Glass Harp

I approached this album with a completely open mind and no pre-conceived notions. What I found was some tasty, classy, adventurous, and genuine rock music!Overall, the music sounds quite late 60's, with a large, atmospheric production (i.e. some great reverb). Adding to this, and complimenting it, are some nice string section accents and flute solos. The resulting sound is quite big and grand, though never over-the-top or self-indulgent. The strings accent the music without interfering with it. The heart of the music remains with the band itself, a rock trio. What's cool though is that this music is so much more than a trio. You never get the impression of just three guys.Phil Keaggy is a big component here, handling about 3/4 of the vocals, all the high-end guitar work, and much of the songwriting. Any of those tasks would be noteworthy on their own, but put together shows some rather amazing talent. The guitar work is all over the map, from acoustic coloring to strong electric guitar rhythms to a wide variety of soloing. Each solo sounds like it's from a different person! There are tricks thrown in too that most guitarists don't even know about, so the attentive listener is rewarded here. His vocals too range from reflective quieter singing to average rock vocalizing to gutsy McCartney-ish "Yeah!"s, sung with gusto. In other words, there is a wide variety of moods and colors, with fun and happy parts that just say "It's good to be alive!"In a lot of trios, the bass player and drummer are often just there to handle the rhythms section, but that's not the case here. Bassist Dan Pecchio and drummer John Sferra both sing and do songwriting as well. So again, there's much more talent that you'll usually find in a small package.I mentioned in the title "sunny day" because that's what most of the music sounds like. I've noticed too that three songs or so even say "sunny day" (or words to that effect) prominently in the lyrics. The music really doesn't sound like any other band that I can think of, although there are a few faint hints of early Moody Blues and maybe early Grand Funk Railroad.None of the music comes across as preachy or pretentious. From other reviews, it seems like many are caught up with labels such as Christian rock. I can see how that might be applied here, but then again, there are songs included like "Village Queen", which is very mainstream rock. It's best to just appreciate the music on its own terms, and leave the labels and trappings behind. This album deserves lots of recognition and respect. It's a shame that it's out-of-print and still rather unknown.

It's Now Been 40 Years Since Glass Harp Released Their First LP - The Self-Titled "Glass Harp". It Still Takes Me On An Awesome Musical Journey 40 Years Later! Each Song Is Different & Unique Showing Their Tremendous Depth -From Progressive Rock ["Can You See Me",Garden & "Voice Of God Call Out" To Jam Out Songs Like -"Changes"- "Look In The Sky" "Village Queen" "Whatever Life Demands" & "Childen'S Fantasy To "Southbound" "Black Horse" & "On Your Own" Sounds Like Folksy Beatles' "Rubber Soul" Era."Can You See Me " Is My Favorite Song [Which Is A Progessive Rock Song - With Nice Dreamy Orchestrations & Flutes -Blended Nicely With Phil's Awesome Guitar Chords/Lead Solos & Vocals]."Can You See Me" Was The First Song I Ever Heard With Phil's Unique Volume Swell Sounds, Which Sounds Like Spacey Trumpets/Violins Or Flutes. "Children's Fantasy" & "Whatever Life Demands" Have Sort Of A "James Gang" Like Feel To Them. I Love Phil's Lead Solo On "Children's Fantasy."Look In The Sky" & "Changes" Are Awesome Prog/Hard Rock Songs. "Look In The Sky" Starts Out With These Phase Shifted Power Chords And Goes Into Nice Volume Swell Solos -Before It's Over. "Changes" Features John Sferra's Drums/Vocals & Dan Pecchio's Flute/Bass & Phil's Dynamic Guitar Shred Solos/Chords/Vocals. "Garden" Is One Of My Personal Favorites, With Its Unique Shuffle Rhythm & Phil's Melodic Volume Swell Dynamics & Excellant Vocals."Black Horse" Is A Nice folk Song With Haunting Vocals & An Excellant Cello Solo. "Southbound"& "On Our Own" Are Acoustic -Melodic - Dreamy- Traveling Type Songs With Great Vocals & Harmonys & Flute Solos. Finally, "Voice Of God Call Out", Was Not On The Original LP, But Thankfully Re-issued On The New Remastered C/D. Glass Harp Also Re-Recorded "Voice Of God Call Out" " On Their 2004 "Hourglass" C/D. I Love Both , The Original & The Remake Versions, It's A Prog Rock Song With Nice Melodys, On The remake He Uses An EBow [Which Wasn't Avaiable In 1969-70]. Finally, The Lyrics Are Well Thought Out -Reflecting Well The Late -60's-Early 70's Vibe, Including Their Emmerging Christian Experiences. The Record Captures The Feel Of The Late 60's -Early-70's , But Still Sounds Fresh And Relevant Today ,Musically And Socially! Hopefully This Review Was Helpful! Congratulations Glass Harp On Your 40 Year Anniversary!! Michael R. Porter

I had the pleasure of hearing Glass Harp even before their first album. A friend had heard them play at "JB's", a popular bar off the Kent State University (yes, THAT Kent State) campus. This was late 1969, early 1970 I think; before the May 4, 1970 killings. So I went to hear them and was blown away. They sounded much more than a cut-above other local bands I had heard, and were playing all original material to boot! It was truly magical. Imagine my joy when, soon after, their first album appeared on store shelves. Had to have it right away, and I still have that vinyl. Now it's finally out on CD and what a blast from the past it is!Big groups coming into Cleveland back then (and we earned our rep as home of rock and roll before the Rock Hall was ever imagined), used to make a point of stopping to hear GH when in town. They were THAT good. Phil Keaggy was even mentioned on some of the same lead-guitarist lists as Hendrix and Clapton back then, but he went for Christain music and the furor subsided. I never knew GH was a "proto Christian band" until I got the album and studied the lyrics; they are pretty subtle, and not every song has a religious theme, so don't be put off by that element -- just buy this record and listen to some of the BEST, most melodic guitar rock that came out of the late sixties era!