sitting targets

Sitting Targets (1981) is probably Hammill’s most accessible album, with the songwriting as close to ‘conventional’ Rock as he ever approached. The album is uniformly strong, though the songwriting approach will perplex VDGG fans, since only Empress’s Clothes come close to sounding anything like the VDGG-era Hammill.

As ever, the songs show a broad range in intensity and style, with the gentle ballad Ophelia contrasting with the grinding (backwards) guitars of What I Did.

Sitting Targets isn’t rated as a strong an album by some fans, yet it is one of my firm favourites - Hammill with passion undimmed.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

From Over to Sitting Targets, this period in Hammill’s career can be seen as one of his creative highs.  Black Box (1980) fits perfectly in there as (yet) another essential album. Fogwalking is as brooding and ominous as the title suggests.  The pivotal song on this album is Flight - a twenty minute epic which veers, Hammill-style from the introspective Flying Blind to the manic White Cane Fandango, splintering further into different sections.

Nevertheless, even though  Black Box comes strongly recommended, it is a flawed album, with The Jargon King and (the mercifully short) The Wipe being two shouldn’t-have-bothered songs.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

pH7 (1979) could be paired with The Future Now, for there are many similarities in the instrumentation and song-writing. This album though, feels just a touch more polished. pH7 shows just how extensive Hammill’s songwriting is with acoustic songs such as Not For Keith all the way to the nightmarish (and brilliant) Porton Down, which features a killer saxophone solo by David Jackson.

Some vinyl releases of this album featured an additional track, Polaroid, with Hammill singing in a jokey Cockney voice.

Hammill’s lyric writing is also superb on tracks like Handicap And Equality.  However, this album, as strong as it is, opens with the cringe-inducing limp My Favourite - so just skip past that one track and you will see (once again) Hammill at his brilliant best.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

The Future Now (1978), may well be a perplexing album for someone who arrives here from Hammill’s earlier output or his quieter 90’s output. But if the listener perseveres, there is much to enjoy here, with unpredictable songs like Palinurus and The Cut delivering surprising delights. The title of this album could refer to Hammill updating his sound to a more modern one, and it can also refer to Hammill’s expanding view for subject material, even covering current topics such as human rights.

A song such as Motorbike In Africa, (though not an easy listen), has no precedent in Hammill’s repertoire, whether musically or lyrically.  Mediaeval, Trappings and Pushing Thirty are some of the standout tracks. 

This album comes highly recommended, and in its own way, I would rate it as a bit of a masterpiece.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

Over (1977), is an intensely emotional album to listen to. It is Hammill’s most self-revealing album, chronicling relationship break-ups and break-downs on many levels - children leaving home, or a deserting lover. At times this album is harrowing for its emotional intensity, with Hammill spewing bile at people who have wronged him. Yet, in the end there is a cycle of completion and it resolves into stoic acceptance if not quite blissful happiness.

Even with so many peaks in Hammill’s prolific musical career, Over still manages to stand out as an essential album.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

Nadir’s Big Chance (1975), is Hammill’s often-referred-to punk album, anticipating the British Punk movement. Johnny Rotten amongst others, has name-checked Hammill and this album as an influence. Rikki Nadir is Hammill’s alter-ego on this album, the perpetual punk who likes noise and smashing guitars. The album isn’t nearly as bad as you might expect from that synopsis .. in fact quite the opposite. There are even some exceptional ballads, amongst the gems here.

The songwriting and lyrics are much more simple than you’d expect from Hammill, if you were accustomed to VDGG epics. Yet, even with the stripped-down songwriting, the songs on this album still show Hammill’s usual diverse approach - varying wildly from the tender Airport all the way to the raucous title track.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

In Camera (1974), continues where Silent Corner left off - with brilliant songs like (No More) The Sub-Mariner; The Comet, The Course, The Tail; and Faint-Heart And The Sermon. One of his loveliest ballads can be heard in Again. The songs are all exceptionally strong, except for the final track, Gog Magog, which starts out promisingly enough, but ends up being overlong with the final 10 minutes being tediously self-indulgent avant-garde nonsense which brings the album down. But there is the initial 35 minutes of top-flight Hammill to recommend it.

In my opinion, In Camera is a flawed masterpiece - and an essential album

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

If Chameleon was a stunning work, then Hammill surpassed himself with The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage (1974). It is arguably Peter Hammill’s best solo work. The musicians aren’t named on the album cover, but it’s so obviously VDGG in full throttle. Randy California guests on guitar.

Ranging from quiet introspection to manic overdrive, songs like …
Modern;
The Lie (Bernini’s Saint Theresa);
Red Shift, and
A Louse Is Not A Home,
… are all classic Hammill. 

Indispensable & essential.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night (1973), is a remarkable album. Its Gothic moods make for bleak listening at times, but always compelling. Lyrically, Hammill is in top form. Musically, Hammill and the members of VDGG play with their usual brilliance. The opening track, German Overalls, describes life on the road for VDGG, with Hammill’s vocals anguished and wracked. The music starts off with just an acoustic guitar but soon slips into psychedelic madness.

Rock and Role could be a track on Nadir’s Big Chance. In The End and Easy To Slip Away must surely rank amongst Hammill’s best songs. The final two tracks In The Black Room, and The Tower are pure Hammill / VDGG genius.

Highly recommended.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)

Fools Mate (1971) may be Peter Hammill’s first solo album, but a debut album it is not. Hammill, having played numerous concerts at the helm of VDGG, is no half-formed talent here. However, there are none of the VDGG epics here - the songs are all shorter than 5 minutes. Lyrically, Hammill is in top form. Musically, Hammill and the members of VDGG play with their usual brilliance. The opening track, German

The album kicks off with the exuberant Imperial Zeppelin. The songs vary in style, from the bouncily happy Sunshine to simple but wonderfully effective ballads such as Vision - all of them songs that will stick in your mind and even have you humming snatches of them afterwards.

This is the closest that Hammill has to a Pop album. Recommended.

__(’Read the rest of this entry »’)