The sad thing is that this album is one of the most progressive there is ... but the folks are stuck on a format with a screaming solo and a bunch of other turd'y material ... and when you have someone that is phrasing things so beautifully and accompanied by a master drummer in a couple of pieces, that make it all sound so "air'y" it's almost scary ... no one can really listen to it ... it has no "format" that we can recognize, and its impression is like ... this is really special and different ... a poet that stands out ... and no one knows it or hears it, because they are looking for a rock song.

As for it being a "Christmas" this and that, I find it all too weird, specially in these commercially sounding days ... I mean ... progressive was originally a sort of revolution against commercialism, and here we are discussing something that has become so commercial that we can't even recognize the ones that are not even close to it ... so far apart and away, that it makes for a difficult listen ... or as an old friend once asked me while listening to Ozric Tentacles ... where's the lyrics? ... where's the song?

Gosh, for me Peter Hammill is a great Christmas ... his care and dedication alone, is worth it in his music.