Acquiring the Taste

Acquiring the Taste
Studio album by Gentle Giant
Released	16 July 1971 [1]
Recorded	January–April 1971
Studio	Advision (London, UK) AIR (London, UK)
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	39:26
Label	Vertigo (UK) Mercury (US)
Producer	Tony Visconti
Gentle Giant chronology
Gentle Giant (1970) Acquiring the Taste (1971) Three Friends (1972)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Acquiring the Taste is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1971 on the Vertigo label. ^[3] It was the final album by the band to feature original drummer Martin Smith.

Background

The album was a departure from the blues and soul styles found on their self-titled debut album. It was more experimental, more discordant, and with more varied instrumentation. In the sleeve text, the band made this famous declaration:

It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular. We have recorded each composition with the one thought – that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this. From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts of blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste. ^[3]

The song "Pantagruel's Nativity" is inspired by the books of Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais.

At 39 minutes and 26 seconds, it is the longest studio album the group ever released. The album was recorded at Advision Studios in London, with engineers Martin Rushent, Big A and Garybaldi, and at AIR Studios in London, with engineer Bill Price.

Artwork

The album cover artwork shows a giant tongue licking what appear to be buttocks. When the album gatefold sleeve is opened completely, however, it actually shows the tongue licking a peach. In 2005 the cover was featured in Pitchfork 's list of "The Worst Record Covers of All Time". ^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman, Phil Shulman, and Ray Shulman; arranged by Gentle Giant, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Pantagruel's Nativity"	Minnear (verses) D. Shulman (bridge)	6:53
2.	"Edge of Twilight" ( [nb 1] )	Minnear (verses) Ensemble (bridge)	3:51
3.	"The House, the Street, the Room"	D. Shulman (verses) Minnear (chorus)	6:05
4.	"Acquiring the Taste" ( [nb 2] )	(instrumental)	1:39

Side two

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
5.	"Wreck"	D. Shulman & P. Shulman (verses) Minnear (bridge)	4:39
6.	"The Moon Is Down"	D. Shulman, P. Shulman & Minnear	4:49
7.	"Black Cat"	P. Shulman	3:54
8.	"Plain Truth"	Ensemble (verses) D. Shulman (chorus)	7:36

Personnel

Gentle Giant

• Gary Green  – 6-string electric guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6), electric guitars (tracks 5, 8), 12-string electric guitar (track 1), 12 string electric wah-wah guitar (track 7), mandolin (track 3), bass guitar (track 3), donkey's jawbone (track 7), cat calls (track 7), voice on track 8
• Kerry Minnear  – Minimoog (tracks 1–5), piano (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), Hammond organ (tracks 1–3), Mellotron (tracks 1, 5, 6), harpsichord (tracks 2, 5, 6), electric piano (tracks 2, 6), celeste (track 3), clavichord (track 3), xylophone (tracks 2, 3), vibraphone (tracks 1, 7), tympani (track 2), cello (tracks 2, 3, 7), maracas (track 7), tambourine (track 7), lead vocals (tracks 1, 2), vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
• Derek Shulman  – alto saxophone (tracks 1, 6), clavichord (track 3), cowbell (track 3), lead vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6), vocals (tracks 1, 2, 7, 8)
• Phil Shulman  – clarinet (track 2), trumpet (tracks 1, 3), alto (track 6) and tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 6), piano (track 3), claves (track 7), maracas (track 8), lead vocals (track 7), vocals (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 8)
• Ray Shulman  – bass (tracks 1–3, 5–8), violin (tracks 2, 3, 5), violins (track 7), viola (track 7), electric violin (track 8), Spanish guitar (tracks 2, 3), 12 string guitars (track 6), tambourine (track 5), skulls (track 7), organ bass pedals (track 6), vocals (tracks 1–3, 6)
• Martin Smith  – drums (tracks 1–3, 5–8), tambourine (track 1), gong (track 2), side drum (track 2)

Guest musicians

• Paul Cosh  – trumpet (track 3), organ (track 3)
• Tony Visconti  – descant recorders (track 5), treble recorder (tracks 3, 5), tenor recorder (track 5), bass drum (track 7), triangle (track 7)
• Chris Thomas  – Moog programmer (tracks 1–5)

Release details

• 1971, UK, Vertigo 6360 041, release date July 16, 1971, LP
• 1971, UK, Vertigo 6360 041, release date ? ? 1971, Cassette
• 1971, US, Vertigo VEL 1005, release date August 1971, LP (with gatefold cover)
• 1971, US, Vertigo VEL 1005, release date ? ? 1971, Cassette
• 1997, UK, Vertigo 842 917-2, release date ? February 1997, CD
• 1997, US, Polydor 8429172, release date ? February 1997, CD
• 2004, Russia, Somewax 189-2, release date ? ? 2004, CD
• 2005, UK, Repertoire REPUK1072, release date 28 November 2005, CD (limited edition reissue)
• 2005, UK, Repertoire REPUK1111, release date ? ? 2005, CD (digital remaster)
• 2012, UK, BGO Records BGOCD1095, release date ? ? 2012, CD (digital remaster 2CD with self-titled)

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [5]	46

Notes

1. Percussion section written and arr. by Minnear
2. Arr. by Minnear

References

1. "Gentle Giant Tour History - Part One: The Early Days".
2. "allmusic ((( Acquiring the Taste > Overview )))". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 December 2009.
3. "Gentle Giant – Acquiring The Taste (LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. 19 August 1971. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
4. "The Worst Record Covers of All Time". Pitchfork . 14 November 2005.
5. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2023.

Literature

• Lundberg, Mattias (8 April 2014). "Motivic cohesion and parsimony in three songs from Gentle Giant's Acquiring the Taste (1971)". Popular Music. 42 (2). Cambridge University Press: 269–292. doi:10.1017/S0261143014000257. (Textual analysis of three songs of the album)

External links

• Gentle Giant – Acquiring The Taste at Discogs (list of releases)