Free Hand

Free Hand
Studio album by Gentle Giant
Released	July 1975
Recorded	April 1975, Advision Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock, Progressive folk, Jazz rock
Length	36:50
Label	Chrysalis (UK) Capitol (U.S.)
Producer	Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant chronology
The Power and the Glory (1974) Free Hand (1975) Interview (1976) Music sample "On Reflection"

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Sea of Tranquility	[2]

Free Hand is the seventh album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant that was released in 1975. It was also the first album with their new label, Chrysalis Records in the UK. The album is noted for its high production values, and for a less dissonant, more accessible feel than their previous album The Power and the Glory. It was their highest-charting album in the US and the only one to reach the Top 50 on the Billboard Album Chart.

The 1990 CD version, released by the re-issue label One Way Records of Albany, New York, mistakenly used an alternate rough mix version of the album. This version revealed some different musical details. Alucard/EMI re-released the CD in 2009, "from the original 1/4-inch tapes through 24bit 96k Hi-Resolution transfer."

The album was mixed quadraphonic by the band in 1976 but the 4-channel mix was not released until 2012 when it finally appeared in DVD-Audio format.^[3]

Reception

The Great Rock Bible described the album:

Duly signing a new deal in Britain with Chrysalis Records, their seventh album Free Hand (1975), again only found a paying audience (and Top 50 status) across the water. However, it did contain impressive vocal gymnastics, much in evidence on jewels in the crown, "Just The Same" and the renaissance/retro, part a cappella/part folk-rocker "On Reflection"; the latter combining four pieces of group scribed fugue. Minnear’s un-medieval meanderings on the ivories for the pure-prog title track was just the ticket for a group still going strong despite others such as ELP and the aforementioned Genesis and King Crimson were collapsing under rock’s evolution. Although at times exquisitely off-kilter, tracks such as "Time To Kill", the beautiful "His Last Voyage", the folkie "Mobile" and Tudor-esque instrumental ditty "Talybont", gave the set an aura of accessibility – a classic!^[4]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman, and Ray Shulman, except where noted. 

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Just the Same"		5:33
2.	"On Reflection"		5:43
3.	"Free Hand"		6:14

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Time to Kill"		5:08
2.	"His Last Voyage"	R. Shulman, Minnear	6:26
3.	"Talybont" (instrumental)		2:43
4.	"Mobile"		5:03

Bonus Track
No.	Title	Length
8.	"Just The Same" (Live; on the 35th anniversary CD edition)	4:50

6 extra tracks added on 'I Lost My Head - The Chrysalis Years 1975-1980' LP
No.	Title	Length
8.	"1976 Intro Tape" (previously unreleased)	1:39
9.	"Just The Same" (BBC session John Peel)	6:05
10.	"Free Hand" (BBC session John Peel)	6:08
11.	"On Reflection" (BBC session John Peel)	5:42
12.	"Give It Back" (International 7" mix)	3:48
13.	"I Lost My Head" (7" mix)	3:29

Personnel

• Gary Green – electric guitar (1-7), acoustic guitar (tracks 5, 7), descant recorder (tracks 2, 6), co-lead vocals on track 2
• Kerry Minnear – piano (tracks 1-5, 7), Hammond organ (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7), Clavinet (tracks 3, 5-7), Minimoog (tracks 1, 2, 4), synthesizer (tracks 1, 3, 6), electric piano (tracks 3, 4), harpsichord (tracks 2, 6), Wurlitzer electric piano, honky-tonk piano (track 7), celesta (track 2), glockenspiel (track 2), vibraphone (tracks 1, 2, 5), marimba (track 2), tympani (track 2), harp (track 2), cello (track 2), tenor recorder (track 6), lead vocals on tracks 2-5
• Derek Shulman – lead vocals on tracks 1-4 and 7, treble recorder (track 6), alto saxophones (track 1)
• Ray Shulman – bass, electric violin (track 7), violin (track 7), viola (track 2), co-lead vocals on track 2
• John Weathers – drums (tracks 1-5, 7),^[5] tambourine (tracks 1, 6, 7), bass drum (tracks 2, 6), tom-tom (tracks 6, 7), snare drum (track 2), triangle (track 2), cymbal (track 2), woodblock (track 3), cowbell (track 3), frame drums (track 7), percussion (track 2)

There are no instrument credits listed on the album.

Credits

• Engineer – Gary Martin
• Assistant engineer – Paul Northfield
• Graphics artwork by – Richard Evans

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1975	US Billboard 200	48

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United States	July 21 or 28, 1975	Capitol Records
United Kingdom	August 22, 1975	Chrysalis Records

References

1. Taylor, Robert (2011). "Free Hand - Gentle Giant | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
2. Pardo, Pete (2011). "Review: 'Gentle Giant: Free Hand-35th Anniversary Edition (remaster)' - Sea of Tranquility - The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". seaoftranquility.org. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
3. http://www.discogs.com/Gentle-Giant-Free-Hand/release/4096691
4. "GENTLE GIANT biography". The Great Rock Bible. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
5. Gentle Giant's website (www.blazemonger.com/GG/)

External links

• "Free Hand - The Gentle Giant Home Page". www.blazemonger.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
• "Gentle Giant - Free Hand (LP, Album) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2009-09-01.