Giant on the Move is one of a small handful of progressive rock releases coming out of 1970s Indonesia. Others include Guruh Gipsy and Abbhama. And Giant Step is also a vehicle for one of Indonesia's primary musical movers and shakers: Benny Soebardja. Soebardja's first recordings were with Shark Move, before moving to Giant Step, and then ultimately going solo with a band called Lizard as his backup. The beauty of progressive rock being created in no-market countries such as Indonesia, is that the band pretty much has complete creative freedom. Which is, of course, perfect for the style. There are 9 cuts here totaling close to an hour, and most of them go in directions one would not predict. The high creativity of the ambitious amateur I would submit. In this way, Giant Step recalls some of the Italian classics of the early 70s. It's not intentional of course, just a consequence of the mindset of the era - one of great imagination and the possibilities were endless. You can expect all sorts of wild instrumentation throughout. If looking for the utmost in professionalism and commercial viability, Giant Step should be avoided.
Naturally enough Giant on the Move is not perfect either, and every Indonesian group seems to include a certain amount of romanticism - a product of their own native club culture. Also the recording itself is pretty rough - still very listenable, but more what we would expect from a cassette demo here in the States. All of which is entirely understandable given the time and place. An excellent historical document, and the kind of progressive rock that grows in stature with each listen. My type, that is to say.
Also of major note to original vinyl collectors - the real-time LP is only half of the full album. The original cassette had the full album as intended.
Ownership: LP: 2021 Strawberry Rain (Canada). Online acquisition. 2 LP / 3 sided set released in a fine gatefold, with photos and news clippings of the band in the center. This of course has the full album, as originally released on cassette (see above). On the downside, there are no accompanying liner notes.
I didn't even realize Strawberry Rain were still in existence, and it looks like I missed out on the 3 LP reissue from Peter Wale from last year (which we first announced in the CDRWL heyday). Who knew? Oh well.
There also exists a legit CD on a local label called Rockpod (2017). Another under the radar release apparently.
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