THE COMPILATIONS, 1996 TO 2004

Hot on the heels of this past summer's masterpiece, The Inconsolable Secret, GLASS HAMMER releases another brand new album. According to GLASS HAMMER's website, "All tracks included on The Compilations, 1996 to 2004 either never made their way to an official album, were recorded for tribute albums, or were part of compilation projects that included many prog artists." That's all well and good, but the quality of the songs included on this album are exceptional, and certainly to be considered amongh the band's best, leaving one to wonder why GLASS HAMMER never saw fit to include some of these tracks on previous albums.

The album starts off with a jaw dropping rendition of TIme Marches On performed live at ProgDay 1997. This recording, as well as all other live GH recordings, prove the band's mettle when it comes to playing in front of an audience. From there, we get a fantastic interpretation of Camel's Air Born. Indeed, I think GH does the song more justice than Camel ever did. Skipping to the end of the album we find the 21 minute epic, In the Court of Alkinoos. This song is everything an epic prog piece should be, with beautiful vocals and harmonies, lush keyboards, odd time signatures, and much more. This piece provide 21 minutes of pure bliss, a perfect anchor to an already exceptional album.

The biggest difference with this album is that it's only available via Apple iTunes Music Store. While some may be put off by the iTunes Music Store, I was pleasantly surprised as the quality of the encoding, as well as with Apple's DRM policies. You can easily burn the downloading tracks to CD, as well as place them on your iPod. Best of all, the cost of the album via iTunes is only $9.99. You can't beat such a deal, and you can't beat the music on this new album. Definitely a worthy addition to any prog collection, especially for prog fans of symphonic, keyboard-laden music.

Absolutely incredible. I would typically not rate a compliation album as a five star release, but this is a notable exception to the rule!

Glass Hammer's albums have always been a hit and miss affair with me, as they usually have one to three fantastic tracks along with several tracks that miss the mark. It's ironic, then, that this album, made up of live recordings and tracks left on the cutting room floor, is easily their best, and one of the best prog albums of the 2000s!

The opening track was not a favorite of mine when it was first released, but this version is just incredible! The keyboard work alone makes this a must-listen.

"Air Born" is far better than the original Camel track. Glass Hammer really makes it their own!

I could go on and on--the two longest epics are also classic prog compositions--but let me just say that if you enjoy symphonic prog, this is the one Glass Hammer album that you should buy (you'll probably go to Lex Rex from here, but this is the ONE!) There are lots of vintage keyboards for keyboard fans, good drumming and bass playing, and very good singing, both male and female.

Happy listening!

This CD compilation by USA progrock band Glass Hammer contains eight tracks from the era between 1996 and 2004. Their sound is melodic and accessible with an important role for the vintage keyboards, especially in the long and alternating composition In the Court Of Alkinoos in which we can enjoy the sound of the Hammond organ, the Minimoog synthesizer (flashy runs and a spectacular duel with a heavy guitar), Grand piano and of course the unsurpassed Mellotron, the use of the choir-section is awesome! The track The Narrow Way delivers wonderful church-organ along fluent runs on the Minimoog and sumptuous Hammond organ. A remarkable song is the cover Air Born (Camel), Glass Hammer does a decent job featuring sensitive electric guitar work, vocals like Andy Latimer and pleasant keyboards. Some songs evoke Seventies Kansas because of the organ and violin sound like A Is A, Heroes And Dragons (Symphonic Version) and Through The Glass Darkly (live with The Adonia String Trio). The guitarwork is as usual quite fiery and heavy like in the songs Time Marches On (Performed Live At ProgDay 1997), A Is A and In the Court Of Alkinoos but we also hear the distinctive sound of the steel- guitar like in the epic Heroes And Dragons (the second solo is wonderfully accompanied by lush choir- Mellotron). That great epic composition is almost a reason to buy this mid-priced compilation! My rating: 3,5 stars.

I don't like compilation albums at all and it is a mystery to me how this album ended up in my castle and on my hard-drive. It was probably supplied to me by my better half who wanted to help me out. Nice !

Glass Hammer should be one of the bands I should love. I have some of their albums, but I have not come around to give them some quality time. The stuff on this compilation album is down my alley of sins. Opulent symphonic prog in the vein of Yes and Genesis with a contemporary sound. Music like this should be enjoyed in the contents of their respective studio albums, though. I am missing out on the best here with the songs ripped from their respective environments. But the music here is still very good with In the Court of Alkinoos being the best piece of music. This compilation album has vetted my appetite for the Glass Hammer albums and that is the whole purpose of this release. Where did I put those albums again.....??

3.5 stars