Civilian (Gentle Giant album)
Civilian is the eleventh and final studio album by British band Gentle Giant, released in 1980. It was recorded at Sound City Studios in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Consisting mostly of short rock songs, it is closer to a hard rock sound than the progressive style for which the band is best known. The album also marked a return to Columbia Records in the U.S. and Canada after an eight-year hiatus; the band's last album released with Columbia had been 1972's Octopus.
| Civilian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 March 1980 | |||
| Recorded | August – November 1979 | |||
| Studio | Sound City in Van Nuys, California | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 32:41 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis (UK) Columbia (U.S.) | |||
| Producer | Gentle Giant | |||
| Gentle Giant chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Soon after the album's release, Gentle Giant played a final tour and then split up. Civilian was a critical and commercial failure, the negative reception being so overwhelming that some record stores reportedly refused to carry it for fears of generating bad publicity.
A previously unreleased track, "Heroes No More", has been included on some CD reissues of the album. Another track from the same period, "You Haven't a Chance", appeared on the compilation album Under Construction 17 years later.
Track listing
All lead vocals by Derek Shulman, except "Shadows on the Street", sung by Kerry Minnear.
All tracks are written by Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman and Ray Shulman except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Convenience (Clean and Easy)" | Derek Shulman, Gary Green | 3:13 |
| 2. | "All Through the Night" | 4:20 | |
| 3. | "Shadows on the Street" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Number One" | 4:38 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Underground" | 3:47 |
| 2. | "I Am a Camera" | 3:32 |
| 3. | "Inside Out" | 5:51 |
| 4. | "It's Not Imagination" "That's... All... There... Is...." (This sentence was created from music that appeared in four different songs on the album. The words were extracted from the songs and then spliced together. Some CD and vinyl releases are missing this ending.) | 4:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Heroes No More" (available on later CD re-release from One Way) | 4:38 |
Personnel
- Gary Green – Electric guitars on all tracks except track 3
- Kerry Minnear – synthesizers (tracks 1–7, 9), electric piano (tracks 1, 3-9), Hammond organ (tracks 2, 3, 9), Clavinet (track 7), piano (track 3), lead vocals on track 3
- Derek Shulman – lead vocals on all tracks except track 3
- Ray Shulman – bass, acoustic guitar (tracks 5, 6), backing vocals
- John Weathers – drums, tambourine (tracks 4–6, 8, 9), varispeed cymbals (track 1), percussion (track 7), backing vocals[2]
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | US Billboard 200 | 203 |
Release details
- 1980, UK, Chrysalis Records CHR 1285, Release Date ? May 1980, LP
- 1980, USA, Columbia Records JC 36341, Release Date 3 March 1980, LP
- 1980, Canada, Columbia Records JC 36341, Release Date ? ? 1980, LP
- 1994, UK, Terrapin Trucking TRUCKCD008, Release Date ? July 1994, CD (Re-Master)
- 1997, USA, One Way CD 28591, Release Date 28 October 1997, CD
- 1999, UK, Beat Goes On BGOCD435, Release Date 10 March 1999, CD (2 x CD with Playing the Fool – The Official Live)
References
- Little, Patrick (2011). "Civilian – Gentle Giant | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- Gentle Giant's website (www.blazemonger.com/GG/)