IN A GLASS HOUSE

The first album without Phil Shulman, but still with the other two shulmans, you might be wondering if this band will go the path of Genesis once losing their inspiration. But in fact, Gentle Giant still contained 5 extraordinary musicians capable of blowing the collective minds of their fans. The drummer was finally constant, John Weathers, the only Band member who does not sing. There is a little bit of difference in production quality between this and Octopus, which sounded very intricate and personal, whereas this one seems more distant and On-a-Pedestal.

Runaway: The next GG song in the Xylophone solo series, this song is very complex as usual, with Kerry Minnear throwing in his usual multitude of keyboard bits. Gary Green does the typical riffs and runs we are used to, and the lyrics are soft and delicate. there is a section here where the acoustic guitars sound gorgeous, and the singing is in another language, and its just great. the xylophone solo sounds better than the knots one, because its on the lower notes and not the silly high ones. concert favorite.

Inmate's Lullaby: A voice modulator to make it sound as though you are talking to the singer on a phone, and a solely percussion song. my only complaint is the tympani sounds like it needs some tuning, but other than that this is one of their most unique songs, and with gentle giant, thats saying something. the melody on the xylo/vibra phones is great, as are the backing vocals.

Way of Life: GO! Hard rocker with great bass and guitar work over a driving drum beat. the keyboards also sound heavy, if thats possible. split into sections of medieval melody and singing, this song is confusing, but in a good way. there is some very interesting work with time signatures and riffs, keeping the listener on edge. the middle part has the Madrigal singing and keyboards, giving a new mood to the song. it fades out with some dissonant keyboard chords.

Experience: Best song on the CD, very odd and not too melodic in the first half, lots of instrumentation and bouncy melodies. this song is often medleyed with runaway in concerts. the acoustic guitars are constantly running up and down as the singer sings with some introspective lyrics. the electric piano adds nice little riffs, and Kerry Minnear is brilliant as always. the bass line comes in, and the violin, keyboard and guitar add in over it. then we get taken to the bridge of choir sounding keyboards and singing. then the piano blasts in and we get treated to a classic rock-ish song, with plenty of guitar soloing and powerful singing. this gets repeated once more before the end, and Gary Green Really Shines.

A Reunion: A simple, violin based waltz-type thing, this song is a little boring. a nice melody, but it doesn't go anywhere.

In a Glass House: a great acoustic riff with harmonics kicks us off, and violin adds to the frenzy. the waltz section with some odd keyboard sounds is cool, and gives us a bouncy riffy section. the acoustic guitars show their taste as well, bubbling in here and there. the sax solo somewhere in the middle is cool, with the low keyboard notes augmenting it nicely. halfway through the song we get a section similar to the end of Experience, with heavy riffing and powerful singing, sounding not at all medieval, but mixing it up greatly. this sections switches between acoustic and electric and continues to the end. the last part is a sound or bit from each of the songs on the album, including the glass breaking from runaway.

Overall, a great album, not as complex as Octopus, but still great and classic GG.