When ‘In A Glass House’ was originally released back in 1973 Gentle Giant fans were enthused by its musical complexity and bold theme - “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. Their first album without brother Phil Shuman, the music had less of the saxophone and a greater focus on the musicality of Ray Shulman, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green. John Weathers percussion added a real punch and drive to their music.
Amongst Giant afficionados, ‘In A Glass House’ is a pinnacle of the band’s developing talents. But, and it is a big but, the original mix was rushed and flattened out a lot of the multi-layered and multi-rhythmic nature of their music.
It is a ‘difficult’ album, not immediately appealing to the rock fraternity. Most of the Giant canon has been remixed by Steven Wilson, but the album that cried out for a remix was stifled by the loss of the original multitracks. New technology has allowed Derek Shulman, aided by producer Eber Pinheiro, to revisit the album and try to draw out the original album.
Frankly, I did not know what to expect. I have had the original vinyl, two different CD releases and probably played the album to death. Thirty seconds into ‘The Runaway’ and the hairs on the back of my neck are at attention. Ray’s fluid and melodic bass playing sits at the heart of the track, while all the other instruments and vocal complexities have their own place. The playing has taken on an almost 3D feel – even on simple PC speakers! – and the songs themselves make even more sense, the link to the theme ever more clear. There is a stygian darkness around the instruments, allowing them to exist in space as well as in the context of the music. Playing the album on my hi-fi rig of classic Celestion Ditton speakers and Quad amplifiers, I could hear that what I thought was a pipe organ was actually multi-layered recorders, the subtlety of Weathers percussion has far more than just a drummer style, while the xylophone solo comes up front and centre, completely nailing the concept of ‘The Runaway’.
And we are only one track in! ‘An Inmate’s Lullaby’ is sweet but after a moment you begin to hear a truly unhappy individual.
Every track is drawn in clear images, subtleties lie beneath the surface but on this release they take more importance and the listener is rewarded by multiple listens to really get the quality of the playing and writing.
To Gentle Giant fans worldwide, this is the one they have been waiting for and the result is magnificent.
