IN A GLASS HOUSE

In a Glass house is one of those records, at least for me, that hits you from a weird angle at first and then you aren't quite sure what to make of it. A strange record especially since it came out the same year as Octopus and yet sounds nothing like it. I mean, it opens up with the sound of glass shattering and then you hear that medieval-like singing. The next song is all vibes or xylophone with a weird voice singing about being contained in a cell in an insane asylum. What the hell? It seems to me that after brother Phil Shulman left, the rest of the boys were bent on producing an album more complex and downright more esoteric than all of what came before and succeeded. On a previous review someone mentioned that this album was a blatant attempt at commercialism. This is amazingly inaccurate. In fact their record company at the time (Columbia) rejected this album as being way too uncommercial. Which is the truth. It is a strange but amazing prog record through and through. In A Glass House needs repeated listenings, as all great prog albums need. (No kidding right?) The complexity in the playing, the composition, the light & shade etc. is all here. Even the thin, brittle production (like glass!) contributes to making this a prog masterpiece. Every note, beat & melody from start to finish takes you through a multitude of moods and textures. Gentle Giant were always able to make "shorter" songs sound like epics due to their compositions and off the freakin' wall instrumental interplay. On In A Glass House they do this to perfection. For me, it wan't my favorite GG album after listening to the rest but slowly emerged to become one of my all time favorite albums. Listen to this one with headphones...oh yeah!