Glass Hammer - Fauré

[roger]

so, I'm hearing Glass Hammer's The High Place right now, and the beginning is nearly a direct steal from Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, specifically the Sanctus. can anyone give me any background on Glass Hammer and their intentions? I don't know the band really at all, other than what I've heard here on the moon.

just wondering.

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by roger

so, I'm hearing Glass Hammer's The High Place right now, and the beginning is nearly a direct steal from Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, specifically the Sanctus. can anyone give me any background on Glass Hammer and their intentions? I don't know the band really at all, other than what I've heard here on the moon.

just wondering.

well I'll try. I have to tread on eggshells here. They're good friends with Salem Hill and some good friends of mine really like them...

but I find them boring. The latest one may be better - it's getting great reviews, but I don't find them interesting. They played in 1995 at Progscape in Baltimore, and they were very much like ELP. Since then their sound has grown and they've done some concept records and put out a lot of records. When I saw them at Nearfest several years back they had a chorus. I fell asleep until Rich Williams came out and played "Portrait (He Knew)" with them.

There's a side project "Wyzards", and they have a song that I have on a sampler, played it on the show once. Great tune.

As for intentions, I'd be very surpised if anything sneaky was going on. It may be just lifted, there's countless others. Spaz explained how "Carry On Wayward Son" was lifted directly from a Journey tune and explained how it happened. And he's right, but I still love the song. Listen to the start of Enchant's "Paint the Picture", it's Xanadu. Or the start of Iluvatar's "New Found Key", it's Watcher of the Skies. Hell even "In The Dead of Night" has a part that sounds just like "Gypsies Tramps and Thieves" (sorry for the visual).

I'd go their web site and ask them. I'll bet there's an explanation, and I think they're approachable enough to give you an answer. Hey you could even say you're researching it for your class!

[roger]

thanks, Rick. I'll check out their site, and see what I can find. it'd be fun to ask.

I haven't heard the Kansas/Journey story before. is the explanation on the moon somewhere? Carry On, Wayward Son changed my life...

thanks again!

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by roger

thanks, Rick. I'll check out their site, and see what I can find. it'd be fun to ask.

I haven't heard the Kansas/Journey story before. is the explanation on the moon somewhere? Carry On, Wayward Son changed my life...

thanks again!

I think the thread is called "ripoffs". It was a long one. I'd look for it but I don't feel like it

Let me know if you can't find it. It's great reading. I rq the Journey song and damned if wasn't the same tune...let me know what you think!

[roger]

bingo!

here's the thread: ripoffs

I'll make a rq!

[roger]

damn! it's Wednesday! no requests....

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by roger

damn! it's Wednesday! no requests....

I was going to say that...nice catch. Thanks for the link Roger, I was ROFL reading back over the old posts. We were a cheeky lot back then...the old days. Puts a tear in the eye....

[roger]

heh. and you'd think I could scam a free mp3 off the net these days... (did I say that outloud?...)

guess I'll get to hear it tomorrow!

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Rick, you ignorant slut! :-D
(old SNL reference, you guys are probably old enough to remember it)

On the other hand, Roger, I like Glass Hammer a lot. No, they are not the most original band - their sound borrows heavily from ELP and to a lesser extent, Yes, with a fair amount of early Kansas thrown in. But, their albums are exceptionally well produced, and I think their writing is strong enough. The playing is top notch. I chatted with Fred (keyboards) in the hotel elevator at the Nearfest they played at, and he is very down to earth.

Just thought I'd throw a contrasting opinion there. Any of their albums, particularly the later ones (Chronomotree, lex rex, Shadowlands, and whatever the heck the new one is called, it's slipping my mind) are excellent examples of a new band playing classic style prog...

[roger]

thanks, Jim. I liked what I heard, but the fact that it was Fauré helped! I wrote them an email last night asking about, after perusing their website and not finding anything specific about that tune. there was some discussion on their forums about other classical references, so I wouldn't be surprised to find that it was done purposefully. they're also big Tolkein fans, so that's in their favor! I'll let you know what I hear.


oh, and I got the SNL reference!

now to go request Journey!

[roger]

heh. the Journey just played, and Kansas stole a good riff, and took it way beyond what Journey managed. ah well...

[roger]

so, a quick update on what I heard back from GH. they were aware of the Fauré, and that was the mood they were going for. so, I wasn't just hearing things...

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by roger

so, a quick update on what I heard back from GH. they were aware of the Fauré, and that was the mood they were going for. so, I wasn't just hearing things...

Glad they weren't in the mood for Phish!

[roger]

heh. I told him they could do worse than borrow from Fauré...