IN A GLASS HOUSE

Well I do like this better than "Octopus" but it doesn't measure up to the enjoyment I get out of "Three Friends" and "Acquiring The Taste". It just seems like something is missing from their early days, maybe it's just that the music has become more challenging and complex. Having said all that I really like "The Runaway" , "Experience" and "In A Glass House" a lot. It's all good though.

"The Runaway" opens with the sound of someone breaking something and this continues until it is in a rhythm.The sound builds as vocals from Shulman arrive a minute in.There is some recorder, guitar and vibes to follow, actually there is a vibes solo 5 minutes in. "The Inmate's Lullaby" doesn't have a lot of melody as percussion and vocals lead the way.There are some vibes and the lyrics are quite interesting in this intricate and complex song. "Way Of Life" is an uptempo tune that has a mellow section 2 1/2 minutes in of organ, violin and Minnear's gentle vocals.Then were back to the races.The drumming is quite prominant on this track and the song ends with prolonged organ sounds.

"Experience" features fast paced vocals from Minnear with lots of keys.Some good bass 2 minutes in and a chorus that follows. Some angular guitar melodies late. Nice. "A Reunion" is ok,but it does seem very English to me, maybe it's Minnear's vocal style on this one. Acoustic guitar, bass and violin lead the way. "In A Glass House" is my favourite track on this album. It's an uptempo tune with violin and acoustic guitar. The tempo changes often and Shulman does the vocals. Nice to hear some sax as well. With Phil Shulman leaving before this recording there is far less sax melodies then we're used to with this band.

This is classic GENTLE GIANT so what's not to like ?