The Glass Family is a band that started with some college students in Los Angeles in an effort to make some money playing surf music and covers at parties. Eventually, the group was featured on the same tickets as the likes of The Doors, Vanilla Fudge, Love, and then after securing a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1967, playing on the same ticket as the likes of Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Canned Heat, Big Brother and The Holding Company with Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead. Though their first attempt at creating this album didn’t go over well with Warner Bros., the band eventually released the album in 1969. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“House of Glass” starts out with some sort of spacey, psychedelic sounds that become sweeter as the tune begins to take form. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track so far. The overall sound seems like a super laid-back psychedelic mixture of the Los Angeles rock scene and the Bosstown sound scene from the time period, and I’m really digging the result so far. Oh wow, the piano seems to shift between ominous and melodious notes that make the soundscape even more dynamic at the end of the tune. Great track, and I’m stoked to hear more.
Oh wow, “Born In the U.S.A.” starts out with a super bluesy style guitar and a harmonica shortly thereafter. Holy smokes, the acoustic guitar adds some light, far out elements to the soundscape that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the tune almost seems to have a sinister underbelly of sorts, and really reminds me of The Doors’ 1971 album, L.A. Woman. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “Once Again” begins with some super light folksy guitar that seems to pick up a bit of a psychedelic inclination with the low, grooving bass guitar and chirping organs. I really dig the singing style of the vocals in this track, which almost have a bit of a folksy narrative style that has a bit of a gentle touch that reminds me a bit of Jim Morrison at times. The addition of a second acoustic guitar seems to take the tune further out into psychedelic territory. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Sometimes You Wander (Henry’s Tune)” has a really groovy approach that seems to meld a clean, galloping electric guitar line in the background that almost has a bit of a polished garage rock sound, while other guitar and piano parts add some really groovy accentuations that remind me a bit of Jefferson Airplane’s album, After Bathing At Baxter’s (1967). Oh wow, I really dig the groove the band gets into at the end of the track. Great tune.
Oh wow, “The Means” starts out with a really driven, serious sounding guitar line that repeats over and over, while other instruments gradually begin to back it up, as if the band is building up some momentum in this track. Holy smokes, the band has segued into a bridge that almost halts the stirring of the momentum created earlier in the track to add a hefty amount of tension. Oh wow, the groove picks back up with the addition of some swirling organs and a super sweet swishing effect on the guitar. I’m really digging this tune. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “Do You Remember?” has such a light feeling between the galloping waltzy acoustic guitar chord progression, while the piano adds a gradually stirring line that seems to carry a great deal of weight behind each note. I’m really digging this track so far. I really dig the light percussion that grooves this track along as well. Great tune.
“I Want to See My Baby” starts out with a pretty bluesy bass line, and the piano that soon joins in has a great blues-inflected rock and roll sound. Oh wow, the fuzzed-out guitar adds a super groovy texture to this track. Holy smokes, the harmonica comes in and dials the bluesiness way up in this track. Holy smokes, the shakers come in and add more texture to the rhythm section of the track. Oh wow, the band really gets grooving in this track. I’m sort of reminded again of the later, more bluesy work of The Doors from the 1970s. Oh wow, awesome track.
“Lady Blue” starts out with a really groovy, flavorful, fuzzed guitar part that gradually gets the tune moving, and is soon joined by the drums and organs, which seems to bring the tune further into psychedelic territory. Holy smokes, this track is super flavorful. Oh wow, the short guitar solo comes and nearly squeals into the soundscape. The band really seems to develop the groove in the track without fully letting loose, continually building momentum as the song continues. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Passage # 17” starts out with a somewhat eerie combination of acoustic guitar and organs. Oh wow, the drum beat behind the acoustic guitar almost suggests a bright sort of folk rock, while the twangy guitar on the other side seems to have a bit of a folksy psychedelia, which is enhanced by the electric organs whenever they come into the soundscape. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Mr. Happy Glee” has a super interesting sound, which seems to be something along the lines of a psychedelic folksy bluegrass with the plucky acoustic instrumentation accompanied by some jangling tambourine, and a repetitive major key, clean and folksy electric guitar line. Oh wow, some other vocals come into the soundscape in a way that reminds me a bit of The Beatles. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Guess I’ll Let You Go” starts out with a bit of a raga-inflected percussion, and the guitars soon pick up a bit of a raga rock sound as well. I’m really digging the sound of this track. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Agorn (Elements of Complex Variables)” starts out with a super sweet drum section that has a really groovy psychedelic swing. Holy smokes, the guitar comes in and the tune seems to have wandered into a sort of dark, shamanic journey of sorts. I’m almost reminded of TOOL, honestly. Oh wow, the band feels like they’re building up to a massive conclusion of sorts as more instruments gradually get added, while the drums and bass keep the massive amount of momentum in the track rolling along. This track seems to be an instrumental, and I’m pretty sure this was the original final track of the album. Oh wow, the effects at the end of the track almost leave you to float away in some mystical psychedelic sea of sorts. Awesome track.
Oh wow, “Teenage Rebellion (Bonus)” starts with a super groovy, raga-inflected start that picks up really well where the previous track left off. Holy smokes, the soundscape almost has a proto-shoegazing sound with the chaotic fuzz in the background that seems to blend really nicely with the light accentuations of the organs. I really dig the vocals in this track as well, which seem to merge with the distortion from the background quite nicely as well. Great tune.
“David’s Rap (Bonus)” seems to be some ravings of one of the band members, which fits really nicely with the far out sounds of the album. There’s no instrumentation of the track, and the rantings have a super groovy attitude about them. Super sweet addition to the track.
Oh wow, “Guess I’ll Let You Go (Bonus: 45 Mix)” seems to be a really light and groovy track to revisit at the end of this album, though there definitely does seem to be a different mix in the vocals and guitars in this version. I’m really digging this version and the revisitation of this song in general, especially with the mixture of raga rock and some folksy, somewhat lighter psychedelic rock grooves in the track. Great tune and a great way to finish the album.
Holy smokes, this album is pretty sweet. The psychedelic flavor palette in this album seems to encompass elements from many of the psychedelic rock meccas in the United States at the time: Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The songs flowed quite nicely, moving from lighter, folksier sounds, to a more ominous, fuzzed-out sound, to a raga sound in a really groovy way. If you’re into psychedelic rock from the mid to late 1960s, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A