Taken from what sounds like a soundboard recording, The Missing Face documents a concert at the Ballroom in Cleveland, OH, sometime in November 1977. First released as a bootleg in the late '90s and later given an official release by the Glasshouse imprint, it boasts reasonably good sound and excellent playing. 1977's The Missing Piece is the LP where Gentle Giant crossed the line from trying to give their complex progressive rock sound a simpler, more readily accessible rock form to running away from prog altogether to salvage their record contract. As listeners know, it didn't work and, although less miserable than the follow-up, Giant for a Day, The Missing Piece still has little to recommend it. That's why this live album is such a surprise. Five out of the ten songs it features come from the group's then-current LP, but they sound crispier and more lively; in short, they make more sense. "Two Weeks in Spain" turns out to be a very respectable show-opener. If "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It" still sounds like a one-line joke and "I'm Turning Around" is too drab to catch attention, "Memories of Old Days" makes for a brilliant, richly arranged acoustic number and "For Nobody" concludes the disc with a punch. Little survived from the group's previous tours, but the over-exposed "Funny Ways" is still there to content fans of the early days, while "Free Hand" and "On Reflection" remain show highlights. Instead of playing "Proclamation," "So Sincere," or "Cogs in Cogs" from The Power and the Glory, the group opted for "Playing the Game" and "The Face," two tracks that deserved some attention. The Missing Face duplicates the set list of the 1978 concert included on the album Out of the Fire, but it makes a nice addition fans will enjoy -- maybe more than they first thought possible.