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Glassworks

Glassworks was among the first few dozen CDs I bought while still living in Rome in '97. I'd previously heard a few snippets of Glass's music on TV and on the radio - such as 'Floe' (from this album) and 'Freezing' (one of the Songs from Liquid Days) - but here was my first proper exposure to it. I was much enamoured of the disc, which prompted me to buy another couple of his albums: the Glassmasters compilation and Music in Twelve Parts, but I found those both contained more music I disliked than I enjoyed.

My feelings about Glass have been mixed ever since: I've bought a good deal of his output over the years, ultimately discarding two or three albums for every one retained. Then again, those keepers are cherished favourites. I gave away my Glassworks CD too, though not because I'd taken any kind of dislike for it, rather because a friend was a fan and I'd impulsively made a gift of it to her. I thought the backup I'd made on minidisc would be sufficient - alas, my minidisc player didn't last another year.

More recently I'd happened upon some Glass vinyl in the wild: Songs from Liquid Days, and a 4-LP box set of Einstein on the Beach picked up for a mere £3. The trouble is, I don't care for his operatic output and only like a couple of the Songs so ended up giving those away as well. Having a hankering to hear Glassworks again, I resorted to ordering a vinyl copy from a Discogs seller a few months ago: it's good to have it back on my shelves!

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