By the way, Fred- your solo in The Knight of the North honestly had me laughing out loud - that is what I do when I'm blown away. Had to re-listen to that one numerous times. Keep up the great work, guys (and gal!).
By the way, Fred- your solo in The Knight of the North honestly had me laughing out loud - that is what I do when I'm blown away. Had to re-listen to that one numerous times. Keep up the great work, guys (and gal!).
Got my copy on Tuesday and watched much of the DVD last night. Reinforced my sense that GH is right up there among the best US prog bands of the "modern" scene. Loved seeing the band, sans Susie but with Circuline's female vocalist in her stead, in Woodstock prior to the RosFest show. BTW, never having made it to a RosFest, a quick question...is the stage setting always so austere? No backdrops, projections etc.?
No Susie. No Metman.
I just got the package today. I thought it was interesting that the back cover of the CD/DVD was used for the image on the t-shirt. I'll hopefully get a chance to listen to some of it tomorrow.
Susie was only with us for the RoSFest show this year. Which is to say she is on both the album and the dvd.Originally Posted by moecurlythanu
Steve
There was an amazing bit of showmanship where Carl threw his pony tail holder on the stage floor and Susie picked it up and put it on. That alone was worth the price of admission.
Isn't it Hokey POKEY?
Not in Britain.
Hmf. What is it in Bangladesh?
Has anyone actually heard thing yet? Besides me that is.
Couldn't tell ya. But I've never heard anyone from the UK use any other words for that obnoxious song title other than "Hokey Cokey." "Pokey" may be unique to the United States, I don't know. Which came first? I don't know that either, but if I had to bet...
What does Hmf stand for? Happy mother fucker?
Ha! No, nothing like that. Just a shorter version of "hmmm" with an 'f' on the end.
I ordered this in a Lagavulin-fueled binge last night, along with a bunch of pychedelic stuff, from Cuneiform. One of my more humorous orders...
Last edited by JKL2000; 10-20-2015 at 01:09 AM.
I watched the DVD one time through. Nice performance...which makes me even more depressed about the fact that you can't get to Denver!Has anyone actually heard thing yet? Besides me that is.
The best part for me was "Time Marches On," which blows away the original album version. I guess the band has improved a bit in 20+ years.
My only nitpicks were with the quiet middle section of "Mythopoeia." It would have been nice if Kamran had been able to switch to acoustic guitar. Also, there is little Moog part at the end that got dropped. I really like that part on the album version.
Watching the DVD made me realize one of the perks of being a Glass Hammer singer. If you get hungry in the middle of the set, just wait for an instrumental break. You'll have plenty of time to walk off stage and get a bite to eat, stop by the restroom, maybe get a short nap in...
That's the whole point of prog - as a listener, too!
This reminds me of when I first met Steve Rothery (Seasons End tour). I said "Your solos bring tears to my eyes," and he said "I didn't realize I was that bad." Rim shot!
For those who haven't seen it or heard it yet....here's If The Stars from Double Live. This seems to be a fan favorite on Facebook. Enjoy.
This arrived yesterday and I've been enjoying it today. Excellent sound and great song selection, despite a lot of my top favourites not appearing! Really looking forward to throwing on the DVD this evening and cranking the sound. Great release, guys!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Spun the CDs today and I am most impressed, both with the performance and the sound quality (particularly robust low end - thanks!) as I'm a major SQ wonk having spent more on my speakers than on my car. One HAS to have priorities, after all. Anyhooo, very nice record. I'll get to the DVD at some point I'm sure.
It's taken me awhile to get to this DVD (life, you know), but finally watched and listened last night and "Wow"! I saw Glass Hammer for the first time on the first Cruise to the Edge and despite having been somewhat blindsided by Yes' co-op of Jon Davison, they performed well and I could see the core potential and talent of the group even though they couldn't perform selections from their most recent, at the time, and most popular CD, "If". This DVD brings that potential to fruition, especially with the inclusion of Susie. I know she's been an occasional addition to the group, both on record and performance, but the difference is night and day, especially with her duets with Carl. The group chemistry is strong and the music strongly benefits. It's hard to single out one song as my favorite, although it was a treat to finally see a performance of "If the Stars," and even though I've heard "The Night of the North" performed live several times, it was like seeing and hearing it for the first time on this DVD. Zamran's playing is sublime, bringing me to tears on several occasions as he masterfully switches from electric guitar, to pedal steel and acoustic guitar. I've never seen Aaron's drumming so precise and integrated and Steve's steady bass lines rumbled perfectly within the mix. Finally, I can't say enough about Fred's understated keyboard playing, refining and recalibrating sounds that surprised and delighted my ears. Okay, I guess I liked the DVD....a lot. The camera work was precise, the sound quality high and the editing intelligent. I get tired of DVD concerts where the camera is somewhere else rather than the one doing a solo. Now I pray for three things. One, Susie becomes a permanent member of the group; two, GH does a US tour and third, they come somewhere near Seattle. That may be asking a lot knowing the state of prog music in this country but for the immediate future at least I have this DVD to enjoy!
First few tracks sound great! Need to rip it. Why the chubby jewel case?
I love those personally! Nostalgia for me, a throwback to the early days of CDs... that's two of the 'fatboy' cases they've released in recent years, the Inconsolable Secret 3-disc edition being the other. If the next one is to be another larger-scale concept, I vote for yet another old-school fatboy case!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
At least all the teeth were intact in this one.
I don't think that GH has ever truly realized what they have here. Susie is their secret weapon. Unfortunately so, because I agree, she should be their lead vocalist. I was not on board with Jon Davison at all, and Carl is OK, but he has a very AOR-type voice. Susie, apart from being easy on the eyes, has a very nice voice, which fits the music perfectly. She isn't shrill or jarring in any way. She has excellent control of her voice, it's quite expressive, and it takes GH to the next level. It sets them apart from so many of the other modern Prog bands, rather than being part of a crowd. Jmo.Now I pray for three things. One, Susie becomes a permanent member of the group;
I had a thought the other day that if I had a band in need of a male vocalist, I think Carl would currently be my pick. I just really dig his sound, been a fan since Salem Hill. Funny thing, if I had to pick a female vocalist, I'd pick Susie! Always liked her voice and style. It is nice having the musical muscle accompanied by such vocal talent.
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