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US AND THEM - 1973
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"...An Inmates Lullaby..."
Rarely seen except outside of Prog and Hard Rock circles – the British label World Wide Artists with their distinctive black and white WWA logo managed only 12 album releases in one year (October 1973 to October 1974, see list below). And four of those were re-issues of Black Sabbath product.
WWA's opening salvo however consisted of two sassily packaged platters – now both held in very high regard - the Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee and his first solo outing "The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee" on WWA 001 (had a die-cut tear-drop sleeve) and this – Gentle Giant's fifth studio album "In A Glass House" on WWA 002 (sported a plastic Perspex die-cut front sleeve with a lyric inner).
Both October 1973 UK albums have always been rare – especially the Gentle Giant issue – which like say Captain Beefheart's "Clear Spot" LP on Reprise Records in its flip-top plastic envelope sleeve - is 'so' difficult to find in anything like Near Mint condition.
So while this Alucard Publishing Limited CD Reissue and Remaster loses the impact of that original packaging with its disappointingly basic three-leaf foldout double-sided inlay (lyrics, credits and naught else) - at least the album is available to us again - and this time in real quality Hi-Def sound taken off the original quarter-inch tapes ("Alucard" is a song on their self-titled November 1970 debut album).
And highly regarded it is too, if not a trifle unloved and forgotten, languishing in Proggy prison cell No. 5 behind its more illustrious predecessors that were all on the mucho-revered Vertigo label. Time to bring "In A Glass House" out of the dingy infirmary into the light of the exercise yard over by the Soprano Saxophone/Recorder work shed. Here is the inmate's lullaby in six parts...
UK released 26 January 2010 - "In A Glass House" by GENTLE GIANT on Alucard ALU-GG-010 (Barcode 804471000022) is a straightforward CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows (37:57 minutes):
1. The Runaway [Side 1]
2. An Inmates Lullaby
3. Way of Life
4. Experience [Side 2]
5. A Reunion
6. In A Glass House
GENTLE GIANT were:
DEREK SHULMAN - Vocals, Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Recorder
GARY GREEN – 6 & 12-String Guitars, Mandolin, Percussion and Alto Recorder
KERRY MINNEAR – All Keyboards, Tune Percussion, Recorder and Vocals
RAY SHULMAN – Bass Guitar, Violin, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals
JOHN WEATHERS – Drums and Percussion
The FRED KERVORKIAN Remaster was done from original master tapes at Avatar Studios in NYC – a high-resolution 24-bit 96k Remaster - and it is really excellent. The band were multi-instrumentalists so the layers pile up on each other over lengthy tracks - this remaster deftly bringing out the details whilst keeping a cohesive whole. The lyrics are spread across one side of the three-leaf inlay with their famous 'bearded man' logo behind the text. But on the other side there is naught of any consequence, which is a huge let down. To the complex music...
Recorded in London's Advision Studios in July 1973, Gentle Giant already had four album Production outings under their sophisticated five-piece belt - so they knew what they wanted on "In The Glass House". Again the Shulman brothers and Minnear did the writing whilst Engineer Gary Martin got it all down on tape.
Things open with seven and half-minutes of "The Runaway" - a low-life sick of four walls busts free. For sure there will be those who will scrunch up their eyes and avert their ears at the complicated rhythms and constant changes - but this is Prog Rock unapologetic - and you need to invest time in it. Treated vocals usher in "An Inmates Lullaby" that quickly doubles up the lyrics by a voice sung in tandem (a trick Yes used on "Close To The Edge"). Vibes then ping while drums and various percussive instruments dip in and out like a Rock Jazz opera. "An Inmates Lullaby" may only be three and half minutes, but feels longer. Speaking of longer (and stronger), Side 1 ends with the almost piano-funky "Way Of Life" - just short of eight-minutes. "Way Of Life" sports brilliant guitar and keyboard breaks that feel at times like Greenslade having a whig-out - a genuine highlight on this obscure LP.
Side 2 opens with the very-difficult to like "Experience" - eight minutes of fret chasing - vocals leaping up and down. I'd admit that even with the obvious playing dexterity on display, it's not one of my faves and is for hardcore GG nuts only. The two-minutes of "A Reunion" is an Acoustic Guitar and Strings sort of Strawbs ballad moment and I love it. The muso musings come to an end with eight and half minutes of clavinet and guitar Rock - the album's titular track probably being the best this rare album gets for me.
For sure this kind of deep-level Seventies Prog Rock will set some people's underpants on fire with excitement whilst making others will want to go to a gun range and use the album artwork as a target sheet (as many bullet holes in its dense musical heart as possible). And that mediocre inlay presentation should really be upgraded. But if you're a fan and a lover of Gentle Giant, then the Audio will be the big draw and (in some respects) the fact that you can get access to the music at all.
"Inspiration waits for your call..." they sang on the title track to "In A Glass House". Half of you out there will probably want to answer that complicated ring tone in time...
A WWA Records LP Discography from 1973 to 1974 (with release dates) Including two LPs by GENTLE GIANT
1. WWA 001 – TONY McPHEE – "The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee" (October 1973) - Groundhogs Guitarist and Singer, debut solo album
2. WWA 002 – GENTLE GIANT – "In A Glass House" (October 1973)
3. WWA 003 – SNAFU – "Snafu" (January 1974)
4. WWA 004 – GROUNDHOGS – "Solid" (June 1974)
5. WWA 005 – BLACK SABBATH – "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (November 1973, original album)
6. WWA 006 – BLACK SABBATH – "Black Sabbath" (January 1974, Reissue of their February 1970 debut UK album originally on Vertigo Records)
7. WWA 007 – BLACK SABBATH – "Paranoid" (January 1974, Reissue of their October 1970 second UK album originally on Vertigo Records)
8. WWA 008 – BLACK SABBATH – "Master Of Reality" (January 1974, Reissue of their August 1971 third UK album originally on Vertigo Records)
9. WWA 009 – BLACK SABBATH – "Vol.4" (January 1974, Reissue of their October 1972 fourth UK studio album originally on Vertigo Records)
10. WWA 010 – GENTLE GIANT – "The Power And The Glory" (October 1974)
WWA 011 – (Unissued)
11. WWA 012 – JACKIE LYNTON – "The Jackie Lynton Album" (September 1974) - ex Savoy Brown Blues Band, debut solo album
12. WWA 013 – SNAFU – "Situation Normal" (October 1974)
There are two Black Sabbath compilation LPs "Attention!" Volumes 1 and 2 but these were Dutch compilations possibly with the vinyl pressed in the UK in late 1974 or early 1975...
