Philip Glass - Analog (2006 compilation, rec. 1975-81)

Compilation released by the Philip Glass archive label Orange Mountain Music, centered around the 1977 LP North Star which originally came out on Virgin Records.  North Star comprised of soundtrack music for a 1975 documentary about the sculptor/assemblage artist Mark Di Suvero, and as such contains much shorter pieces than any other Glass release of the era.

Listening to North Star, in fact, is like a series of miniature trailers for Einstein On The Beach (link below) - the preponderance of tracks based around electric organ and simple vocal phrases definitely points the way forward to Einstein.  There's some really lovely variations on the Glass sound of time too, such as River Run and the flute tapestry of Are Years What (For Marianne Moore).  Like Glassworks, this is an ideal album for listeners who might enjoy the early Philip Glass sound, but be put off by a single idea stretching across 20-odd minutes.

The bonus on Analog is Soho News, an EP from 1981 containing "two minor works originally written in the mid-70s".  The three parts of Dressed Like An Egg are in a similar vein to the organ/voice pieces on North Star, and the real treat is an early organ rendition of Mad Rush.  Perhaps best known as a piano piece since the release of Solo Piano (link below), it was originally intended to be an organ work, and is presented here in its full 16 minute recording (Soho News originally edited it down to seven minutes).

North Star, original LP cover, 1977

Soho News, original 12" cover, 1981

link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Music With Changing Parts
Two Pages, Contrary Motion etc
Music In Twelve Parts
Einstein On The Beach
Dance Nos. 1-5
Solo Piano
Dance No. 4 (Christopher Bowers-Broadbent)
How Now, etc (Steffen Schleiermacher)
Glassworks (live 2017)
Symphony No. 3 (live 2020)