Gentle Giant,
L'Altro Mondo,
Rimini,
Italy,
5 June 1976

I'm very happy to be able to present this extremely rare show, which has never been heard publicly until now. Not only is this show uncirculated, but it's also the first concert to surface from their 1976 Spring (April-May) European tour. The tape was recorded by a young fan who couldn't believe he had a chance to see his favorite band live and wanted to document the evening. Normally, he's not a trader or a taper, he only wanted something to remind him of that magical night: this is why this show has eluded circulation for so long! However, when I asked him whether I could have a copy, he immediately sent it to me. Thanks a lot, Enzo! Sound quality is quite good for its age: pretty clear and you can hear every note that was played. The audience reaction is very warm, Gentle Giant were always very much welcomed in Italy, but there is not distracting chatter, apart from the usual cheering and a couple of enthusiastic sections (where else are you going to hear the audience singing along with the breaking glass intro on "The Runaway"?). It's not a raw transfer: Enzo mentioned working on it with EditPro when he transferred the original tapes back in 1998; however, he also told me he is not going to rip the master cassettes again, so this will have to do. Don't worry, it sounds pretty good and not overbaked. Tape flips occour during "The Runaway", the "Advent of Panurge" section of "Excerpts from Octopus" and "Free Hand".

The setlist is the same as it would be on their next and more documented American tour, with the seldomly played "Give it Back" replacing the stage classic "Funny Ways". It has been speculated that during the first European tour, complete versions of "I Lost My Head" were performed in concert; however, by the time this tape was recorded, they were playing the shorter version as part of the mini-medley with "Peel The Paint", just like on the rest of the available dates of the year. Since this is the second to last concert of the tour, it's possible that the full song was performed in the first few dates and then reduced as the tour progressed. Until another tape surfaces, we can't know for sure. This is a great show, 1976 was a good year for their concerts. Derek Shulman introduces John Weathers as "Giovanni Catastrofe", John Catastrophe. Between "Timing" and "Free Hand", John keeps yelling "FAGIOLI!" ("beans") to the audience. Who knows if he liked the way they were cooked in Italy or if he just enjoyed the sound of the word. During the extended violin solo, Ray starts a funny shouting match with the audience.

Nothing from this show has been included on "Playing the Fool": that live album was culled from concerts from their Fall 1976 European tour (September-October). As far as it's known, no dates from their earlier European tour were officially recorded.

01 Intro
02 Just The Same
03 Proclamation/Valedictory
04 On Reflection
05 Interview
06 The Runaway/Experience
07 So Sincere/5-Men Drum Bash
08 Excerpts from "Octopus"
09 band introductions
10 Give it Back
11 Timing/Extended Violin Solo
12 Free Hand
13 encore break
14 Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head

Derek Shulman: lead vocals, alto sax, bass, percussion
Kerry Minnear: keyboards, vibes, percussion, background vocals
Gary Green: electric and acoustic guitar, percussion, background vocals
Ray Shulman: bass, acoustic guitar, violin, trombone, percussion, background vocals
John Weathers: drums, percussion, background vocals

Taped, transferred and first worked by: Enzo
Edited and reworked by: JacoZappa

Lineage: Grudnig Tape Recorder with Stereo Microphone -> Master Cassette Tapes (unknown brand, 60 minutes) -> Edit-Pro (equalized, reworked) -> CDR -> CDR -> WAV (EAC) -> SF10 (editing, flaws adjusted where possible) -> WAV -> FLAC

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