Octopus (Gentle Giant album)

Octopus was named as a pun on "octo opus" (eight musical works, reflecting the album's eight tracks).^[3]

On 30 October 2015, a Steven Wilson remix was released on CD/Blu-ray via the band's Alucard label. Three tracks (1, 2 & 5)^[4] could not be discretely remixed since one multi-track reel was missing. Instead, those three tracks were upmixed to 5.1 surround using the Penteo surround software. The remaining five tracks were remixed to 5.1 by Steven Wilson.^[5]

Octopus maintained Gentle Giant's trademark of broad and challenging integrated styles. The album's tracks have been described as "stylistically and sonically all over the place but always in control."^[6] One of the highlights was the intricate madrigal-styled vocal workout "Knots". The album's lyrics are generally based on literature and philosophy: "The Advent of Panurge" is inspired by the books of Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais; "A Cry for Everyone" is inspired by the work and beliefs of the French writer Albert Camus, while the song "Knots" is inspired by the book Knots by the Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing.

The UK release by Vertigo featured art by Roger Dean. Dean's logo appears inside the lyrics booklet.

US and Canadian releases were released by Columbia and used a different cover by Charles White.

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AllMusic	[7]

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Later reviews about the album have remained positive. AllMusic said that Octopus is "an album that has withstood the test of time a lot better than anyone might have expected."^[7]

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #16 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".^[8] In The 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time, by ProgMagazine, Octopus stands at number 65.^[9]

In 2004, Ray Shulman commented: "(Octopus) was probably our best album, with the exception, perhaps of Acquiring the Taste. We started with the idea of writing a song about each member of the band. Having a concept in mind was a good starting point for writing. I don't know why, but despite the impact of The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia, almost overnight concept albums were suddenly perceived as rather naff and pretentious."^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, progressive death metal band Witherscape covered the track "A Cry for Everyone", and issued it for release on their The Inheritance album.^[10]

The 2015 reissue of the album, mixed by Steven Wilson, entered the BBC Rock Chart at No. 34.^[11]

In 2023, John Cunningham of WhatCulture wrote: "While some may argue Acquiring the Taste is the group's magnum opus, Octopus was the trailblazer. An unwieldy but incredibly catchy and creative installment in the genre's mid '70s boom period."^[12]

The Steve Wilson Mix has the same tracks and order as the original album with one addition track:

Gentle Giant

• Kerry Minnear – keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, cello, percussion, lead and backing vocals
• Ray Shulman – bass, violin, guitar, percussion, vocals
• Gary Green – guitars, percussion
• Derek Shulman – lead vocals, alto saxophone
• Phil Shulman – trumpet, saxophones, mellophone, lead and backing vocals
• John Weathers – drums, xylophone, percussion

Production

• Gentle Giant – production
• Martin Rushent – engineering, laughter, coin spin
• Mike Viccars – Moog operator
• Cliff Morris – mastering
• Geoff Young – tape operator
• Murray Krugman – American supervision

Design

• Roger Dean – illustration and art (UK)
• John Berg – cover concept & design
• Fluid Drive – art (US)
• Charles White III – illustration (US)
• Kenny Kneitel – design
• Michael Doret – lettering

• Sivy, Robert Jacob (2016). Philippe Gonin (ed.). "Interwoven Patterns and Mutual Misunderstandings: Binding R.D. Laing's Psychology with Gentle Giant's Knots". Prog Rock in Europe: Overview of a persistent musical style. Dijon: Éditions universitaires de Dijon: 131–143. ISBN 9782364411753. (Conference journal. Analysis of the song Knots)