Philip Glass- Glassworks FULL ALBUM REACTION & REVIEW

*watch full reaction here: / 92361747
Album Link: • Philip Glass - Glasswo...
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[@MisterWondrous]

Oh yay! I have some history with Phil, and I love playing "Opening", the first work, on piano. In the '80s, his work, "Einstein on the Beach" was brought to Harvard, where it was performed with the help of visionary director, Robert Wilson. Parts of it were performed by David Byrne and Laurie Anderson. Then he brought Satyagraha to school, where I got to sit right behind him while we all listened. I could have thumped his ears, but didn't, being too kind. And when, years later, in the 90s, he brought Powaqatsi to DC, my artist girlfriend and I met with him after, and she wound up working for him, at his creative management team. Of his works, I would recommend the evening from Satyagraha, the afternoon from Mishima, Knee Play 3 and 4 from Einstein on the Beach, his opera Fall of the House of Usher...for starters. Some great videos of his work too.

[@mjm5081]

❤

[@davidchaplain6748]

He wrote a symphony based on "Low" by Bowie and Eno. totally worth a listen.

[@donaldb1]

And another based on _Heroes_ as well.

[@dannylgriffin]

I should check that out!

[@herb6677]

Have you ever watched the film "Koyaanisqatsi"? When I was a school kid we were sent to this film without any background information. We sat there confused because the film had no dialogs or actors. It started very peaceful, than it got wild and wilder, I had to close my eyes for some times, because I started to get giddy and than suddenly it was all over. It is just time lapse pictures with the music of Glass. When you see the film you will understand his music a bit better.

[@tonyetchells6051]

Philip Glass' version of David Bowie's "Subterraneans" with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra on the "Low Symphony" album is amazing.

[@pappapata]

Yes, I have long loved Philip Glass. Went and saw the ensemble then in the eighties. Another thing I slept well was seeing "Koyaanisqatsi" at the cinema with the music of Glass. Hypnotizing is probably the word. 👌🙏❣ 

[@viceroyzh]

Check out "Book of Longing": Composed by Philip Glass and based on the poetry of Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing is a song cycle composed for ensemble, singers, spoken word and imagery. The culmination of years of mutual admiration between two of the most celebrated musical artists of their generation, the piece features new music by Philip Glass that is inspired by Cohen’s collection of poems and his artwork of the same name.

[@saturninebear]

Rarely have I been so excited to see you react to something. What a wonderful thing to brighten my day. Thank you. Edit: I watched all the way through on Patreon. Not surprised you struggled with the denser pieces (very Glass, but certainly not his most extreme). They're not "easy listening". The key is to see them as mathematical. Fractal. Think of those executive toys where the metal balls swing back and forth creating patterns. Concentrate on one instrument as it weaves through the wall of sound. It's very organic. Very much the patterns of nature. Waves coming to shore. Koyaanisqatsi (with the visuals) is probably the better gateway to Glass than this. His Bowie Symphonies are also very accessible - if you like Low, Heroes, go listen to those.

[@hawkmoon4459]

I remember hearing Glassworks for the first time late one night on a radio program during the early eighties. Glass's use of real time looping is genius.

[@sammelis6777]

Playing the opening on piano is so relaxing. You can just loop the four motifs as many times you want and get lost in the music

[@stephaniethurmer5370]

Another first!! Someone listens to Phillip Glass! Congrats Justin. Try his piece called "The Photographer" for yourself, an interesting piece. Thank you

[@a.k.1740]

In a sense The Photographer (released in 1983) is quite similar to Glassworks, with the difference that it is a work for choir and orchestra.

[@Lwize]

"The Photographer - Act III" is a test of your resolve. The ultimate earworm that will haunt you for years. Some consider it a curse...

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

Benefits from insomnia? #1, Catching up on reading, #2, Time for pets and chores.#3 Being the first to say yay, to this! 😁✌&❤

[@bobholtzmann]

Philip Glass could be seen in the movie The Truman Show playing one of his works while actor Jim Carrey is sleeping. And a couple of his instrumental works were used for pivotal scenes, like the ending.

[@mjm5081]

Love Glass! Have many of his albums including Glassworks. Years ago I was working in the music dept of Borders when I decided to stage a musical experiment. I put on Philip Glass(can't recall the album) to see how long it would take for a customer to complain...Within minutes an upset customer approached the desk and said "Please, I'll do anything, just change the music!" 😂

[@foamheart]

"Opening" will always bring me back to that beautiful scene from Jim McBride's "Breathless". Its a windy day and Valerie Kaprisky is waiting for Richard Gere at the bus stop.

[@ernaolsson6763]

Love Openings and all of Philip Glass’s work. He is a real genius!

[@bburgjaco]

In the Mid 80s, we studied this at music school as part of 20th C music/composers.

[@egapnala65]

His music works really well with visual imagery. There's a film called "Koyaanisquatsi" which he wrote the music for. The section called "The Grid" is on here and worth a look. You start to understand what the frenetic arpeggios are about. You could also try "Songs From Liquid Days" which is basically a pop album featuring lyrics by Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Laurie Anderson, David Byrne et al.

[@greggsimmons3392]

I really love "Songs From Liquid Days". It's only a "pop" album in the sense that they have a sort of song structure and the lyrics are by songwriters. It was not in any way intended as a pop release. Glass said he was interested in playing with the song form. Note: Linda Ronstadt provided vocals (along with others). The other lyricist was Suzanne Vega.

[@dannylgriffin]

You like Koyaanisqatsi more than Powaqqatsi? I always thought Powaqqatsi was much better. Maybe I should relisten to Koyaanisqatsi.

[@donaldb1]

This is a proper introduction to Glass. Much better than that weird, out-of-context bit of Einstein on the Beach you listened to before.

[@moko156]

I didn't expect you would react to Glass pieces, and I loved your react ! I notice you liked his work on strings. So you should listen to his quartets. The Kronos quartet album is very good, both elegant and moving. Sure you love it !

[@henklass]

My favourite movements are Floe and Rubric. Remarkable that you mention Mike Oldfield etc. They were heavily influenced by minimal music, but Philip Glass is one of the inventors, together with Steve Reich and Terry Riley. You should listen to Riley's "InC".

[@pmgrumps]

Mike Oldfield also includes some of North Star by Philip Glass on his Platinum album.

[@jornspirit]

hey Justin... there was a time (of course!) when I was obsessed by his stuff, and I then listened to a lot of Glass... my ultimate top-3: 01 'Protest' (of: Songs from the Trilogy) 02 'Akhnaten and Nefertiti' (of: Songs from the Trilogy) 03 'Freezing' (of: Songs from Liquid Days; vocals Linda Ronstadt) PS. they all appear in multiple versions on youtube - choose the 'Trilogy' and 'Liquid Days' albums! 💖

[@yes_head]

What amazes me is how this is considered the work of a modern genius composer, while at the same time it's totally accessible (mostly). Probably because it's been used, quoted, copied etc. so much for various soundtracks over the past 40 years. You can see where a lot of Eno's music from the late 70's/early 80's came from.

[@tonybarruk2]

I first got into Philip Glass after David Bowie mentioned him in an interview in the early 80s, I still remember one quote verbatim: "Philip's music is the most commercial sound in the world, a fact only he and I know" 😀

[@ScottJohnson-tk7ql]

Two legends :)

[@petergivenbless900]

I noticed your word for the day was "Maelstrom"; Glass actually composed music for a ballet called 'A Descent into the Maelstrom' which is characteristically propulsive and swirling, similar to 'Floe' and 'Rubric'. 'Facades' was originally composed for the film 'Koyaanisqatsi', but was cut from the film and ended up on this album.

[@IllumeEltanin]

The original soundtrack for Koyaanisqatsi (black cover with red lettering) is my favorite Glass. It’s more concise than the expanded full score released a few years later. I would recommend the reverse of what was suggested earlier, i.e., listen to the original soundtrack album of Koyaanisqatsi and then watch the film with the score. It’s brilliant stuff.

[@dannylgriffin]

You like Koyaanisqatsi more than Powaqqatsi? I always thought Powaqqatsi was much better. Maybe I should relisten to Koyaanisqatsi.

[@IllumeEltanin]

@@dannylgriffin as a soundtrack, I do. But I’ve listened to Koyaanisqatsi much more than Powaqqatsi. So familiarity may have something to do with. But the vocalizations are what really grab me.

[@2tuxcat]

It’s easier to like Floe track if you listen continuously the the whole album. The harder Floe hits the bigger relief you get from much calm Islands. But still something is happening - it’s rather gloomy or even ominous calm. It’s quite brave of composer to test listener patience in such way. I think this approach was more receptive when we had less distractions and were somehow “forced” to listen a whole composition - being it live concert or even on vinyl or CD (nowadays you are just one finger move away from changing music to something different). I think similar approach was used by Oldfield in penultimate section of Hergest Ridge (“Thunderstorm”). Which brings me to the question: will you come back to Oldfield’s discography? Even if there were some hiccups you can still find a lot of gold there :)

[@MichaelOKC]

Pausing at 2:32 to comment. Can't wait to see what is coming because in 1983, I was at, U-Mass. Failing because I was taking in too much culture to focus on my studies... But Philip Glass gave a concert that was free for students, but charged everyone else and I got to see him perform Glassworks AND Einstein on the Beach for free! Stuck with me even until today!

[@musicdroog7666]

FYI Justin...if you remember, you should have both Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi in your DVD collection. wink,wink

[@DavidImiri]

Hey, I thought it was just an oversight on Heroes that you dropped the warning banner to send us to Patreon, but I guess that's the new normal. I miss getting some kind of a more obvious head's up - maybe I'll just have to keep more of an eye on the top of the notes. And Glass, yeah, he's an acquired taste I'd say. Worth the work though. And I don't mind the intense passages, they're the perfect counterpoint to the slower ones. The whole of it always strikes me as profound - a very nourishing meal I wouldn't want to eat every week, or even every month. Koyaanisqatsi, definitely, go for it - but really, there's almost no point in listening without seeing the movie, unless you've already seen it. That's to say, you really owe it to yourself to watch the flick, it's a revelation, and quite a lightshow.

[@sphericalharmony1603]

I heard the whole thing, although I had it on in the background so wasn't listening as intently as I could have. In a word: hypnotic. I too found the more strident pieces a bit grating, and think it would be fascinating to see musicians playing it live.

[@Barbu_Deluxe]

I think the images of Koyaasnisqatsi and the music are so intricate that it is almost impossible for me not to -see- the images when I listen to these tracks… Powaasqatsi is a powerful movie too.

[@jaysimoes3705]

Funny and good to see how we all have our own feelings with music. When I was a kid I saw this movie "Breathless" and so this to me wasa very romantic part. While I do not remember the movie well, the music stayed with me as a really beautiful part (Opening that is). SO I searched for it years later and I think it is still deeply moving.

[@jerkedevries]

Great reaction. Respect!. The (Japanese?) moviesoundtrack that you mentioned in the end was too frantic for me. But this Glassworks is really great

[@MrGrahawk]

I agree that Facades, Opening, Closing and Island are the things I get and enjoy and the other two I don't get at all. Of course when it comes to Glass I have to mention the Glass inspired Coma II (AM/OK) by S'Express doing something very different than their usual stuff.

[@ScottJohnson-tk7ql]

Welcome to Phillip Glasses Wild Ride. Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times !!!

[@thirdcoast5755]

I really like Glass’s Ninth Symphony. You might try it for a longer form piece. You might also try Steve Reich. Similar thing but more percussion based. You might like Max Richter too, if you liked the quiet piano movement. Try his excerpts from Sleep, called “From Sleep.” (The full length one is eight hours.)

[@egapnala65]

If you want to do a classical reaction involving the same kind of aesthetic you should try "The Four Sections" by Steve Reich. Its kind of like watching a complex geometrical shape suspended in the air and slowly turning as spot lights pick out all the angles and shapes it makes as it goes around.

[@bobholtzmann]

I keep Glass's Glass Box collection in my Music library - it has his early recordings for organ, which are very interesting in that they have fugue like themes that repeat with minor variations, for as long as 45 minutes. I find the music really helps me to concentrate while I'm working at my desk.

[@musicdroog7666]

The best video for this music is the film Koyaanisqatsi.

[@mjm5081]

❤

[@johnmavroudis2054]

MARK BURGESS of THE CHAMELEONS does a brilliant version of Facades on his album Zima Junction. It’s never fails to give me goosebumps. You should definitely react to that one, Justin. Cheers!

[@ScottJohnson-tk7ql]

Next, try "Metamorphosis", a piece of similar length and similarly breathtaking arpeggios.

[@Brimp555]

I listen to this album, at least, once a year for the last 35 years.

[@ottolehto]

Glassworks Opening is really fun to play on the piano. I recommend listening to some more Glass. Koyaanisqatsi the movie is a must see.

[@kenl2091]

Glass is that sweet spot between modern classical and rock. He's been nominated for an Oscar 3 times (best score) but shamefully has never won one. He wasn't even nominated for perhaps his best work in Koyaanisqatsi, a movie well worth seeing for both the music and the visuals.

[@IllumeEltanin]

Regarding being off centered, or possibly overwhelmed, by everything happening in Floe and Rubric. This is why Glass was a perfect choice for scoring Koyaanisqatsi (coy-YAN-is-KAT-see). The movie translates the Hopi word used for the title as “Life Out of Balance.” Glass’ score brings an off centered level of involvement to the film. That said, as a choir nerd, I feel the original soundtrack release of Koyaanisqatsi (black album cover with the title in red letters) is the most accessible Glass I know. There’s only one piece in the style of Floe and Rubric, called The Grid, but the addition of vocals, still scored in the repetitive cyclical style, throughout the piece brings a focus that’s less of a cacophony, in my opinion. When you’re ready to give Glass yet another try, I strongly urge you to give the original soundtrack recording of Koyaanisqatsi your attention next. I suggest not doing the expanded recording of the score, which was released later. The soundtrack is definitely a more accessible listen. Save the score for when you watch the film on JustJP+.

[@enriquegalan]

Masterpiece

[@a.k.1740]

It's surprising that you didn't get hooked on "Floe" and "Rubric" given that there may be some similarities with certain cyclical movements of Mike Oldfield's "Incantions" or even the frenetic repetitive moments of Magma with this sensation of being shaken in a washing machine. Personally, unlike Magma's music, I like "Floe" and "Rubric" because all the instruments and motifs remain audible and accessible and I think that "Floe" and "Rubric" are there to counterbalance the more sweet and romantic pieces on Glassworks. They are essential to the overall work. I discovered this album shortly after its release and it had a big impact on me at the time, even if I listen to it less these days.

[@HippoYnYGlaw]

I'll be brief. I have a cassette of Phil Glass performing Heroes* I think. Gonna dig it out and if i don't like it I'll give it as a Secret Santa present - along with a tape machine of course. Last year I made compilations on blank C90s from a double tape to tape cassette player but it packed in in May this year. Cassettes play Warm Music. This ? It's helpin me type. Sorry. If u tolerate this Heaven Knows who'll be Next. *Doh it's LOW

[@palantir135]

Bought this album decades ago. I can recommend: The photographer Koyaanisqatsi Aknathan.

[@MarioGraefe]

Another great "Glasswork" is "1000 airplanes on the roof."

[@bburgjaco]

Check out all Koyanisqati, Powaqqatsi & Naqoyqatsi - watch the film and then listen to soundtrack imo.

[@donaldb1]

If you're willing to go back to Einstein, I can recommend a bit that stands on its own more than the previous bit you listened to, is less busy and much more restful. It's called _Knee Play 5._ This is a live performance - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5e6aIV9jpJ2h9k

[@edwardthorne9875]

Ancient curse: May your Phillip Glass album develop a skip....

[@dannylgriffin]

I've found Glass very hit-or-miss . I do very much like Powaqqatsi, though. Much more than this. This is, eh...

[@jayburdification]

This man ruined arpeggios for me.

[@Dresdentrumpet]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Owlstretchingtime78]

These Systems guys just don't do it for me. So cold and devoid of emotion, i find it unlistenable!

[@marctoad]

I cant see how you could listen to this and think it has no emotion? If anything, glass is trying to unlock parts of your soul through sacred geometric patterns in the mind. He's a hardcore Buddhist I think you miss a lot in this music if you think it is emotionless

[@Owlstretchingtime78]

@marctoad Maybe that's his aim, but i'm afraid it doesn't work on me. Glad that enjoy him though!

[@Owlstretchingtime78]

You enjoy him, that is.

[@moko156]

@@Owlstretchingtime78 Try to listen his quartets by the Kronos quartet, you'll find the emotion on these.

[@Owlstretchingtime78]

@@moko156 I'll give it a try.