The Power and the Glory (Gentle Giant album) The Power and the Glory (Gentle Giant album) The Power and the Glory is the sixth album by the British progressive rock group Gentle Giant, released in 1974. Contrary to popular belief, the title of the album and its many lyrical themes were not inspired by author Graham Greene's novel of the same name, although Derek Shulman was aware of Greene's novel. Guitarist Gary Green has cited this album as his favourite by the band. The concept album focused on an individual who means to do good using political power. He finds himself tempted to abuse the power, as have
The Power and the Glory suppress the Catholic Church. That suppression had resulted in the Cristero War (1927-1929), so named for its Catholic combatants' slogan "Viva Cristo Rey" (long live Christ the King). In 1941, the novel received the Hawthornden Prize British literary award. In 2005, it was chosen by "TIME" magazine as one of the hundred best English-language novels since 1923. The main character is an unnamed 'whisky priest', who combines a great power for self-destruction with pitiful cravenness, an almost painful penitence, and a desperate quest for dignity. By the end, though, the priest "acquires a real holiness." The other principal character is