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Peter Hammill - Roaring Forties CD (album) cover

ROARING FORTIES

Peter Hammill

 

Eclectic Prog

3.28 | 108 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
3 stars I haven't heard any of Peter's solo albums between "A Black box" (1980) and this one from 1994. So it is a little surprising to hear the change in his sound. His VDGG mates David Jackson and Nic Potter help out on a few tracks.

"Sharply Unclear" really reminds of THE BEATLES song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", just the guitar and that dark and serious sound. We get orchestral sounds late while piano ends it. "The Gift Of Fire" has this mellow and minimalistic intro then a beat with vocals kicks in. Some sax here too and organ before 2 1/2 minutes. Catchy stuff. "You Can't Want What You Always Get..." reminds me of the opening track with that dark and heavier sound.The vocals come in quickly.The violin before 2 1/2 minutes starts to rip it up. A calm before 6 minutes then we get some sax and drums.

"A Headlong Stretch" is a 19 1/2 minute suite divided into 7 tracks that blend into one another. "Up Ahead" gets things rolling with gentle guitar and reserved vocals. "Continental Drift" is still laid back and the vocals are almost spoken. It does pick up after 2 minutes. "The Twelve" has some sax in it while "Long Light" is heavier with vocals that are more passionate. I'm not much of a fan of "Backwards Man" because it's too orchestral. "As You Were" is good with the acoustic guitar, piano and reserved vocals. It continues into "Or So I Said". "Your Tall Ship" is the closing number with piano, organ and laid back vocals with a light beat.

A pretty good album overall but defintily a step down from his seventies stuff.

Mellotron Storm | 3/5 |

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