Customer Reviews

Glassworks

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As a quick glance at the customer reviews for this album reveals, "Glassworks" tends to evoke strong feelings, pro or con, from everyone. I think that this album is superb, but my wife hates it. She thinks that it is too repetitive. I agree that each song is repetitive at the macro-level, but I think that the aural patterns are so complex and evocative that complaining about their repetition is like complaining about the repeating motifs in a fine Turkish rug or in a crystal viewed with a microscope.

Glass's music on this album is layered, with one instrument playing a simple pattern, another instrument playing a different pattern, and so on. The cummulative effect in the fast numbers with many musical lines (as in "Floe") can be overwhelming, and part of the interest of listening to the music is trying to make out what each of the individual lines is and how it contributes to the overall effect. You also start to notice that each line changes subtly, causing the song's pattern to shift in interesting ways. The music is not as repetitive as it first appears to be.

The title "Glassworks" is doubly suggestive, not only because his name is "Glass" but also because each song is a lot like an elegant glass sculpture. Some of the songs are as smooth and cool as a perfectly polished crystal ball. Others are as angular and dizzying as if a complex tile mosaic had been etched in glass. It is very easy to unknowingly look through these statues (they are glass, after all) and miss their almost mathematical beauty.

For someone who does not own any Glass CDs, this is a good place to start. It is more accessible than some of his other work. Listen to some of the samples. You'll be able to tell quickly whether this is an album you might enjoy.

You don't know any of P.G. works, and want to change this ? You want to listen to some Minimalist music ? You want to have a cd for all ocasions ? If any of your answers were , YES: BUY THIS ALBUM. Otherwise, buy it anyway ! You won't regret yourself ! Divided in 6 parts, it doesn't matter if the work has any programatic meaning.....It is Pure Music ! This is not Heavy Minimalismus (try his "Music With Changing Parts" for that), instead a colection of some very melodic themes, almost mathematicaly arranged together. And like the Phoenix raising from the ashes, the last part (Closing), is an invitation to start it all over again ! (it has the same "Leitmotif" from the first part, "Opening").

You must be in a room by yourself. Maybe it should be dark, too. This album, though minimalist, has the power to take your mind on a journey. Intellect is irrelevant. Don't concern yourself with the idea of repeated arpeggios. Let the kaleidescope of sounds vibrate inside you-like the pulse of your blood. It's mystical, it's beautiful. It moves.

I first heard Glass' music way back when on "Sesame Street". I re-acquainted myself with him on his guest shot on "Saturday Night Live", where RUBRIC comes from. Having bought the album (on vinyl) since then, I found it beautifully haunting, yet it draws the listener in, overwhelms him or her with the work's power and simplicity. Highly recommended to anyone.

Intended to introduce new listeners to the music of Philip Glass back in 1982 when Glass signed on with CBS Masterworks, "Glassworks" succeeded brilliantly, selling over 250,000 copies in the first year of release. It is a collection of six short (by Philip Glass standards) pieces, alternating between serene and contemplative, to intense and frantic. All six pieces are exquisitely beautiful, and this album is a great way to relax after a long day at work, or while taking a drive through the countryside, or snuggling up with your honey in bed.

This album was designed to introduce new listeners to Glass's music, without being overwhelmed at first by a long and intense work like "Einstein on the Beach". At 39 minutes, it is longer than most "pop" records and it is as long as many symphonies are.

This CD was one of the first CD's ever produced, it went on sale in 1982 and still is available today, a testimonal of the quality and timelessness of "Glassworks". Still sounding as modern as ever, "Glassworks" was the first release during legendary composer Philip Glass's contract with CBS Masterworks, which then became Sony Classical after being purchased by Sony.

Glass is now with Nonesuch Records, as Sony didn't know a good thing when they had one- as evidenced by Sony's release of "Glassmasters", a multi-disc collection "in celebration of Glass's 60th birthday" in 1997, after Glass had already moved on to Nonesuch Records! Sony is now stuck with boring composers like James Horner who dreams he could be as ingenious as Philip Glass.

You will never find any claims by Philip Glass anywhere that he invented any musical devices, but one listen to this CD and you will agree that nobody else can write music like this- incredible in its logic, purity, directness, expressiveness, mathematical clarity, precision, joyfulness, intensity, ingenuity, and humanity. Glass is the most innovative composer alive today. If anyone doubts this, take a listen to such Glass pieces as "Act III" of "The Photographer" and "Diaspora" in the new "Philip on Film" set on Nonesuch Records, just for starters.

What Glass has done is implement in his incredibly unique way, a different way of organizing music- based on STRUCTURE and RHYTHM. 99% of conventional popular music is not rhythmically sophisticated beyond the most basic means. Glass's music is actually far less repetitive than conventional music! His music usually follows a linear path of constant change. Other Glass innovations include his use of wordless voices in a far different manner than anyone else has ever attempted, and his music is often written for his own high-tech "band", The Philip Glass Ensemble, which was the model for other composers to attempt to copy, usually with far less successful results. Philip Glass performs worldwide, drawing audiences far in excess of any other serious composer, performing over 80 concerts per year to packed houses all over. And he has been doing this for over 30 years, as he approaches his 65th birthday with the vigor and energy of a 35 year old.

Buy "Glassworks" today- if you have any taste in music at all, beyond the "Middle of the Road" popular music this country is inundated with, you'll be intrigued by the beauty of this "Glassic"- a Glass Classic.

Philip Glass can do it all. Embark on your new Glass Journey with "Glassworks". You may come to the same conclusion as I have- every other composer's music is a drag!

Glassworks was the first Glass I ever heard, way back in the 80's. I was fascinated that this mathematical, repetitious music could be so oddly emotional and beautiful. I still am. Glassworks is a hugely inspired work that contains the essence of Glass. It is at times aggressive, but overall it has a rare and fragile beauty all of its own. If you like this, try Songs From Liquid Days, too.

This CD is great for when you're tired, stressed, worried, or just need to concertrate very hard. The repetitive themes can put you in a very peaceful frame of mind. I definitely recommend this to people who sometimes need music to take their minds off of ordinary concerns.

Philip Glass has produced here music that is both intense and soothing. He takes your attention from the first note and pulls you from Opening to Closing in a way that few composers would attempt. He dares you to turn off but also dares you to listen. This is one of a number of classical albums that I play regularly along with works from Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Percy Grainger, Leos Janacek and Peter Sculthorpe. Glass is a modern master of the piano, because he doesn't merely break the rules he ignores the existence of rules.

To the reviewer who said that this was a repetive CD... Blah!

This is a great CD as an introduction to a man who will probably be remembered as one of the most important American composers of the twentieth century.... It is minimalist-- it is different if you're not accustomed to it.... but it is totally something that is worthwhile to listen to and to buy.... and with time, it does grow on you.....

And, a step further. For those into modern electronic music, composers like Phillip Glass (of whom this is disc is a great example) provided the art-music influence for later artists who have done great and popular work (for instance, Glass has done compositions around the work of Aphex Twin-- and though this might be totally off-base, some of the same feelings that I get from listening to the use of samples in older albums by, say, Soul Coughing are the the same feelings I get when listening to this work by Glass). For kids (like me) who like that stuff, this stuff provides a nice change of pace....

And for them, and for more traditional fans of minimalist music, I recommend this album without reservation....

i will not attempt to say that this is glass greatest work.
it may be one of his more easy to begin with works however.
glass works consists of six smaller movements which transit into each other, but work perfectly well on their own.
glass employs a lot of layering, and scoring devices to increase and decrease tension. he features a fair amount of polyrhythmic activity as well (4 versus 3, 3 versus 2).
the entire first movement entitled simply "opening", is simply glass on piano, playing chord progressions utilizing 3 versus 2 (his right hand plays three notes per beat, while the left hand plays 2)
from here, he builds the remainder of the work, adding instrumentalists, and by the end of the work, he has had them draw off, and we are left with, to the end of 'closing' simple piano, alone.

while their is some rather ornate writing in some of the middle movements, we are never brought close to the level of say...einstein on the beach. this is an excellent thing for newer listeners who are listening to a new style of music, and who are now being required to listen differently than they may have before.
for established glass fans, this is glass simplified, and broken down to some of his most elemental writings. also not necessarily a bad thing

a great album for glass beginners, and a must have part of any well rounded collection.