New Wax Wednesday

At one time or another, I’m sure most of us have encountered the phrase, “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” Depending on how often you’ve had it tossed back at you or you’ve felt the need to deploy it yourself, you may view it as either an indelible aphorism that never grows old, or as an overused cliché you’d be happy ne’er to encounter again — or a variation/combination of both.

No matter how you view the phrase, stalwart British progressive sophisticates Gentle Giant decided to build an entire album around exploring the concept — the result being their fifth studio album, In a Glass House, which was originally released in September 1973 via WWA. In recent years, the band has undertaken a fairly comprehensive, multiformat reissue campaign — and now it’s time for In a Glass House to get the catalog-revisit nod, as it will be released as a remixed and remastered 180g LP on July 31, 2026, via Alucard.

“When we made In a Glass House, we were pushing ourselves musically and creatively in every direction,” said Gentle Giant vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Derek Shulman in a press statement. “Hearing the recordings again and being able to remix them with today’s technology has revealed details and textures that were always there but never fully heard. We wanted to present In a Glass House the way we always hoped it could sound — clearer, more dynamic, and true to the original vision. The detail in the performances really comes through in this new mix.”

Relative to those above-noted sentiments, there will also be 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixes for Glass. Once I have those mixes in hand and in-ear, I will review them over on our recently revived sister site, Sound & Vision. Shulman and I will likely do another new interview together to discuss all things Glass in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that as well.

Incidentally, said Glass press statement also shared the following assessment of the album itself, something I can wholly get behind: “In a Glass House stands as a bold artistic statement that pushed the boundaries of composition, musicianship, and studio experimentation. With its intricate arrangements, shifting time signatures, and thought-provoking themes, the album remains a cornerstone of progressive rock and one of Gentle Giant’s most celebrated works.” (Hear, hear!)

The stats are these for the LP. In a Glass House has been newly remixed and remastered by Grammy Award-winning producer Eber Pinheiro alongside GG’s own Derek Shulman. It will be made available on 180g black vinyl and 180g clear vinyl. (Three guesses, and all three don’t actually count, as to which option I’ve already preordered, even though I’ve only seen that one version available to date.) The Glass LP sports an SRP of $34.98, and you can preorder your format/version(s) of choice here. (Not sure yet if they’ll also be replicating the original 1973 UK LP die-cut cover’s cellophane-overlaid 3D effect, but I hope to find out soon enough.)

Interestingly, In a Glass House never saw a proper U.S. vinyl release until many decades later, as it was flat-out rejected by their then-stateside label (Columbia) for the typical, B.S., label-thinks-it-knows-better reasons. Me, I never even had a copy of Glass in my collection until I picked up the 35th anniversary series CD that was released by DRT Entertainment in 2005. Getting my first truly clean copy of Glass on vinyl didn’t come until Alucard reissued it over here in the U.S. on wax in 2010 (as ALUGGV01), an edition that was said to have been (as per the back sleeve, and in their exact phraseology) “re-mastered from the original 1/4 inch tapes 2010.” The lacquers for that particular edition of the LP were cut by Carl Rowatti.

The glass-break percussion elements that open “The Runaway” on Side 1, leading into the brief keyboard support section before the full band kicks in, is something that could be tricky to replicate on inferior-grade vinyl (and ditto re the brief glass-break recurrence in the hidden track at the end of Side 2), but I have faith in the current Alucard team to get all of it done right. (According to more than a few sources, that initial, pre-manipulated breaking-glass sound was culled from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop archives.)

GG were also unafraid to embed challenging dips in volume levels within their songs (and sometimes even more than once), which is also something that could be difficult to faithfully reproduce on vinyl without the dreaded pops and clicks dominating the grooves during those telling sequences.

To that, I say “IBID” in regard to my previous Alucard comment — for the most part, that is, as my 2010 LP does indeed have some surface noise apparent during the quieter sections of “Experience,” the opening track on Side 2. That said, the ensuing track, “A Reunion” — which is essentially just an understated lead vocal from Derek with his brother Ray’s “gentle” violin accompaniment — has no playback issues whatsoever. My Ratings for the 2010 version of Glass on wax happen to be 10 for the Music, and 9 for the Sound.

Here’s hoping the 2026 Alucard version of In a Glass House has none of those poppy/clicky issues — and I will report back here with either thrown stones or hosannah praises after I spin it and (re)rate it.

Incidentally, Shulman and I did have chance to chat via Zoom back on April 25, 2025, mainly to discuss GG’s Playing the Fool: The Complete Live Experience 3LP set (one of my Top 5 Archival LPs of 2025), in addition to his most excellent 2025 autobiography that was co-written with my esteemed colleague Jon Wiederhorn, Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey From Stage Lights to Executive Heights (Jawbone; $24.95).

During that Zoom conversation, we also talked about, of course, vinyl. “There are so many records that we loved way back when I was a kid,” Shulman (now 79, as of presstime) told me. “My father was a jazz musician and a classical musician, so we grew up listening to, and loving, that music. But the first record I bought was ‘Love Me Do.’ When I heard that on the radio, it changed my life. Well, The Beatles not only changed my life — they changed everyone’s, I think.”

You can say that again, brother.

GENTLE GIANT
IN A GLASS HOUSE
180g 1LP (Alucard)

Side 1
1. The Runaway
2. An Inmates Lullaby
3. Way Of Life

Side 2
1. Experience
2. A Reunion
3. In A Glass House