In a Glass House
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Hippyland | [2] |
| Sputnikmusic | [3] |
In a Glass House is the fifth album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1973. The album is allegedly a concept project based on the aphorism "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".[4] The record begins and ends with the sound of breaking glass.
Release
One of Gentle Giant's most popular albums (although the band themselves were not happy with it at the time, being made under pressure of Phil Shulman's departure),[5] it was available in North America only as a rare[6] import – both LP and CD – until 2004 when a digitally remastered CD was released. This was because their US label Columbia Records rejected the album as uncommercial. As a result, Columbia dropped the band from the label which contractually allowed the band to take ownership of the original master recording and all rights to it. This cleared the way for the first "official" release of the title in the United States on compact disc on the band's own Alucard label. It is the first Gentle Giant album after the departure of Phil Shulman.
The 2004 release had two live recordings from the tour as bonus tracks. The album was reissued in 2005 and distributed by Derek Shulman's DRT label with 1 bonus live track as part of the 35th Anniversary reissue series of the band's back catalogue. In 2009, In a Glass House became available for the first time as a digital download with bonus live recordings (these recordings differed from the original 2004 and 2005 release of the album) remastered by Fred Kervorkian under the supervision of Ray Shulman. In a Glass House received a physical release on CD as part of a 40th Anniversary series of reissues this time without any bonus tracks with plans to release vinyl versions of all the band's albums from In a Glass House through Giant for a Day in late 2010.[7]
The final track of the album is hidden. Following the song "In a Glass House", there is a delay then a brief recapitulation of every other track on the album. The song is named "Index" in LP releases but not marked in the cover of the CD releases. The album cover had a black and white lithograph of the group covered with clear plastic ("glass") on a die-cut.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman, and Ray Shulman, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Runaway" | 7:15 | |
| 2. | "An Inmate's Lullaby" | Minnear, R. Shulman | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Way of Life" | 8:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Experience" | 7:50 | |
| 2. | "A Reunion" | Minnear, R. Shulman | 2:11 |
| 3. | "In a Glass House" "Index" (On CD-pressings this small song including samples from each of the album's other songs is included in the end of In a Glass House) | Minnear, R. Shulman | 7:49 0:20 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "The Runaway/Experience" (Live 23 September 1976 at the Philipshalle in Düsseldorf, West Germany) | 10:01 |
| 8. | "In a Glass House" (Live 5 April 1974, at the Münsterlandhalle, Münster, West Germany) | 9:49 |
- 35th anniversary disc only contains the "The Runaway/Experience" bonus track with a length of 9:43
Personnel
- Derek Shulman - lead vocals on tracks 1-4 and 6, alto saxophone (track 6), soprano saxophones (track 6), descant recorder (track 1)
- Gary Green - 12 string acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 5, 6), 6 string electric guitars (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6), steel guitar (track 6), mandolin (track 6), tambourine (track 6), treble recorder (track 3)
- Kerry Minnear - Moog (tracks 1, 3, 6), Hammond organ (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6), piano (tracks 1, 3, 4), Clavinet (tracks 1, 4, 6), electric piano (tracks 5, 6), Thomas Organ (tracks 3, 4), clavichord (track 4), celesta (track 2), glockenspiel (tracks 1, 2, 4), marimba (tracks 1, 2), vibraphone (track 2), tympani (track 2), cello (track 5), descant recorder (tracks 1, 3), lead vocals on tracks 1 and 3-6
- Ray Shulman - bass (tracks 1, 3-6), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 6), violin (tracks 3, 6), violins (track 5), electric violin (track 4), tambourine (track 4), backing vocals (tracks 1, 6)
- John Weathers - drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6), bass drum (track 5), cowbell[8] (track 6)
Production
- Arranged By Gentle Giant
- Produced By Gentle Giant & Gary Martin
- Recorded & Engineered By Gary Martin
- Mixed By Dan Bornemark
CD releases
- Road Goes On Forever RGF CD 1001, 1992?, no bonus tracks
References
- ^ Eder, Bruce (2011). "In a Glass House - Gentle Giant | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Miller, Ben (2011). "Gentle Giant: In a Glass House (1973) - Hip Music Reviews - Hippyland". hippy.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Gentle Giant - In a Glass House - sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ In A Glass House (1973) - Gentle Giant web site
- ^ Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock (New Musical Express), 2nd ed., Salamander Books-Harmony Books NY-London, 1977, p.92
- ^ The Rolling Stone Record Guide (first edition, 1979, p. 147) does not list the LP among nine Gentle Giant albums up to Giant for a Day. Also absent from the list are the first self-titled LP, and the compilation albums Giant Steps and Pretentious.
- ^ "Progressiveland" interview with Derek Shulman by Wayne Klein, 17 February 2010
- ^ Gentle Giant's website (www.blazemonger.com/GG/)