Free Hand
The first Chrysalis album and the band's highest-charting record in the United States.
Gentle Giant, 1975
- Released
- 28 July 1975
- Recorded
- April 1975
- Studio
- Advision Studios, London
- Label
- Chrysalis (UK), Capitol (US)
- Length
- 36:50
Free Hand was Gentle Giant's first album for Chrysalis in the UK and internationally, with Capitol releasing it in the US and Canada. It reached 48 on the Billboard 200. It has a less dissonant and more commercial sound than The Power and the Glory. Gary Martin engineered it with Paul Northfield as assistant.
A four-channel quadraphonic mix was made in 1976 but only reached release on DVD in 2012. Steven Wilson's remix followed on 25 June 2021 in Dolby Atmos and 5.1, and the 2021 reissue reached 7 on the UK Rock and Metal chart. UK and US copies of the sleeve show a hand with the thumb in a slightly different position, curved on British copies and straight on American ones.
Track listing
- Just the Same5:33
- On Reflection5:43
- Free Hand6:14
- Time to Kill5:08
- His Last Voyage6:26
- Talybont2:43
- Mobile5:03
Personnel
- Derek Shulman vocals
- Ray Shulman bass
- Kerry Minnear keyboards
- Gary Green guitars
- John Weathers drums
- Gary Martin engineer
- Paul Northfield assistant engineer
More from Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant (1970), Acquiring the Taste (1971), Octopus (1972), Three Friends (1972), In a Glass House (1973), The Power and the Glory (1974), Interview (1976), The Missing Piece (1977), Giant for a Day! (1978), Civilian (1980)
Sources
- Free Hand, Wikipedia
- Gentle Giant, Wikipedia