Glass Harp
Youngstown, Ohio7 reviews across 6 releases
Glass Harp is a rock trio formed in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1968 by guitarist and singer Phil Keaggy with drummer John Sferra; bassist Daniel Pecchio joined the following year. The group built its reputation in the Northeast Ohio club circuit before signing with Decca and recording its first three albums at Electric Lady Studios with producer Lewis Merenstein. The 1970 debut established a progressive power-trio sound, but the records did not stay within one lane. Hard-rock force gives way to jazz and extended progressive passages, while gentler folk harmonies and psychedelic coloring sit inside a pop-rock framework. Keaggy's guitar is the obvious focal point, yet the arrangements depend on Pecchio's bass and flute and Sferra's driving drumming. It Makes Me Glad also made their Christian concerns more explicit.
Keaggy left in 1972 to pursue a solo career, and Glass Harp continued briefly with guitarist Tim Burks before adding violinist Randy Benson; the band ended in 1973. Sferra and Burks formed Hartship, while Pecchio became a founding member of the Michael Stanley Band. The original trio reunited intermittently, including a 2000 Youngstown concert with the symphony orchestra that produced Strings Attached in 2001. Two years later, Hourglass supplied sixteen new songs, with all three members taking turns as singers and writers after a three-decade gap in studio recording. Stark Raving Jams followed in 2004, assembling improvisational performances from across the band's history. Later reunion appearances kept the trio together as an occasional live act.
6 releases reviewed
Glass Harp
Synergy
It Makes Me Glad
Strings Attached
Stark Raving Jams