2026 Remixed & Remastered Version
With the release of the 2026 Remixed & Remastered version of “In a Glass House”, a masterpiece by Gentle Giant (originally released on 21 September 1973), I thought I’d update this review, since the new version shows major differences from the original, both technologically and sonically, first of all the fact that the remix for this edition made use of Artificial Intelligence.
The original was recorded at Advision Studios in London and mixed with the analog technologies of the time, but a remix was impossible for years due to the loss of the original multitrack master tapes.
For the 2026 version, producer Eber Pinheiro (a Grammy winner) and Derek Shulman used an AI “stem splitting” technology. This digital innovation made it possible to isolate and separate individual instruments directly from the era’s mixed stereo tracks, enabling a remix that was previously unthinkable.
The band, especially Derek Shulman, had never been fully happy with the 1973 mix, sometimes described as “muddy” or not true to their original vision. The new 2026 mix, instead, is incredibly clean and powerful. Instruments that previously suffered, like Ray Shulman’s bass and the drums, now come through much more clearly. Tape hiss and reverbs that had nothing to do with the original were also reduced or removed.
The original album was available only in stereo, the standard format of the time. In the 2026 version, instead, it has been mixed for the first time in spatial audio. The Deluxe Blu-ray edition offers a 5.1 Surround mix and, above all, a Dolby Atmos mix. The latter precisely separates Gentle Giant’s complex vocal interweavings and multi-layered instrumentation, delivering a listening experience (they say—I only have the vinyl) that is completely immersive.
The vinyl reissue brings back to life the iconic die-cut cover with the transparent insert from the original 1973 UK edition. This detail, which had been lost or simplified in CD reissues in the booklet, has finally been restored.
I consider this version a kind of technological miracle that finally gives us the chance to appreciate the album with a sound quality worthy of its historical importance.
There is always skepticism about the use of Artificial Intelligence, but this application of it—stem splitting, i.e., separating instruments starting from the old stereo mix—is truly brilliant.
Producer Eber Pinheiro’s work was able to bring great clarity to the details, highlighting the interwoven guitar lines, the violin, and the rhythm section with a modern, crystal-clear impact. At times, perhaps, the digital cleanliness has partly removed that edgy, “raw” character typical of 1973 analog productions, but this is not a replacement for the original—rather, a splendid and valuable reinterpretation.
My 2026 Version
Label: Madfish – SMALP1358, Madfish – 636551835817
Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Remixed, 180gr
Country: Europe
Released: 31 Jul 2026
Original 1973 Version and album review
In a Glass House, fifth studio album by Gentle Giant, from 1973.
Gentle Giant were among the most representative British progressive rock groups of the seventies, and they released at least five Essential albums, meaning they rank among the first hundred albums for this genre and in particular for the Eclectic Prog sub-genre, an offshoot of progressive rock that focuses on artists who pushed beyond prog’s limits by blending influences very broadly, less “traditional” than symphonic prog or the sound of the Canterbury scene, and they are its top representatives together with King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator, in excellent company indeed.
For me this record is the pinnacle of their discography, In a Glass House (not by chance my copy is literally worn out), a cornerstone masterpiece of progressive rock.
The album which, as said, was initially rejected for release in the United States by the label because deemed “not commercially viable”, became an import success, selling over 150,000 copies.
Complexity and virtuosity pushed to extreme levels, a constant explosion of technical filigree, vocal counterpoint, sudden time changes, a prog benchmark that continues the band’s experimentation with the inclusion of medieval, baroque, jazz and hard rock.
The album’s concept develops around the English proverb: "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones" (“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”) as a metaphor for vulnerability through the image of the “glass house”, a structure that protects but, being transparent and fragile, exposes the individual to judgment and hypocrisy: those who criticize others (throw stones) often forget they are just as vulnerable and imperfect.
The album begins and ends with the rhythmic sound of shattering glass, a “frame” that keeps the listener inside the glass house for the entire duration of the record.
Just over 38 minutes, 6 fantastic tracks
- The Runaway opens with the sound of broken glass, in rhythm, which turns into a crazy, jagged guitar riff, with spectacular xylophone and guitar and a jazzy middle section with Kerry Minnear’s magnificent vibraphone.
- An Inmate's Lullaby is the most experimental and unsettling track in their entire discography, a fully percussive and vocal piece with xylophone, vibraphone, timpani and whispered voices, without bass and guitar, with a suspended, claustrophobic atmosphere.
- Way of Life is pure technical complexity, aggressive hard rock, church organ, dizzying time changes by John Weathers, one of prog’s most underrated drummers, at “gigantic” levels.
- Experience is the band’s most “medieval” piece, with a baroque section sung by Minnear in an angelic tone, and the explosion into Ray Shulman’s distorted bass riff and Derek’s vocals.
- A Reunion is a short melancholic pause of violin and cello, an exciting, wonderful orchestral ballad, a tribute to brother Phil, before the immense closing of the record.
- In a Glass House, the title track, is in fact a sweeping piece where there’s everything: prog-funk-rock, Gary Green with one of his finest solos. The track ends with the same beat of broken glass that had opened the album, one of the band’s best songs, powerful and sophisticated.
A one-of-a-kind artwork designed to visually reflect the fragility and complexity of the album’s theme with a three-dimensional effect, with the cover using an overlay effect: the central part of the cardboard sleeve is die-cut and covered by a transparent plastic film with a black print; under the transparent film there is a removable cardboard insert, a black-and-white lithograph of the band members playing their instruments. On the back of the cardboard insert there is an illustration of the distinctive “Giant” (green gnome), the band’s trademark. Curiously, in the original UK editions (WWA label, like mine) and Germany (Vertigo label) the images are mirror versions of each other. The main image was taken by photographer Martyn Dean.
An album can feel at times cold, overly intellectual, too technical at the expense of emotion: all traits that make me say that, in my view, this is their best album.
Absolute masterpiece, essential.
My Version 1973
Label: WWA Records – 6366 200 A
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Italy
Released: 1973
Tracklist (shared by both versions)
1. The Runaway (7:15)
2. An Inmate's Lullaby (4:40)
3. Way of Life (7:52)
4. Experience (7:50)
5. A Reunion (2:11)
6. In a Glass House (8:26)
Length 38:14
LineUp (common to both versions)
- Gary Green - 12-string guitar (1, 5, 6), steel guitar (6) and electric, mandolin and tambourine (6), recorder (3)
- Kerry Minnear - piano, electric piano, Moog (1, 3, 6), Hammond (1, 3, 4, 6), clavinet (1, 4, 6), Thomas organ (3, 4), clavichord (4), celesta (2), glockenspiel (1, 2, 4), marimba (1, 2), vibraphone and timpani (2), cello (5), soprano recorder (1, 3), lead vocals (1, 3-6) and backing vocals
- Derek Shulman - alto and soprano sax (6), soprano recorder (1), lead vocals (1-4, 6) and backing vocals
- Ray Shulman - bass, acoustic and electric violins, tambourine (4), acoustic guitar and backing vocals (1, 6)
- John Weathers - drums, bass drum (5), cowbell (6)
Photo Version 2026 Remixed & Remastered
Photo Version 1973
