Little Giant - Vol. 2: Byeolri [LP Miniature Digipak]

Album Introduction

Kim Soo-cheol was a so-called 'prodigy' since he was a high school student. He formed a rock band in his first year at Yongsan Technical High School and started his activities. In his third year of high school, he is said to have played rock music for the first time at Myeongdong Cathedral. There is an anecdote that the explosive hard rock sound turned the reverent cathedral upside down. Kim Soo-cheol himself said in an interview with pop music critic Sung Woo-jin, "I was already a professional when I was in high school."

The band that Kim Soo-cheol formed when he went to college was 'Little Giant'. It consisted of a quartet of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard, with Kim Soo-cheol playing guitar and lead vocals. They received the Gold Award at the 〈National College Song Contest〉 held for the first time in 1979 with 「Seven Colors of the Rainbow」, receiving the spotlight. In the same year, they released their first album 『Little Giant's Lament』. There were many regrets about the first album. They wanted to play intense and experimental rock, but the recording technology did not support it, so it was not properly expressed. Two years later, the album that they released with determination is the second album of 'Little Giant', which is considered a masterpiece of Korean rock. In the meantime, the band members left one by one, reducing it to a duo. Kim Soo-cheol played vocals, guitar, and bass, and Choi Soo-il took the drumsticks. Unlike the first album jacket with a color photo of four brightly smiling people, the second album jacket featured a black and white photo of only two people left, with their faces cut off so that their expressions could not be seen. However, the second album was able to produce the desired result thanks to the use of a fairly good recording studio and the touch of a Japanese professional engineer.

The first song on the second album is 「Byeolri」. It can be said to be a song that incorporated unconventional Korean traditional music at the time, and Kim Soo-cheol's passion for Korean traditional music began at this time. Later, Kim Soo-cheol turned to Korean traditional music and released albums such as 『Hwangcheon-gil』, 『Palman Daejanggyeong』, and 『Guitar Sanjo』. Like a campus band, 「Seya」 with youth and spirit, jazz rock 「Happiness」 that starts like a ballad and leads to a cheerful chorus, instrumental song 「World of Darkness」 with funky rhythm that makes your shoulders shake, exciting rock and roll 「What Should I Do」 that can be said to be a dance song, lyrical and sad ballad 「Loneliness」, refreshing traditional hard rock 「Knowing It」, etc. All the songs are like jewels.

The highlight is the last song 「Seven Colors of the Rainbow」. It is a newly arranged version of the award-winning song from the 〈National College Song Contest〉 and the song from the first album, and the running time of 5 minutes and 12 seconds unfolds dramatically to the point where it feels extremely short. There is also a part in the middle where he played by plucking the guitar strings with his teeth. The stage manners, such as jumping around, were also unconventional. The performance and stage manners, which were never inferior to those of overseas master guitarists, left a deep groove in the history of Korean rock.

After the release of 'Little Giant's' second album, when Choi Soo-il even left the band, Kim Soo-cheol reorganized the band with Shin Yoon-shik and Heo Jun, but it eventually disbanded shortly after. Kim Soo-cheol, who decided to quit music due to his parents' strong opposition, went on to graduate school. Then, after releasing his first solo album at the suggestion of a record company, 「A Budding Flower」, 「I'm Going Too」, and 「Young You」 became big hits, and he rose to the ranks of popular singers. As time went by, Kim Soo-cheol became absorbed in crossovers with Korean traditional music and continued to pioneer new areas. However, he never gave up on rock. Kim Soo-cheol is still interacting with young indie musicians and is burning his passion as a 'little giant' and 'young you'.