ALBUM REVIEW: Give It Back – The Pineapple Thief
Gavin Harrison’s influence on THE PINEAPPLE THIEF since his arrival in 2016 speaks for itself. The modern prog icons had already forged a well-lauded name for themselves but it was clear from 2016’s In Exile that the KING CRIMSON drummer would be taking them to new heights. Give It Back is an intriguing work of love from Harrison that further ingrains his roots into the band’s soil in a deserved celebration of THE PINEAPPLE THIEF’s history. Revisiting tracks from albums Little Man, All The Wars and Tightly Unwound, Harrison and founder/vocalist Bruce Soord are off the creative leash, with songs being chopped, shuffled about, featuring new arrangements, lyrics and verses – all from Harrison’s own creative initiative. The resulting package ensures Harrison leaves an eternal stamp on the band’s past, present and future – but was it necessary? Should we toy with the past? Should we play God simply because we can?
In this instance? Yes. The reason as to why lies with how Give It Back differentiates itself from the industry’s countless ‘special editions’, ‘remasters’ and ‘deluxe sets’ – the manner of which gladly restricts the band’s thievery to pineapples as opposed to their fan’s wallets. There comes a level of reassuring trust in knowing two prog icons – both old and relatively new – are critiquing their own work, and are doing so from their own creative agency. From the meticulous delicacy woven into the project, you get the sense that the idea to reinvent their past came well before the realisation that it could be something to market. The result is refreshingly genuine.
A key distinguishing factor, despite not being as noteworthy as any alterations in the studio, is the tracklist’s selection itself. Whether intended or not, Harrison has constructed an album within its own right that wouldn’t appear as an assortment of pre-released singles to the untrained ear. With tracks like Build A World, Boxing Day, Someone Pull Me Out and Start Shoot First setting a dominant tone of quiet despair, more abrasive cuts like Give It Back, 137 and Warm Seas give a tempered note of aggression to balance the palette. Another breath of novelty considering most reworks and compilations feel inherently disjointed, we tend to never expect much less but it’s another show of brilliance from the band that it can indeed be done.
The changes to Give It Back’s 12 tracks aren’t enormous – they still need to be recognisable after all – but the odd new verse here, new drum grooves there and a new production paint job leave songs almost 17 years old feeling as contemporary as the band’s recent catalogue. The band are arguably at their prime, and hearing Soord’s vocals garnished with a slight husk and the unmistakable rhythm witchcraft from Harrison giving the tracks a fresh kick of life is a joy to behold for besotted fans. Highlights are strewn across the 12 numbers but lasting changes are a challenge to miss. There are additions, including Build A World’s new opening verse that completes the lyrical journey and gives time for its intro to simmer unlike the original which lurches awkwardly into motion without a moment’s notice. Start Your Descent now also includes drum arrangements throughout to give a better sense of momentum, equally however the track is robbed of its opening string sections – a regrettable omission for something that added such vivid melancholy to the ballad.
Looking elsewhere there are some things that the ‘rewired’ renditions of these hallowed gems simply do better. The title track is a bit of a monster – a seven-minute storm of chugs and brutalist kicks and snaps from the low end and the 2022 version, which snips its runtime by a decent 40 seconds, is dramatically more concise without feeling as though it’s lost its identity. It retains its complexity and scale yet feels punchier, not only on the account of its weight loss but elevated so by the aforementioned hulking production. Another gift of the grace of time is that Soord’s performances have matured, and with that comes a subtle anchor to tug endlessly on listeners’ heartstrings. Listen, especially, to the deliveries on Boxing Day. It’s a song that already comes immobilized by the weight of its sorrow, but Soord’s new nuances and relative coarseness somehow double down on the gloom for one hell of a ballad.
Gavin Harrison’s pedigree has never been in question and Give It Back is yet another justification to join countless others. Between himself and the remaining crew, they have reconfigured a work of intelligence and genuine curiosity to ask “what if?” that invites inspired answers. In a world of blatant cash grabs and celebration of the mediocre, THE PINEAPPLE THEIF have, yet again, set a new standard for quality.
Rating: 9/10
Give It Back is set for release on May 13th via KScope.
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