THE AEROSOL GREY MACHINE

A good historical relic of a debut by one of the prog giants that falls more into the proto-prog category than full blown progressive rock which would come very soon. This album was supposed to be a Peter Hammill solo album but it seems Hammill and original member Chris Smith were coaxed into signing a contract with Mercury Records who then began to take control of the band and refused to let them record but yet wouldn't let them record with other record companies. So this in effect is a Hammill album that was released as a VDGG one to release them from their contract.

After all that despite being English, their debut was only released in the US and received hardly any promotion at all. This is not a bad album by any means but after falling for the albums of the classic period, I find this a tad lukewarm for my tastes. There are some great tracks but many that are snoozers. You can hear some of the sounds that would become classic VDGG taking form here and this is really a must hear for any true fan. It's apparent from the get-go that Hammil is a unique singing force in the musical world.