Free Hand

A great album to begin with but he did improve on it.

My favourite band of all time. Releasing my favourite album of all time. Steve Wilson has enhanced the recording to perfection and brought it up to date. A mater piece improved.

Brilliant re-release which sounds amazing in 5.1. Have only recently rediscovered Gentle Giant having passed me by in the 70s. Incredibly innovative band of brilliant musicians.

Absolutely brilliant- the superb 5.1 mix and exciting animation bring this excellent music even more to life.

Not my favourite band from back in the day but this is worthwhile especially as Steven Wilson has done the remixes.He has done a storming job on the Dolby Atmos mix (where does he find the time)? and for me this makes the album.A bit expensive but you get what you pay for,recommended.

Atmos recording, biggest breakthrough in recording since stereo in late 60s

My cousin is best friend with Kerry. went out with my cousin and friends. I was in the car , they was this person in blue track suit and had long hair and beard. That's back in the 1980s now got you tube. Kerry was in GG ok put concert on that the group did back in 70/80s . playing keyboard s etc. their was Kerry the person I was in back seat with. No more long hair or beard now. my cousin is still friend with Kerry now.

The original vinyl is the only way to hear GG . This mix has gone the way most modern re mix producers go easy listening pop for the soap fans really . A truly great Pompey group that deserves much better .

I have nothing but praise for the surround sound mix. I don't have an Atmos system (probably never will). Stereo mixes don't really interest me much, and I most likely won't be listening to it in stereo for months to come.The overall package is well-priced. Amazon sent this too much very quickly. I'm please with my purchase.

This is a review of the June 25th, 2021, Steven Wilson remixes of Free Hand. I compared the SW mix to the DRT 35th Anniversary Edition CD since I no longer own the horrid One Way Records CD anymore. I don't have the Alucard 2009 remaster so I can't comment on that. I am not an audiophile nor am I an audio engineer, these are just my thoughts.For the stereo mix, the DRT CD has more high end on most songs and more overall compression. The exception to the high end is - the SW mix of "His Last Voyage" has more high end and reverb, especially noted during the acoustic portions of the song, than the DRT mix. The placement of the instruments and voices in the stereo field seems to be the same. Overall, I think I'm more accustomed to the DRT mix and I prefer it to the SW mix. Either way both versions are much improved over the One Way Records CD.The Blu-ray has the following mixes. Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS, stereo, instrumental mix, original album mix, and original quad mix. The stereo mixes are in 96/24 LPCM. I don't have an Atmos set-up so I could not listen to that. The 5.1 DTS mix sounds great. Sound fills the room with good beefy tones. Each song comes with an animated video. Three of these videos were directed and animated by Noah Shulman, Derek's son. These videos are available for all the different mixes on the Blu-ray.So, is it worth buying Free Hand again? If you have a decent surround set-up I would say definitely yes. The videos alone are super cool and worth seeing. If you want to replace your One-Way Record CD, it's also a no brainer hearty yes. If you only want to replace the DRT CD stereo mix, I'm not sure it would be necessary. I have no clue if the vinyl remix is better than the original, so that's left to the vinyl folks to report.Now a brief review of the album...Gentle Giant is one of my favorite bands. A band that sound be heard by everyone who claims they like prog. With numerous time changes and intricate musical passages Giant is not for everybody and may challenge most listeners. But this challenge can have great rewards because the talent this band has is amazing... all musicians are proficient at multiple instruments, the songwriting skill is superb, and the tunes are timeless. For the novice to Gentle Giant, Free Hand would be a good starting point.We begin with "Just the Same" a great upbeat-syncopated rocker... one of those tunes where the chorus sticks in your head and you sing it all day. "On Reflection" showcases great a cappella vocal work with a powerful instrumental jam at the end. "Free Hand" is stunning! Great piano intro that turns into a full-out rocking tune slowed down briefly by a wonderful intricate middle section only to blast back into the awesome verse. "Time to Kill" shows once again the power this band has... what a grooving tune, great bass line, great layered harmonized vocals, and great interaction between musicians. "His Last Voyage" is a mellow haunting track, similar in style to what can be heard on "Acquiring the Taste". Love the vibes in this song. The wah-wah guitar solo fits perfectly. "Talybont" is a short instrumental with sort of an Irish jig feel. "Mobile" begins beautifully with a violin and guitar intro only to transform into another great rocking tune. Don't miss out on the drum roll at the end. Free Hand does not sound dated, it has aged well, and is one of the best prog albums of all time.

Excelente edición, el CD tiene la nueva mezcla en estéreo, mientras que el Blu Ray tiene la mezcla original y el remix en estéreo, 5.1 DTS, Dolby Atmos y el Quad Mix.Incluso aunque no cuentes con un sistema Atmos (como es mi caso) sí hay diferencia en la mezcla, haciendola un poco más dinámica.Por el álbum ni se diga, es un esencial de Gentle Giant y esta edición es excelente para lo que tenemos un sistema surround, además mezclado por el gran Steven Wilson.

Non facile da digerire al primo ascolto poiché di difficile approccio, ma che trova i suoi numerosi punti di forza e d’interesse proprio nella sua imprevedibilità.

Herr Wilson hat mal wieder ganze Arbeit geleistet. Danke dafür.