

MM
 
#14
Gentle Giant is not only one of my favorite prog bands but one of my favorite all time bands. My first encounter with them was they were a last minute replacement opening band for a Humble Pie concert in my town. I never heard of them or knew that they were playing until they hit the stage and opened with The Advent of Panurge and I was a hooked fan ever since. What a pleasant surprise they were and I went out and bought their Octopus album that week and many albums afterward.

many people don't this about Derek Shulman from Gentle Giant.

Following his recording career, Shulman became a prominent record executive. Starting as an A&R representative at PolyGram Records, where he rose to the ranks of Senior Vice President, he signed Bon Jovi, Dan Reed Network, Cinderella, and Kingdom Come, among many others. in 1988 he became President and C.E.O of Atco Records (where he signed the progressive metal band Dream Theater as well as Pantera). He also re-established the careers of AC/DC and Bad Company both of whom sold multi-platinum albums under his watch. He then went on to become President of Roadrunner Records overseeing signings like Slipknot and Nickelback. In March 2010 Derek Shulman established a new venture with international music impresario Leonardo Pavkovic called 2PLUS Music & Entertainment.
 

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