Three Friends (studio album) by Gentle Giant

I think this group flies under the radar a little as this is another great album from them to add to their already stacked discography. The music is rich and feels grand and there is so much to explore that it takes so many listens before you finally digest it all fully. Instrumentally, it is extremely diverse and there are so many to look out for that it is difficult to spot them all. Some of the better performances, even though all performances are amazing, are from the guitar, percussion, piano and sax. All of these are exceptional and some of the solos we are treated to are phenomenal. The record also has a brilliant concept of these three friends growing up and living vastly different lives. This is extremely enjoyable to explore and the lyrics used to weave this story are very well chosen to fit the style of music. The vocal delivery is outstanding as well and his ability to be smooth but quickly change to a powerful tone is very effective. Overall, this is an elite album from a group that deserves a lot more praise as they are extremely consistent at producing high quality music.

An incredibly complex album which can move from orchestral arrangements to almost heavy rock elements in a trice. Three Fiends (last track) is my personal favourite where the bass almost takes the melody part. Amazing album.

I think "Three Friends" is Gentle Giant's masterpiece. This is their best album conceptually, lyrically and musically. Some of their albums may have bigger hits (Octopus, Free Hand) but this album has the perfect pacing, great themes and is very well-crafted. It is a perfect album, and there are not many of those in my mind.

First of all, I love the concept of the three school friends growing up to be different types of people. "Schooldays" is an amazing song presenting the three characters back when they were in school and promising each other a lifelong friendship.

Then "Working All Day" tells the tale of our first character, who became a blue-collar worker. This might be the least interesting song musically if you take it out of context. But when you get that it represents this blue-collar guy, the guy who lives for the week-end and his payday, it all makes sense. And it is still a great song!

Then, there's the AMAZING "Peel The Paint" where we get to know the artist. This has to be one of the best GG songs ever. I really like how they depict the artistic type as someone with flaws, just like the others, maybe even worse. I feel like I'm this guy from my group of friend, the artistic type who tries to seclude himself from the world, even though he is as bad as anybody else. And the guitar solo in this song is just out of this world. It's hard to describe in words how good is this song, you have to hear it!

"Mister Class And Quality?" is about the third character, who's a big boss now and believes he is owed everything because he worked so hard. And now he judges his two friends, who he classifies as a lazy worker and an artist, both of whom he never understood. And again, all of this with crazy good music.

Gentle Giant is one of my favorite bands of all-time and "Three Friends" is my favorite album from them. What else can I say?

A fine record from a great group.

Gentle Giant's music is fine and rich of taste...
Three friends is a great album

Rather Good / Good