Gentle Giant – The Power and the Glory

Well, I have this system where if I've heard of a new instrument, I hire it for a session in the studio. Then we make a decision on whether it's worth getting one or not. I hired a Clavinet for something in The Power and The Glory. I liked it because it was so clear. I didn’t know how the pins were then. I mean, the Clavinet works on the principle of hammering the strings down on a pad, and the things between the keys and the strings are made of thin metal. They can bend very easily. This can cause you to get some very dull notes because the string isn’t being struck right. So before each gig I have to do a complete overhaul on the instrument. It's a bit of a nuisance, but it's the clearest of all the keyboards. It can cut through the worst row on stage, which is something I've always wanted as a keyboard player. Early keyboards have suffered from mediocre tone, especially at high volume. You get swallowed up by everybody's overtones. The Clavinet will cut through that, though. I tend to use it as a harpsichord, rather than in the funky fashion. What I'm taking to lately is duplicating what I play on the piano, which is situated just under the Clavinet, to get a combination of the two. There's a tuning discrepancy that thickens things out a bit too, which I like.

There is an article talking about gear used and recorded by this amazing band. There is not any footage of GG playing saxophone that I am aware of, however it was clearly used in the studio on albums such as "The Power And The Glory" and on pieces such as "So Sincere". It is stated on that website that in the studio this is what horn was used. There is no photographical proof of this that I have found yet.