IN A GLASS HOUSE

Gentle Giant was still early in the running, but they had already struck musical gold with four consecutive releases. In fact, the band was in such a flow that they cracked off two masterpieces in the same year. There was a sudden break in the beautiful funk they had developed over the last three years; the eldest Shulman brother, Phil, left the band. Without a saxophonist, they were perhaps stuck in a rut. Could it be possible for them to keep playing even after their fellow brother had quit the band?

Of course they could. The band seemed to be able to perform remarkably well without Phil, maybe even better than they had or would after it's release. It must be noted that, even though this album is excellent, it was lost in the wake of the 70's prog uprising by more well known bands (i.e: Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Jethro Tull), and this album in particular was sort of forgotten mostly due to it's inaccessibility in the US and Canada. So there was the problem of only being able to get an import from the UK, and the fact that more people were interested in Dark Side of the Moon, Selling England by the Pound, Larks Tounge's and Aspic, and maybe even A Passion Play. But I believe, and I know many others do, that this album is definitely up there with the greats.

As for this album's sound, it is quite unique. The band did try as hard as they could to be experimental, after all it was their objective to change the pop-medium of the 70's. It's a slightly strange piece of work, almost like a new drink that's hard to swallow but in the end you get used to it and love it. The 'hard to swallow' part mostly extends from the wonky time signatures and rhythm changes. But trust me, Gentle Giant is not for everyone. That's mostly why they haven't been recognized as well as they should have.

One thing I love about this album is the surprising heavy segments of the four prog epics. One that really caught my ear was the superb jazz-rocking sections from 'Experience', surrounded by graceful eclectic beating that almost seems to breathe as you listen to it. This song is one of my favorite songs EVER, mostly due to these factors. 'Way of Life' is less impressive, and seems more a mistake than a complex track that had time spent on it. 'The Runaway' is an excellent opening, taking the heavy section of 'Experience' to a whole new level. The title track finale (the most popular song from the album) is awe-inspiring. It's catchy, has some stellar a Capella, and maintains a quick thundering beat without losing a step.

The two shorter, calmer songs are 'An Inmates Lullaby', which contains some beautiful xylophone as well as some rather dark lyrics taking place in an asylum, and 'A Reunion', a medieval-style bard ditty, which is a rather surprising thing that you don't find most progressive rock bands of the 70's attempting to cross over their music.

I doubt I'm the only one to say that this album is great. Their undeniable magnum opus of the 70's rocks, and I feel it's way up there with the greats. Modern bands should take heed from the Shulmans, because they've done a mighty bang up job.