IN A GLASS HOUSE

Is "In a Glass House" the best Gentle Giant album? For me, the three in sequence (Octopus, In a Glass House and Power and the Glory) are the most prominent of the group, perhaps with the addition of Free Hand and Adquiring the Taste, but that is one of the troubles with Gentle Giant, we are talking about a musical group that contains a multitude of playings and individual masterpieces. Gentle Giant is perhaps the band that most accomplish what progressive rock must do: expand the boundaries of rock music ... oh, wait... this are the definition themselves set to them. Damn!

Contrary to Octopus, In a Glass House appears to struggle a bit to find its way, probably because of the departure of one of the Shulman borthers. As the band was trying to re-organize (as loosing one was like loosing 5 or 6 instruments and a vocal), more steady pieces and riffs go along with the efusive and breaking rythms so caracteristic of all classic Gentle Giant. All tracks are sberb and work from one another, without leaving space to wonder what else these tracks could sound.

The most prominent for me its the title track itself. The band closed to itself, trying to think how things would turn out from now on , give us exactly the contrary (at least in the way the music is displayed): they open themselves, showing the edgy parts, the changes they have to made, presenting their "new" sound. In a Glass House is exactly how these great artist must have felt: exposed.

The nice is that they shouldnt felt that way, the album goes along their discography satnding as the masterpiece it is.