PETER HAMMILL

'Just Good Friends' originally appeared on the album Patience (1983). Two years later it was included on Love Songs, where Hammill revisited those of his songs from his solo discography - one scarcely finds such songs in Van Der Graaf Generator's output - that can be labelled as love songs. Yes, there is one ('Again') even from the very dark In Camera (1974)! I haven't listened to that compilation but I have enough songs from it on another CD to presume it's not very good. The production is hollow and synth-heavy in the early/mid-eighties style. And frankly, who needs a compilation of ballads by an artist of such wide pallette of expression? It's like eating only sausage from a luxurious meal.

OK, about this song. It's slow and atmospheric. It deals with a forbidden erotic affair and the mood reflects that nicely. The new arrangement is more succesful than on some other remakes. "This new, wide-screen version set me on the trail of revisiting other, older songs which eventually led to the release of 'The Love Songs', from which this is taken. The tense is present... the song remains the same?" says Peter Hammill on the rear cover.

The flipside has the same song as an instrumental version. I'd say this single is only for collectors.

Modern is a driving, intense song that really captivates you and refuses to let you go from start to finish. Quite an impressive feat, considering it doesn't implement all that many instruments if you sit down and analyze its textures closely (not a single drum on the track, but I guarantee you won't miss em).

Wilhelmia is a primarily piano and vocal driven piece. It features wonderfully reflective lyrics reminiscent of "House With No Door", although directed instead at a single person rather than any anonymous listener as in the aforementioned H to He standout.

The Lie evokes the gothic with its enveloping organ, piano, and echoing vocals. If you close your eyes, you almost feel like you're in the middle of a cathedral. Dark and gloomy, yet larger than life, this piece transports you to a unique place within yourself and reaches new heights of emotion thanks to Hammill's dynamic range and expressive variety. Truly a standout that everyone can enjoy, assuming you don't get too bummed by the subject matter.

Forsaken Gardens is a track that serves as a great contrast to the first three pieces by recalling the classic VDGG sound. The first track that utilizes the full band thus far, it brings a frech energy and new dynamic that grabs your attention in a unique way. The lyric is more optimistic than the previous tracks as well if one chooses to heed the warning conveyed by Hammill's words.

Red Shift is a track unlike any other I've heard before listening to this album. Its spectral vocal texture and jazzy, experimental instrumental components create a track that to me symbolizes one of the most charming qualities of the album: its variety and willingness to venture into previously uncharted territories, as far as Hammill's songwriting goes. I will say this much about the track: DO NOT form a hasty opinion based on the first listen. It's a little more out there than most other songs within his entire artistic output by comparison, when you look at the nature of how he usually constructs and delivers his material. Given how diverse this album has been thus far, however, it feels right at home and after taking the time to give it the attention it deserves, it's one of my personal favorites.

Rubicon is a lighter track, but by no means would I regard it as a mere palate cleanser. No, this track offers a unique imagery with its lyrics. It's much more peaceful than the other tracks and offers something special, also far removed from his usual offerings. It may be more tame and shorter than the other tracks, but the album would be incomplete without it. Lyrically beautiful and its gentle textures are so inviting. A unique journey in its own right.

But then...

You hear this...

A Louse is Not a Home...

Guys and girls, I'm literally tearing up right now writing about this true masterpiece of music. Let me just say this track right here is on par with or surpasses the following: Starless, Close to the Edge, Supper's Ready, Tarkus, A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers... I could go on, but in the interest of not pissing off those with differing opinions any further, I digress. This monumental track features not only some of Hammill and company's most tasteful, varied, intricate instrumental work, but the plethora of moods and emotions they evoke...it's like every possible introspective emotion will be channelled and confronted with each atmospheric change. And the lyrics! And the lyrics... You just have to hear them. I'd even say just look them up on your own even if you haven't heard the song. The poetry itself will change you. It hits you in a place within yourself you may not give enough attention, as it discusses issues of identity, feeling uncomfortable and even threatened by yourself and your surroundings, and feelings of internal homelessness and instability. His vocal delivery has always been very powerful and confronting, but here he really fires on all cylinders, almost as though his life depended on getting out this message. Almost as though by getting out this message, he can be absolved of this feeling within himself...

If you're on the fence about this album for any reason, I would say that no matter what your musical preferences are, you're likely to find something on this album you can at least appreciate. Even friends and family of mine who don't like VDGG have told me they thought this album contains qualities they can appreciate. No matter what, there will always be something new to discover within each of these songs as well. Each one its own world containing its own message, but somehow still strongly unified into one of the most cohesive collections of tunes I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. 5 stars without hesitation.

I must admit, although I am a fan of both Edgar Allan Poe and Peter Hammill, this release left me rather cold. It simply is overdone and does not feature enough melodic memorable tracks to warrant repeated listens. However, in saying that, it is a one of a kind project, and deserves at least one listen, and it is quite an absorbing experience initially. Hammill is more bombastic and vindictive than ever with his narrative storytelling vocal style. He incorporates many guest artists to retell this macabre infamous tale of a house that possesses its occupants to the point of utter madness. Hammill plays "Roderick Usher" and "The House" as well as all instruments, which is a feat in itself, and he is joined by Sarah-Jane Morris as the "The Chorus", Andy Bell as "Montresor", Lene Lovich as "Madeleine Usher", and Herbert Grönemeyer as "The Herbalist".

Indeed, the Poe story emerges in snippets of dialogue or the author's famous lines, though these are repeated ad nauseam. At first the album is a curio that grabs my attention, but the idea soon wears thin and then becomes stale. This is very unfortunate as I expected something special given the content and the artists involved. The Alan Parson's Project did it better on "Tales of Mystery and Imagination"; the reason it worked was simply great compositions, musicianship and attention to detail encompassing many of the tales, rather than labouring on the one solitary tale. Poe's tales are short little shockers and they are meant to be enjoyed in one sitting like a one act play.

There are some stunning pieces of classical music and it is all rather dark in passages. This is apt to build a threatening atmosphere of foreboding and gloom. It is perhaps an experimental approach that failed in many respects as Hammill never returned to this type of self-indulgent album making (though he did release a remaster with added features).

It is impossible to recall any particular track as it merges together as a whole. Though I firmly believe the first track and the last part of the album are gripping and definitely deserve attention. Act IV with Lene Lovich is one of my favourite segments; I always loved her voice, and the music dominated by cathedral organ, is very dynamic and ethereal. Act VI is very interesting as it incorporates my favourite Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, reimagined by Hammill as 'Beating of the Heart', and then the climax is the girl rising from her grave to exact revenge and the house crumbles into the Tarn.

The reason I believe the album should be listened to, despite its flaws, is to experience the dramatis personae of the visionary, who had the sheer audacity of releasing it in the first place. The drawcard is obviously Hammill's inimitable vocals, and he revels in the dark power of the text. He is better off with Van der Graaf Generator when his musical genius is at the height of its powers, but nevertheless his solo material is always an intriguing project. Every Hammill solo album rings differently, and it doesn't get much more different than this! This is one to savour as a curio and certainly will generate a topic of conversation.

With Van der Graaf Generator on hold after some significant artistic successes Peter Hammill and the other VdGG bandmembers returned in the studio accompanied with bass-player Nic Potter to record the second Peter Hammill 'solo' album. But where to go from the frenzied and intensely innovative 'Pawn Hearts'?

On 'Chameleon' the focus lays on Peter Hammill performing solo in intimate, but not less intensive settings. Instead of heavy instrumentation the impact of the use of a context of silence is exploited. Other bandmembers often play background roles, whilst Hammill openly explores his vocal capabilities in a pioneering fashion. Additional he uses some reverb and delay effects for maximum impact. The song-material is extremely intensive with great harmonic findings and great sounding lyrics and an often dissonant and dark vibe. The song structures are complicated and sometimes troubling in order to get the maximum out of the psychedelic style. Melodically the music shows a strong link with VdGG, but you won't find many slightly distorted organs and impressive drums. Instead the acoustic guitar en the piano play major roles. When present sax and flute player David Jackson has brilliant, yet subtle contributions.

Every song on this album is quite good, but all tracks have moments of excellence. The material is extremely moody and expressive, so it won't be an album friends and family will enjoy - this is the treasure for fans of Peter Hammill. Perhaps I will never know myself what makes the confronting style of Hammill so fascinating, but the music and its expression definitely sound 'relevant' to my ears.

Conclusion. Hammill at his best and his most pure. I'll have to throw around some yellow blinking pentagrams here.

That alone wouldn't be worth four starts (and a half), so Mr. Hammill also gives us a lot to of goodies to concentrate on. A mere look at the song titles betrays that some of the themes here deal with communication, specially of the verbal one, yet don't think this is Incoherence Part II or that there is an equivalent of "Losing Faith In Words", this time the themes are more varied, perhaps with even more drive and distortion than anything to be found in the aforementioned exponents.

Beginning with the strangely welcoming "Eat My Words, Bite My Tongue", Peter Hammill begins to thread through some awkward, and even scary situations involving misinterpretation, lack of care with reservation and plain bad timing, amongst other things some of us may have felt every now and then. And yet, the other songs also deal with themes such as confidence, trust and desperation, where songs such as "A Run Of Luck", for example, get painfully haunting and personal...

...And that's exactly what the production here does: Hammill's voice is in such a forefront position that he seems to be singing close to you but never gets as overbearing as to shadow the actual music, which in turn is polished but not overproduced, sparce in arrangement but not hollow. The dreaded fake Yamaha Rhodes piano from Incoherence makes it's appearance again, this time, however, so muted that it's hardly a concern.

In my opinion, Consequences is a great accomplishment, which both material and production as good as his records from the late 70s like The Future Now, pH7 and A Black Box. Not as classic perhaps because Hammill hardly reinvented himself here (apart from the addition of a mean tambourine every now, which is a new thing in his music), but equally brilliant.

'Everyone You Hold' is Peter Hammill's solo album released in 1997. He seems to bring an album out every year during the 90s or every second year. This solo album begins quietly with very soft vocals and beautiful harmonies on the title track.

The album as always features some accomplished musicians and in this case Hammill is joined by Stuart Gordon on violin once again, and also from the van der Graaf days it is a welcome return from Hugh Banton, a wizard on organ. On keyboards backing Hammill is David Lord, but the real delight here is the soprano vocals from Hammill's family Holly and Beatrice Hammill. Their beautiful voices balance Hammill's starker tones on many occasions.

'Personality' has some unusual musicianship in the intro, dissonant violins scraping and then a rather upbeat keyboard motif chimes in. The lyrics are reflecting on the inner man; 'if the truth be told, all the plots will unfold, we've as many lives as we have friends, all acquaintances'. Hammill builds into a more confused state of mind, 'of fractured personalities, I don't remember your name', and there is a very cool lead break followed by sweet harmonies. One of the better tracks on the album.

'Nothing Comes' is a tour de force for Gordon's violin and Hammill is a concentration of reflection. The melancholy air of dejection is echoed in the lyrics; 'it's all downhill from here, with no sense of feeling, nothing comes as a shock, you remind me of the girlfriend I never had, never fitted the equation, I was never quite one of the lads.' This is a song to sink into after hearing sad news or experiencing despair. Hammill is the master of reflection on sad times and exudes down hearted emotions.

'From the Safe House' is patiently minimalist with quiet piano and a low vocal; 'this is not the final call and this is not a ghostly guide, still we're glued to the headsets while the world's collapsed outside.' The atmosphere of seclusion is strong as we hear Hammill's private thoughts. Sparse instrumentation is the key of drawing in the listener deeper into his mind without distraction with clever intricate time sigs or effects.

Each song contains the same mellow soft introspection and therefore becomes rather repetitive. It would have been better to hear some louder Hammill or more inventive music at times to break the monotony. Although it is uplifting to hear Hammill's ladies singing 'Phosphorescence' with him, and Gordon's violin sweeps are majestic. 'Falling Open' has some esoteric atmospheres with the scant musical figures and in your face vocals. The existential lyrics are always a drawcard; 'the book slips through my fingers, all the pages falling open.'

The album has a showstopper with 'Bubble' which is one of the more inventive songs, full of Hammill's brooding vocals and dripping with the cold starkness of Hugh Banton's cathedral organ, whose presence on this augments the atmosphere. Hammill's lyrics are as aloof as ever; 'can't go back, can't reverse, no one here really quite believes the bubble's going to burst.' Hammill gets more intense on this song that builds with piano, organ and harmonies at the end; 'and our bones become the coral of the future, and we slake the lifelong thirst, with the pin prick on a reef like a razor, the bubble's going to burst.'

The album finishes with 'Can Do', a showcase for Banton's organ, and 'Tenderness', both very moderate in tempo. 'Tenderness' opens with Hammill alone at his piano. It builds gradually with some stark percussion and keyboards. The song reflects on coping after a relationship breakdown. It is surprisingly creative after the straight forward melancholica of previous songs. After the quiet opening the music becomes alarmingly unsettling. 'Remember and let go,' Hammill's voice seems to warn as electronic sounds begins to crawl in to the cold silence.

This Hammill album is certainly a quiet personal one and has some innovative moments with Hammill always excellent on vocals prepared to lay his soul bare before us. His songwriting is to be commended as, on each of his albums, he always manages to captivate the listener with the sheer reflective poetry of his craft.

Apart from the emphasis on tranquil ambience, there is a fair share of heavier songs such as the awesome 'Here Come The Talkies' clocking almost 10 minutes and featuring Hammill's angular guitar riff. He is more aggressive on this and it is definitely one of the better tracks of his solo career. At about 7 minutes in the song settles into a relaxing piano and serene vocals as a stark contrast.

It is nice to hear David Jackson's saxophones and flute on 'The American Girl' and 'Edge of the Road'. This latter song has a beautiful intro with the sax following along slide guitar and Hammill's thought provoking vocals. There is a dreamy atmosphere on this 10 minute track that has a calming effect. The lyrics are compelling; "someday he'll make his way home, will the man of the moment finally make himself known, and lay down his load, at the edge of the road." At 5: 40 the song becomes entrancing with a flute solo and chinking percussion, as a low drone intensifies creating an ominous atmosphere. Jackson's sax is tantalising, he is so welcome on these solo albums, adding more depth and emotion. This song is definitely one of the highlights of "What, Now?"

At times Hammill regresses to the darker textures that he seems to revel in on every solo album, in this case the darkest track is the boisterous creepy 'Fed To The Wolves'. Stuart Gordon's violins screech very eerie tones as Hammill unleashes guitar crashes to generate an ethereal soundscape. It goes on a bit too long without enough variation but still holds interest for the most part.

'Enough' is also darker with some eerie music and a low chanting male choir. Hammill lapses into his reflective mode thinking about life and death, "not that, but this, not why, but how, not if, but when, not soon, but now." The soundscape is rather abnormal, sounding dissimilar to anything Hammill has done before.

'The American Girl' also features beautiful sax tones. Hammill's storyteller vocals have more urgency as he sings of the girl who "blew in like a breath of fresh air", and "cut her teeth on the old world" that "seemed perfect". She has a major clash with the culture, and the language, and thus feels confused in this new land. A short song but with interesting content.

The songs are not as memorable as his earlier material but this solo album is still very good with some moments of brilliance and overall I was quite surprised at how consistent this relatively unknown album is.

The songs are not as immediately arresting as previous albums and not as memorable. However there are still some great compositions as Hammill returns to themes of contemplative existentialism on 'Faint-Heart and the Sermon'. Highlights of this song lyrically speaking include the poetic thought provoking; "My lungs suck useless air, like paraplegic dancers in formation team, my understanding sees high bound in its movements, contemplating answers that could break my bonds, to be half wrong would be in me improvement but my comprehensive faculties are impaired, and it seems absurd but now all I've learned are empty words are worthless?" The regal symphonic keyboard strings and odd time sigs on this are similar to the masterpiece album previous.

Hammill is at his best when let loose on manic apocalyptical epics such as the magnum opus of the album, 'Gog Magog (In Bromine Chambers)'. This last piece clocks over 17 minutes and features grand guignol cathedral organ and gothic mayhem. Many critics mention the ending of the track which is wildly experimental and not for the faint hearted.

The last half of the song is musique concrete with harrowing blasts of frenetic dissonance, thunder claps of percussion. The track is certainly as weird as Hammill gets and is mainly avant-garde experimentation for the sake of it and perhaps could have done with some trimming. However it is a departure from the rest of the material on the album and stands out as a conversation piece in the same vein as The Beatles 'Revolution 9'. Hammill manipulates various snippets of audio tape to create a sound collage of dark and disturbing nightmares. It is a fascinating montage of effects and creates a hellish disturbia similar to the work of Scott Walker or vintage Can. It is perhaps as dark as the artist gets and it lasts for over 7 minutes. It is hard to consume after an initial listen but it ends the album off nicely that was rather subdued to this point. Hammill once again demonstrates his power as an artist who refuses to be pigeon holed into any one genre style and whose creative vision is unsurpassed.

Peter Hammill's solo efforts only appealed to me due to my avid interest in the mighty Van der Graaf Generator. Hammill's voice has a distinct storyteller quality that has made him a popular icon of the prog scene for many years. At least 3 of his solo albums have become revered treasures and "The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage" is definitely one that is closer to the VDGG sound than many others. Jaxon, Banton and Evan's contribution is of course a primary reason for the Van der Graafian sounds. The consistent quality of the songs is another reason for the high status of this album; whereas many Hammill albums wallow on one style, this one throws in a plethora of styles and holds the interest on repeat listens. it also contains arguably Hammill's finest solo composition 'A Louse is not a Home'.

In the first 5 seconds Hammill makes his presence known with the exhilarating 'Modern' with potent lyrics; "Jericho's strange, throbbing with life at its heart, people are drawn together simultaneously torn apart." His vocals are a pervasive force. The music is as VDGG as it can get with fuzz bass and odd time sigs with very unusual instrumentation. In the liner notes Hammill states the song is, "simply a sonic assault." There is nothing simple about this with its weird meter and shifting moody atmospheres. The instrumental break is a dynamic soundwave of hyper tense musical structures, high pitched soprano saxophone screeches from Jaxon, and an ominous build-up of Banton's keyboard and Hammill's angular phased guitar. Then after this tension it releases into a new time sig and back to the descending acoustic chords. The dissonance of woodwind competing against the melody is astonishing.

'Wilhelmina' is a piano ballad similar to the softer VDGG songs where Hammill croons about his existential state of mind. However the lyrics of this are more focussed on the love of Guy Evans daughter and giving advice to how she can cope with the changes in her life as she grows to be a lady. Quite beautiful and a little sad in tone. 'The Lie' features a slow cadence and the familiar cathedral organ of Banton. At times Hammill rises to his passionate aggressive voice and it even climaxes on a grinding Hammond blast. It is also directed towards Evans' daughter.

A capella Hammill begins 'Forsaken Gardens', a slow moderate melancholy song. Hammill points out in the album notes, "we played it on a few occasions after the "Godbluff" reformation." It is a transition between the two VDDG periods and sounds similar to that style, building with flute and some scorching sax passages. It is so great to hear that sax on a Hammill solo release, a part of the more recent VDGG albums that was sorely missed for a time. The birds twittering at the end is an effect using Hammill's Fluid Sound Box, a Leslie effect according to Hammill.

'Red Shift' is a track that must rank as one of the solo highlights, along with the album closer. It begins with some narrative, spacey sax squeals and a VDGG time sig. Lyrics are off the planet, "once all the stars were bright now they are red and fading, and all the colours we wore, the shades that we bore have moved, and the gold turns to red with no time for changes: Red shift all moving away from we." The chorus is a slow meter vocally, with odd sporadic percussion from Evans. This is a darker song on the album and Jaxon's sax is dynamic. The track immerses the listener into its dark recesses as only Hammill can.

The release of the next track, 'Rubicon' is a welcome relief. It is acoustically driven and peaceful with some poetic beauty; "open the toy box, you are Pandora, I am the world, if you cross the stream you can never return."

The last song is the clincher, the masterpiece of the album, 'A Louse is not a Home' and it reeks of VDGG. It should, as the band were going to add this to their new album before they disbanded again. The sound is pitch dark and reflects the downbeat lyrical content which at times is brilliant; "my words are spiders upon the page, they spin out faith, hope and reason, but are they meet and just, or only dust gathering about my chair" and later "day is just a word I use to keep the dark at bay, and people are imaginary, nothing exists except except the room I'm sitting in, and of course the all-pervading mist - " Hammill is chilling speaking of a presence of someone watching him and his paranoia is frightening.

The time sig that pounds with Banton's staccato sax blasts and loud guitar is similar to the "Pawn Hearts" era. It soon settles into quiet meditative reflections. The haunting solitude is an intense atmosphere, with spasms of sax and organ. It builds with a ferocity and Hammill's scream to the world is unnerving. It returns to the huge melodic motif at the beginning with, "maybe I should delouse this place, maybe I should deplace this louse, maybe I'll maybe my life away, in the confines of this silent house." A brilliant eargasm clocking 12 minutes and encompassing the best of Hammill in his blackest mood.

The bonus tracks are intriguing raw versions of album tracks played live in various locales and with varying quality. The rumbling thunder of Hammil's piano is a weapon to project his anger and anxiety on 'The Lie', especially the primal scream at the end. As Hammil makes clear in the liner notes, "somewhat deficient in sound quality but very much there in Presence." 'Rubicon' live is a flute driven evocative version, 'Red Shift' is acoustic and sax dominated, no drums necessary fore either recorded at BBC Radio One. "The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage" is a definitive Hammill classic and certainly one for VDGG fans as well as those with a proclivity for dark atmospheric moods.

VdGG front-man, songwriter, vocalist and keyboardist/guitar player Peter Hammill made a serious amount of albums and A Black Box is often mentioned as one of his stronger releases (albeit most will first point to the early '70 period). On this album Peter Hammill plays all instruments (keyboard, guitar, bass and drumcomputer). The sound is a bit eighties like and due to the use of drumcomputers all tracks sound a bit static. Hammill uses '80 keyboards. The album has rock, psychedelic rock and avant-garde moments, but in the end is just a typical 'Peter Hammill'-album that fans can easily recognise.

On side one we've got a couple of worthwhile tracks. The opening track 'Golden Promises' is good rock by Hammill with a nice sound, though I aint to fond of both the eighties sound and the drumcomputer. On 'Loosing Faith in Words' Hammill gives us some real treat with heavy emotional vocals and some of his recognisable theatric lyrical themes. The Jargon King is a spoken word track with really disturbing avant-garde noise drum computers. Not my favorite here. 'Fogwalking' is also dark and avant-garde like, but this time I really like the tension and the atmospheres. Really good music for a ghost house. 'The Spirit' is a simple rock tune, good but the ugly guitar solo's of Hammill (not too skilled on some aspects of the instrument in my humble opinion) don't work to well. 'In Slow Time' is another strong dark, yet simplistic track ( a bit like 'Fogwalking'). Side one is closed with the short 'The Whipe'. Another avant-garde composition with heavy distorted drumcomputers (perhaps some tape manipulation?) and mysterious keyboard sounds, but I like it.

Side two is filled with 'Flight', a long composition consisting of about six different parts. After starting of very promising with strong song-writing I must admit I can't find anything too worthwhile after eight minutes. The tracks developed toward chaotic and unlogical compositions that aren't catchy or that atmospheric. I can't help myself asking 'why this?', 'why that?' and stuff like that. For me, this is definitely not as strong as the first side.

Conclusion. With a relatively strong first side with some highlights (Golden Promises, Loosing Faith in Words, Fogwalking & In Slow Time) and a unsatisfying second side it's hard to rate this album as whole. I'll give it three stars, but still I would mainly recommend it those who are already fan of Peter Hammill and his dark, bleak and confronting style.