Three Friends (1972) is the third album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant. It is the only album by Gentle Giant to feature drummer Malcolm Mortimore following the departure of Martin Smith. A concept album, Three Friends deals with three childhood friends whose lives take them very different places. However, each of the three friends are unsatisfied with their new lives. The closing song ends the story on a cliffhanger; whether or not the three friends ever reunite is never revealed. Three Friends was the band's first self-produced album. The two former albums were produced by David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti. Gary Green's guitar solo on "Peel the Paint" uses an echoplex belonging to Mike Ratledge that Green's brother Jeff, a roadie with Ratledge's band Soft Machine, had borrowed.
