Albums: Giraffe - The Power of Suggestion (1987) / The View from Here (1988)

I am a big fan of these albums since discovering the band through an internet radio station. I heard the track 'All Fall Down' on progrock.com and my initial thought was "is that Level 42?" before glancing over to the display to see 'Giraffe - All Fall Down' scrolling across the screen. It was from there that I went on to seek it out on YouTube and found that the track itself is from the album 'The View from Here' but none of the other tracks from the record were on there (although at the time of writing there is now a video containing the entire album). However what I did find of Giraffe's was a playlist of all the tracks from their debut 'The Power of Suggestion' and so that quickly became the album I familiarised myself with and what a fine record it is too.

It is immediately apparent from the opening track on 'The Power of Suggestion' that this is an 80's record. It has a Trevor Horn feel in the production and so for me, this should be up there with the other iconic albums of the decade but it isn't because it's one of those that slipped by the radar straight in to obscurity and that is a real shame. This is an 80's pop record but in the same vein as say Talk Talk's 'The Colour of Spring' as they are both albums with a bit of weight behind them unlike a straight up pop album like the majority of them from the 80's.  Every track on here as it's own identity and as such I don't have a particular favourite although I do rather like what I believe to be the single 'Because of you' which for a well known artist, would probably have been a hit. As I say though, the whole album just flows very well and is such a shame that it is not available to purchase in any format whatsoever.

'The View from Here' is another fine album and was to be Giraffe's final record having just produced the two in as many years. It is rather different to their previous album in that it has more of a flow I feel and where 'The Power of Suggestion' is very typical of an 80's production, this is less so. In some ways I prefer it but I really do enjoy both of them equally. I like POS for its catchy hooks and because I am a fan of 80's production but VFH has more of my favourite tracks. Them being the track that started me on my Giraffe and Kevin Gilbert journey 'All Fall Down' and 'I Will Survive,' the former has a very Level 42 feel to it while the latter is a sort of ballad which I find rather moving. When I listen to both of their records, I am left wanting more and it was a shame that's as far as it went and will ever go but I suppose one could say they left us with two fine records to treasure!

The mastermind behind the band is Kevin Gilbert who must have had an interest in the Progressive Rock scene of the 70's (although he would have been a young boy at the time) as evident by a fantastic performance by his band Giraffe of Genesis' 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' at Progfest '94 which starts with him holding a radio blasting out 'Invisible Touch' which he shortly after throws to the ground stopping that tune dead and is swiftly followed by the piano that starts the opening title track of the sublime double album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'... gets me every time! It can't have upset Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford of Genesis too much though as when shown a tape of the performance while they were holding auditions for a successor to take over from Phil Collins following his departure in 1996, they were going to call Kevin for an audition only to hear that he had not long died at the age of just 29!

It is such a shame as he was meant for greatness and deserved the exposure. I think if he were still around today he would have made a huge impact on the modern Prog scene and who knows, Genesis may well have hired him and we could have had more records long after the release of 'Calling all Stations' (I'm a fan of that album and Ray Wilson by the way!) but that is in another reality. What he did give us in his short career is nothing short of exceptional and I for one will treasure his work even if I am not given the option of owning it.

For my recommendations, well I cannot praise these two albums highly enough but as they can't be purchased then all I can refer you to is YouTube while I wait patiently for a reissue of both records. I will provide links below.

Thank you so much for reading!

The Power of Suggestion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVD6TIaozo&list=PLF088327B52D4B65F

The View from Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUbIUOWkrYE

The Lamb Live peformance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Ml1QDdNZ0

Kevin Gilbert's Kashmir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ZefUny1no

Enjoy!