Glasshouse Records, a division of Voiceprint, has just released a few more CD's of "official Gentle Giant bootlegs" from live shows throughout the 70's. While most lack as far as sound quality goes (hey, these are basically boots anyway) these releases should be of special interest to Gentle Giant fans worldwide. This particular CD has a performance taken from The Ballroom in Cleveland, OH back in 1977 on The Missing Piece tour.
Compared to the few of the CD's I have heard in this series, The Missing Face has by far the clearest sound. While still below what you would hear on an official live album, the audio level is fairly consistant, and there's not many dropouts. The set list is indicative of that 1977 tour, with an upbeat "Two Weeks in Spain", "I'm Turning Around", "For Nobody", the punkish "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It" (write a punk tune, no guys, we didn't!) and a haunting "Memories of Old Days" all culled from The Missing Piece album. There's a few surprises, like the raging complexity of "The Face", and the majestic "Playing the Game" both hot tunes off of The Power and the Glory. Three absolute GG classics are also included, and performed splendidly, those being "Free Hand", "On Reflection", and "Funny Ways."
While probably only for Gentle Giant completists, The Missing Face is a fun trip back in time to the later period of one of progressive rocks most important bands.
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