The Last Steps: Live 1980

Unless you are a completist, do not buy this CD. This is an audience recording of Gentle Giant's last gig. Some of the sound in this reissue is passable, but for the most part it's on a par with the original issue of this album: it sounds like it was recorded using a tin can and some string. The noisy bits we've come to expect from GG are there, in Free Hand, Convenience and Underground. But the more delicate music is reduced to a whisper. Their immortal Memories of Old Days suffers the most in this respect. The packaging is cryptic. It's in mini-LP form, with the inner gatefold featuirng George Underwood's cover painting from the first GG album. Also included are Dave Arams' essay reprinted from this album's original issue, and inexplicably, a mini-poster from Giant for a Day. Huh? Why? The only thing this has going for it is that it IS Gentle Giant. For its poor recording quality, it contains the only official live recordings of songs from their last two albums. Aside from that, I'm sorry to report that this is a slightly improved version of a horrible recording of a mediocre concert by a great band. If you want live Gentle Giant, try Out of the Fire or Playing the Fool, both of which are miles above this sad release.

I didn't buy this disc from Amazon, but I do have it in my collection. Same artwork and everything. This album isn't worth $22. It's not even worth $2.20, unless you're a completest. If you're looking for live material from this tour, look for anything from Toad's Place in New Haven CT. That was a radio show, and while not CD quality sound, it a very good FM broadcast quality at best.

This one is only for die-hard GENTLE GIANT fans like myself. The sound is horrible(Gary Green's guitar is inaudible half the time), but the song selection is interesting. It's nice to hear live renditions of the songs from CIVILIAN and the biggest surprise may be GIANT FOR A DAY. The version here has more keyboards than it's studio counterpart. It's also nice to hear PLAYING THE GAME from POWER AND THE GLORY. The per- formances by the band can't be faulted, but it sure would have been nice if the recording quality was better. Still, the liner notes are very informative and entertaining and I like the photo of DEREK SHULMAN wearing the mask from GIANT FOR A DAY. The five man percussion jam is cool, but I find it disappointing that they kept it almost the same after all them years of doing it in concert. Anyhow, fans of GENTLE GIANT during their later years will eat this up like cereal!I'm giving the album three stars because I really love this band and really like their CIV- ILIAN album.