Three Friends (album)
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Three Friends (album)
''Three Friends'' (1972) is the third album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant. It was the band's first release to chart in America, peaking at #197 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It is the only album by Gentle Giant to feature drummer Malcolm Mortimore following the departure of Martin Smith. A concept album, ''Three Friends'' deals with three childhood friends whose lives take them very different places. However, each of the three friends are unsatisfied with their new lives. The closing song ends the story on a cliffhanger; whether or not the three friends ever reunite is never revealed. The album is predominantly instrumental, with most tracks having only brief vocal interludes. Production Three Friends was the band's first self-produced album. The two former albums were produced by David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti. Gary Green's guitar solo on "Peel the Paint" uses an echoplex belonging to Mike Ratledge that Green's brother Jeff, a roadie with Ratled ...
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Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments, 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP record, long-playing (LP) records played at  revolutions per minute, rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the populari ...
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Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of many hits in collaboration with Marc Bolan. Visconti's lengthiest involvement was with David Bowie: intermittently from the production and arrangement of Bowie's 1968 single "In the Heat of the Morning" / "London Bye Ta-Ta" to his final album ''Blackstar'' in 2016, Visconti produced and occasionally performed on many of Bowie's albums. Visconti's work on ''Blackstar'' was cited in its Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and his production of Angelique Kidjo's '' Djin Djin'' was cited in its Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Early life Visconti was born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents of Italian descent. He started to play the ukulele when he was five years old, and then learned guitar. He attended N ...
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Tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head. Tambourines are often used with regular percussion sets. They can be mounted, for example on a stand as part of a drum kit (and played with drum sticks), or they can be held in the hand and played by tapping or hitting the instrument. Tambourines come in many shapes with the most common being circular. It is found in many forms of music: Turkish folk music, Greek folk music, Italian folk music, French folk music, classical music, Persian music, samba, gospel music, pop music, country music, and rock music. History The origin of the tambourine is unknown, but it appears in historical writings as early as 1700 BC and was used by ancient musicians in West Africa, the Middle East, Greece and India. The ...
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Mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 strings, although five (10 strings) and six (12 strings) course versions also exist. There are of course different types of strings that can be used, metal strings are the main ones since they are the cheapest and easiest to make. The courses are typically tuned in an interval of perfect fifths, with the same tuning as a violin (G3, D4, A4, E5). Also, like the violin, it is the soprano member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. There are many styles of mandolin, but the three most common types are the ''Neapolitan'' or ''round-backed'' mandolin, the ''archtop'' mandolin and the ''flat-backed'' mandolin. The round-backed version has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued togethe ...
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Electric Guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic guitar exist). It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities on the amplifier settings or the knobs on the guitar from that of an acoustic guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music and jazz and rock guitar playing. Invented in 1932, the electric guitar was adopted by jazz guitar players, who wanted to play single-note guitar solos in large big band ensembles. Early proponents of the electric guitar on ...
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Gary Green (musician)
Gary William Green (20 November 1950 in Stroud Green, North London, England) is an English musician. During the 1970s, he was the guitarist for the progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Green was with the band from the debut album ''Gentle Giant'' all the way to the last album ''Civilian''. Green's style was different from most of his peers, being a more blues-based guitarist. Like his fellow band members, Green was also adept at other instruments, including mandolin and recorder. According to a 2008 interview, founding member Phil Shulman said that, despite Green's blues influences, he fit in well with the band's progressive style since Green was "quick on the up-take." Later on, he was a member of the band Mother Tongue, and also recorded on '' The Green Album (Eddie Jobson album), The Green Album'' with Eddie Jobson and Zinc, splitting guitar duties with Zinc guitarist Michael Cuneo on two tracks. Green has worked with Billy Sherwood on a number of projects, including ''Back A ...
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Ray Shulman
Raymond Shulman (born 8 December 1949) is a Scottish musician, and the youngest of three brothers in progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Shulman was born in Portsmouth. His father was a trumpet player in a jazz band, and that was the first instrument he learned to play. He went on to learn violin and guitar and was primed for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, but his brother Derek convinced him to join his band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, which later evolved into Gentle Giant. During Shulman's recording days in the band as a bass guitarist, his virtuosity often compared to popular players such as Yes's Chris Squire. Yet, like Genesis's Mike Rutherford, Shulman was quite adept at other instruments as well. Similar to the role of the rhythmist in the art-rock band Family, Shulman sometimes doubled on violin, recorder, trumpet, acoustic and electric guitars. Shulman and keyboardist-bandmate Kerry Minnear composed or co-wrote much of the music for Gentle Giant. ...
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Phil Shulman
Philip Arthur Shulman (born 27 August 1937, The Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland), is a Scottish musician who was a member of the progressive rock group Gentle Giant from 1970 to 1973 and performed on their albums ''Gentle Giant'', ''Acquiring the Taste'', '' Three Friends'', and '' Octopus''. He is the eldest brother of Derek Shulman and Ray Shulman. All three were members of the sixties psychedelic group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, and then formed the seminal progressive rock group Gentle Giant. A multi-instrumentalist, he has played alto and tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet, trumpet, cello, mellophone, piano, plus occasional percussion and vocals. Previously he had played with Simon Dupree and the Big Sound Simon Dupree and the Big Sound were a British psychedelic band formed in 1966 by brothers Derek (vocals), Phil (vocals, saxophone, trumpet), and Ray Shulman (guitar, violin, trumpet, vocals); also known for their later prog rock band, Gentle Gian .... References { ...
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Derek Shulman
Derek Victor Shulman (born 11 February 1947) is a Scottish musician and singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record executive. From 1970 to 1980, he was lead vocalist for the band Gentle Giant. Career Born in the Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland, Shulman began his recording career as the singer of British pop band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, with Pete O'Flaherty, Eric Hine, Tony Ransley, and his brothers Phil Shulman and Ray Shulman. Recording in the late 1960s for Parlophone Records, the band struggled with creative difficulties after experiencing some commercial success with several top 40 hits, including the top 10 hit "Kites". The band finally dissolved in 1969. The three brothers went on to form progressive rock band Gentle Giant with guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist Kerry Minnear, and drummer Martin Smith (later replaced by Malcolm Mortimore, who was himself replaced by John Weathers). In Gentle Giant, Shulman became known as a dynamic frontman in the live environment an ...
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Kerry Minnear
Kerry Churchill Minnear (born 2 January 1948 in the town of Shaftesbury in Dorset, England) is a multi-instrumentalist musician known primarily for his work with the progressive rock band Gentle Giant from 1970 to 1980. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London with a major in musical composition. As a member of Gentle Giant, he contributed to all 11 albums over the 10 year life of the band. Though he is adept at several instruments, he primarily played keyboards and provided back up and lead vocals. In addition to keyboard, he also played a multitude of other instruments such as the cello, tenor recorder, and classical percussion (including vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, timpani and snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...). He also composed t ...
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Gentle Giant (album)
''Gentle Giant'' is the first album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1970. Releases Since the LP was not originally released in the United States, the cover illustration was instead used for the '' Three Friends'' album. Legacy American hip-hop duo Madvillain sampled "Funny Ways" on "Strange Ways" from their album ''Madvillainy'', which was subsequently featured in an episode of the television show ''The Boondocks''. Track listing Personnel Musicians * Gary Green – lead guitar, 12 string guitar (2, 4 & 5), backing vocals *Kerry Minnear – Hammond organ (1-3 & 5-7), Minimoog (3, 5 & 7), Mellotron (1 & 6), electric (5), acoustic (2 & 5) and honky-tonk (4) piano, tympani (tracks 1 & 3), xylophone (4), vibraphone (3), cellos (2), bass (2), backing and lead (3 & 6) vocals *Derek Shulman – lead (1-3, 5 & 6) and backing vocals, bass (4) * Phil Shulman – trumpet (1-3 & 7), alto (3) and tenor (5 & 6) saxophones, descant (6), treble (6) and tenor (6 ...
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Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–1967). As a central band of the Canterbury scene, the group became one of the first British psychedelic acts and later moved into progressive rock and jazz fusion. Their varying line-ups have included former members such as Andy Summers (guitar, 1968), Hugh Hopper (bass, 1968–1973), Elton Dean (saxophone 1969–1972), Karl Jenkins (keyboards, saxophone, 1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984) and Allan Holdsworth (guitar, 1973–1975), and currently consists of John Marshall (drums, 1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984 and since 2015), John Etheridge (guitar, 1975–1978, 1984 and since 2015), Theo Travis (saxophone, flutes, keyboards since 2015), and Fred Thelonious Baker (bass since 2020). Though they achieved little commercial success, the Soft Machi ...
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