1972 UK ? GENTLE GIANT GLASS HOUSE - Prog Psych

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        SCARCE UK 1972 ORIGINAL VINYL with WINDOW 

              In A Glass House

\                                                            UK - WWA Records - 002

M- TOP CLEAN VINYL

Hard to find  1972 original vinyl first pressing on the British WWA label complete with a textured cover, window cover, plus 'Gentle Giant' photo & lyrics inner sleeve. Released when Gentle Giant were peaking, and for whatever reason, was not released in the USA becoming a prized import. 

GENTLE GIANT's sound on In a Glass House isn't too different from "Octopus", except that the songs generally have fewer about-faces within them and instead feature a greater amount of development. There is also less of a "medieval" feel to the album, as the sound is more electric guitar oriented. It is a concept album of sorts but unlike "Three Friends", it does not attempt to tell a story. The songs portray several characters in various dire straits; I guess the point is to elaborate on being too quick to judge people without understanding them. The album is sequenced quite effectively as it is book-ended by two long, guitar-heavy tracks that I think are the album's most immediately accessible - although this is always a relative concept where Gentle Giant is concerned. The record's pithy interior is somewhat more experimental and introspective.

Lyrically, I think this is Gentle Giant's finest album (though "Experience" isn't up to par). The standout in this area must be "An Inmate's Lullaby," which is an unsettling peek into the mind of a mental hospital patient:

Quoting lyrics barely does the song justice, though, as the words are potently augmented by the tumbling, off-centered music - which consists wholly of malleted percussion. The song is emblematic of the great success that Gentle Giant achieved by continuing to experiment. Like most "main sequence" Gentle Giant albums, the vocals on Glass House are usually sung in a manner that isn't immediately catchy or memorable and "Inmate's Lullaby" is certainly no exception. The vocal melodies used throughout the album can dip and dive unpredictably and sometimes rush past the listener in an incomprehensible flurry. I owned this album a very long time before I could quote more than a line or two from any particular song. The lyrics are hard to pick up just by listening and the music is so good that I wasn't prompted to investigate further.

Music this dense and diverse cannot be easily or succinctly described. Suffice it to say that while In a Glass House is as contrapuntal and experimental an album as Octopus, it is harder rocking. It may even be more cerebral. Octopus dazzles with its multitude of themes and the songs are saturated with ideas. The twists on In a Glass House are more integrated. There is little on this album that you can initially see coming, yet after repeated listens the compositions make sense. Motifs get flipped around and turned inside out, light acoustic passages are cut off abruptly in favor of some electric guitar riffing (yet the riffing never turns into soloing) and the organs and synthesizers are often used unconventionally. In one of my favorite parts of the album, a synthesizer motif on "Way of Life" flirts with becoming a trite-sounding fanfare, but the plug is yanked out of it first and it collapses into a dissonant gurgle

1.  The Runaway — 7:15
2.  An Inmate's Lullaby — 4:40
3.  Way of Life — 7:52

II
4.  Experience — 7:50
5.  A Reunion — 2:11
6.  In a Glass House — 8:26       

CONDITION: The cover: is nice VG++ the window cover is prone to wear with the black cover, this copy only very light (small) visible past use, was careful handling ...flat & solid square ~~ from almot 40 years ago.

The vinyl: is all glossy over both sides, M- TOP LEVEL plays clear and clean from start to end. Both WWA labels are clean

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record