Gentle Giant: Free Hand [35th Anniversary Edition] (DRT Entertainment, May 10, 2005)

Usually considered the very best Gentle Giant album, Free Hand (1975) is rivaled only by In a Glass House (1973), also given re-release this week by DRT. While it's great to have these albums back in circulation again, it's a shame DRT ditched the weird original cover art for these bland covers; no bonus cuts also make this a less than magnificent anniversary celebration. The music here is still great though; "On Reflection" is a landmark progressive rock track, as the Renaissance/medeival vocal on this four-part fugue was a flawlessly executed revolutionary arrangement that absolutely nobody but Gentle Giant even attempted; it is the road not travelled in prog-rock history. Gentle Giant's complex form of prog-rock also tossed solid, well-placed slices of funk, R&B, blues, and classical to their medeival core, creating a completely parallel universe that somehow thankfully seems to find a place for good old fashioned hooks, too. Prog-rock aficianados can't be taken seriously until they at least try this band, which released 11 albums in its 10-year career. Docked a star for the unimaginative packaging; the original disc gets *****.

Weekend Reissue Roundup appears every Friday night/Saturday AM.