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Thread: Glass Hammer - Shadowlands

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    Progstreaming-webmaster Sunhillow's Avatar
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    Glass Hammer - Shadowlands

    Glass Hammer mark 2 is by far my favorite period of this band, starting with the underrated "Perelandra", the amazing "On To Evermore", the mediocre "Chronomotree", the highlight "Lex Rex" and it ended with the 'I don't know what to think of it" "Inconsololobileorsomething Secret" (heck, who came up with that title?). Understandably, with that album things needed to change, but next were two awful albums, and three might-have-been-pretty-good-albums, but with a terrible vocalist (I can't stand Jon Davison's voice, sorry about that).

    All hail to Walter Moore and Susie Bogdanowicz. Bring them back, re-record If and Cor Cordium, and count me as a fan again

    It's also a time when the music of Glass Hammer was as much Yes as it was ELP. As soon as the ELP-factor diminished, I lost interest.

    Anyway, in comes the often forgotted masterpiece "Shadowlands". Although I like "Lex Rex" a tad bit more, this one is great from start to finish.

    The album contains two covers, Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" and Yes' "Parallels":



    Ok, that was a joke. Great great track though. Love the intertwining vocals of Suzie and Walter.

    Here's one more:


  2. #2
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Love Shadowlands. But I have to say if I had to pick a favorite, it might be 'If'. Or maybe 'Inconsolable Secret'. Or Perilous... Or what was it called, Shadowlands perhaps? And by the way, I'm newly digesting the new one so can't comment yet on it(I typically don't unless I hear an album several times) But Jon Davison is my favorite of the GH singers I think. And I can safely say 'If The Sun' is my favorite GH piece to date-that one just always really moved me, especially the slow beautiful section in the middle which is just fantastic.

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    Member BarryLI's Avatar
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    Shadowlands is just special, ya know?

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    "On To Evermore" is still my favorite of the Walter Moore era of the band, but this one is good too.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Sunhillow View Post
    "Inconsololobileorsomething Secret" (heck, who came up with that title?).
    The Inconsolable Secret came from a quote by C.S. Lewis. " I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both..."

    He's thought of as a fairly decent author I hear. <g>

    Steve

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    I enjoy all of Glass Hammer's different lineups, it think it's cool that they switch things up so often. My two favorites are "Chronometree" (I liked Brad Marler as the vocalist - he had a very unique and interesting voice) and "Inconsolable Secret", which is definitely in my top 5 albums of all time. The only albums of theirs I don't care for are the Middle Earth-themed ones, but that's due to my taste and not their inability to perform that genre well.

    I have a particular soft spot for the song "Perfect Carousel"; my 16 year old daughter loves it and she likes to sing it with me while I accompany her on the guitar.

    I think they get a bad rap for being "Yes-clones" sometimes. Honestly, I'd throw out my Yes collection before I'd throw out my GH collection.

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    Glass Hammer Mark 2? Huh? With all the lineup shifts, wouldn't this be Mark 7 or so? As for Shadowlands, it's my favorite GH album. This came out when I was laid up with a broken knee, and I passed many hours listening to this, really brightened my mood. It has my very favorite GH song, "Run Lisette". The female vocals on this still give me goosebumps, incredible song. I really love everything on this, even the unusual cover choice, "Longer". Never realized I actually liked the original, or at least liked it's melody. But this album also has a grand epic in "Behind The Great Beyond", quite a way to close out such a strong effort. Quite a one-two punch for GH with Lex Rex and Shadowlands, they were on such a roll, and I always lump these two together. Of course they completely lost it with the next album, Inconsolable Secret. OK, I'm kidding about that, but it was a change in direction that maybe I wasn't ready for. I've grown to love it too, though it's taken many years.

    If I were to rank my favorites of theirs, it would start with Shadowlands, Lex Rex, Culture of Ascent and Inconsolable Secret, all outstanding efforts. I think the Yes inspired If and Cor Cordium are well made, but I have not totally warmed up to them. Perilous comes close to my top 4. And based on one spin, the new one "Ode to Echo" may move up high on the list as well, I'm quite impressed so far.

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    Progstreaming-webmaster Sunhillow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Glass Hammer View Post
    The Inconsolable Secret came from a quote by C.S. Lewis. " I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both..."

    He's thought of as a fairly decent author I hear. <g>

    Steve
    Oh, I actually knew that, but thanks for clearing that up. I was just making fun of the title, which is for foreign people almost impossible to pronounce. It breaks my tongue in a worse way than you would if you try to pronounce 'Scheveningen' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen), which by the way you should visit if ever come on holidays to The Hague-area Netherlands (if you want to meet Dutch people, skip Amsterdam).

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Sunhillow View Post
    Oh, I actually knew that, but thanks for clearing that up. I was just making fun of the title, which is for foreign people almost impossible to pronounce. It breaks my tongue in a worse way than you would if you try to pronounce 'Scheveningen' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen), which by the way you should visit if ever come on holidays to The Hague-area Netherlands (if you want to meet Dutch people, skip Amsterdam).
    Please do not break your tongue on our account. We'll be more careful in the future! <g>
    Hope we can come to Amsterdam one day.
    Steve

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    Member Yanks2014's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sunhillow View Post
    Oh, I actually knew that, but thanks for clearing that up. I was just making fun of the title, which is for foreign people almost impossible to pronounce. It breaks my tongue in a worse way than you would if you try to pronounce 'Scheveningen' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen), which by the way you should visit if ever come on holidays to The Hague-area Netherlands (if you want to meet Dutch people, skip Amsterdam).
    Just refer to the album as "IS", making it much easier!

  11. #11
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    I like Shadowlands a lot, but The Inconsolable Secret is my favourite Glass Hammer album, with Live At NEARfest in second place. Shadowlands is up there, though. It loses a half point for the "Longer" cover, a song I never cared for in the first place. The original material is great though!
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    I must confess to finding most of what preceded Lex Rex to be largely forgettable; but everything that followed to be completely essential ..... I think TIS will always be my favorite, but Shadowlands and If are right there.

  13. #13
    "Shadowlands" is a great album, but the vocals are the weak point imo. I'm glad they found some real singers.

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    This one is next on my list to get. Believe it or not I've mostly heard the albums in order; though I like the more pastoral side of the band ("This Fading Age" has got to be my favorite of theirs), I think it's awesome that they never felt much need to "dial it back" when things got too ridiculous. When I first heard the chorus come in on "Chronos Deliverer" my first thought was "these guys get it"; most of my favorite prog is rather over-the-top (VdGG, Cardiacs, anything Tatsuya Yoshida does, Magma, and of course Yes and ELP). Lex Rex strikes me as being one of those "how crazy can we make this?" sort of albums so its nice to hear they continued down the same path!
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  15. #15
    Overall not my favourite album of theirs, but Run Lisette is the best song they have ever done......

  16. #16
    I have yet to hear all their albums, and Shadowlands is a fairly new acquisition for me that I haven't played enough times to make a solid impression of......about 3 or 4 times so far. Currently, it just doesn't stick with me after it's done playing (except, regrettably, the Fogelberg cover.....though I do think it's pretty cool how the progged up such a listless 70's AOR song). In fact, I have this issue with most of their albums I have heard. The exceptions, and therefore my favorites of theirs, are "If" and "Chronomotree". I saw the Nearfest 2003 show, and aside from the Chronomotree tunes, didn't much care for the performance. I still haven't heard the actual "Lex Rex" studio album so maybe that was part of the problem. I also like "Cor Cordium", though it doesn't quite reach the heights of "If" for me. The other album of theirs I own, for some reason, is the first one. I can't remember a thing about it and am not sure what made me buy it (I think perhaps I thought I'd start at the beginning and work my way through their catalog.......but that one stopped me from continuing until recently).

    I also really liked Brad Marler's vocals and thought it was brave to have someone with that type of voice sing on a retro prog record. "Perfect Carousel" is a great song.

    For me, Jon is the best vocalist the band have ever had, and if they stick with him I might just start to call myself a fan. Certainly, the Yes similarities will continue to be commented upon by prog fans, but I get the feeling GH just do their thing and don't worry too much about the mostly impossible to please prog audience

    I do need to get caught up though (haven't heard Perilous yet and am interested in the new one), and it sounds like I might want to hear "The Inconsolable Secret" as well.

  17. #17
    Open post....insert foot. mpoll's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sunhillow View Post
    It breaks my tongue in a worse way than you would if you try to pronounce 'Scheveningen'.
    I used to do a bit of business up at NC3A (back when it was the SHAPE Technical Center) down by the beach (I was posted in Belgium). So I can actually speak a fairly decent 'Scheveningen' (and I claim that only because there's no way to confirm that in a written post).

    But back to the discussion....... I love all the different configurations/flavors of GH, including "Shadowlands", but I am seriously impressed with "Ode To Echo", which includes extremely strong and touching vocal performances. That CD doesn't seem to want to be ejected from my CD player.
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    Quote Originally Posted by yesstiles View Post
    "Shadowlands" is a great album, but the vocals are the weak point imo. I'm glad they found some real singers.
    Which vocals? The female vocals on Shadowlands are great, especially for "Run Lisette". Walter Moore was always pretty good, so I'm not sure where the problem is with this album. The Steve and Fred vocals were never a GH strong point, I'm sure they would admit that here. But by the time of Shadowlands, their lead parts were few. I'd say that vocals have become over the years one of the strongest elements of GH music, they have come a long way.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ca1ore View Post
    I must confess to finding most of what preceded Lex Rex to be largely forgettable; but everything that followed to be completely essential ..... I think TIS will always be my favorite, but Shadowlands and If are right there.
    The early albums are spotty. I'd say each have some strong tracks, even the debut. Musically I find Chronomotree very strong, and the odd lead vocals have grown on me. But I totally understand why most are put off with the guy's voice. Musically though, it was GH finally firing on all cylinders. For the other three though, "Journey to", "Perelandra" and "On to Evermore", I like about half the songs. Still worth owning as far as I'm concerned. Some of the "Journey" material is on the "Live and Revived" disc, and is actually far better.

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    Progstreaming-webmaster Sunhillow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yanks2014 View Post
    The early albums are spotty. I'd say each have some strong tracks, even the debut. Musically I find Chronomotree very strong, and the odd lead vocals have grown on me. But I totally understand why most are put off with the guy's voice. Musically though, it was GH finally firing on all cylinders. For the other three though, "Journey to", "Perelandra" and "On to Evermore", I like about half the songs. Still worth owning as far as I'm concerned. Some of the "Journey" material is on the "Live and Revived" disc, and is actually far better.
    I like Perelandra if only for this AMAZING song, with an amazing chorus and melody. If Glass Hammer was indeed a big band selling out stadiums, I could see them singing this as an encore, the audience singing along.



    I love On To Evermore, especially for 'Muse/Arianna', clocking at 18 minutes. And amazing song, and it saddens me it's not on Youtube.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bill g View Post
    Love Shadowlands. But I have to say if I had to pick a favorite, it might be 'If'. Or maybe 'Inconsolable Secret'. Or Perilous... Or what was it called, Shadowlands perhaps? And by the way, I'm newly digesting the new one so can't comment yet on it(I typically don't unless I hear an album several times) But Jon Davison is my favorite of the GH singers I think. And I can safely say 'If The Sun' is my favorite GH piece to date-that one just always really moved me, especially the slow beautiful section in the middle which is just fantastic.
    Finally someone agrees with me about "If the Sun" GH's "Awaken"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sunhillow View Post
    I like Perelandra if only for this AMAZING song, with an amazing chorus and melody. If Glass Hammer was indeed a big band selling out stadiums, I could see them singing this as an encore, the audience singing along.

    I love On To Evermore, especially for 'Muse/Arianna', clocking at 18 minutes. And amazing song, and it saddens me it's not on Youtube.
    I agree about "Time marches On", though I prefer the "Live and Revived" version.

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    I even taught myself how to play that opening synth riff, it is rather wacky. Live version is definitely better. I don't mind Babb & Schendel's vocals normally but something about the vocals on "Time Marches On" reminds me of Barney the Dinosaur.
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  24. #24
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    It's funny how threads about one album wind up being about all of a band's albums.
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