CHAMELEON IN THE SHADOW OF THE NIGHT

Peter Hammill

Eclectic Prog

4.03 | 424 ratings

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Bonnek
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Hammill tries to find his own voice and starts on his long journey of creative and intensely emotional music outside of the Van Der Graaf territory.

This album has such a thin production that I didn't listen to it for years and didn't know what to make of it. (Luckily the 2006 remaster improved this problem a lot.) The problem is that the acoustic guitar and piano, that are the driving forces in most of the songs, sound so thin and flimsy that they mess up much of the potential listening enjoyment. Which is a real shame considering how strong some of Hammill's songs are on this album.

As on the first solo album, Hammill added some Van Der Graaf left-overs (Rock n Roll and Black Room) to complete the album. They are both strong tracks but come out a bit demo-like and unfinished.

In other words, this album tempts us with many gripping moment but there a few songs that don't leave room for improvements. Luckily Hammill is not so much about stylistic perfection as he is about intensity, creativity and integrity. And of those, this album has plenty.

Bonnek | 3/5 | 2009-9-6

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