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I remember when I first listened to this LP: I felt a sort of estrangement similar to the effect of Eraserhead, a black & white film by David Lynch. Not that this is even nearly as distubing, except perhaps 'Gog/Magog'. You know what I mean, the unsureness whether I like it or not. Pretty soon I knew I enjoy it a lot. If Silent Corner (1974) is the best Hammill album, this one before it comes as the second best. And if you want your PH solo work not very far from VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, these are MUST.

Synths played by David Hentschel, better known as a producer (Genesis, Renaissance)? That's new information to me, interesting! I like them especially on 'Ferret...' and 'Faint- Heart...' where they help to create that strange soundscape. What an excellent additional colour to the mostly acoustic sound. 'Faint-Heart' has also a VDGG-like organ and is a highlight of the album to me. Another highlight is 'The Comet, the Course, the Tail', a dark and moody song with gorgeous lyrics. The lyrics, it must be said, are fantastic on the whole album.

As I already hinted, this album has Hammill pushing his musical borders into an eerie strangeness in the latter part of the ending track. 'Gog' is in itself a disturbing shaman song, and 'Magog' goes far into the strange world of "musique concrete" or whatever one calls it. It has a brief passage with lyrics, sung in ghostly manipulated vocals, and if you listen to it in the dark, it surely makes you shiver. No, this is not an album to play to a total newcomer of prog/art rock, but a (near) masterpiece for the connoisseurs.