When it first came out, it dominated my turntable like few albums have. Wasn't a lot of great prog coming to Southern Ontario record stores around 1980 so we looked forward to Hammill albums lol
On his last solo tour here, he pulled out the acoustic and did an absolutely stunning rendition of the title track. I'll never forget it.
i remember in Feb 1978 taking a date, who knew nothing at all about "Art rock", to see Peter Hammill and Graham Smith at The Cellar Door in Wash DC. It was “The Future Now” tour, I believe. I will never forget how impressed she was with the performance, which I thought was really special since she had no idea who he was.
Last edited by Steve F.; 05-29-2017 at 12:02 PM.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
LOL- I was there on the 14th- they must have had the roads plowed by then Steve!
your old friend Ralph
I am fond of Enter K
Yes it was the last one for me and I got to see it live so... I have a soft spot for it
About the K group albums, I have always thought they were a step down from Sitting Targets, but having listened to those again last week, I found them to be much better than I remembered. The sax solo on Labour of Love is really intense! Traintime is another great tune, a true Hammil classic! Paradox Drive, Now More than Ever, Don't Tell Me, The Unconscious Life, Accidents, are also great songs from those 2 albums. Of course there's also some less inspired ones, and Happy Hour goes on for a lot longer than it should... but overall there's nothing really bad and the good stuff is just as brilliant as always!
Perspective Vortex - my new solo project available now at http://perspectivevortex.bandcamp.com
Mahtrak Progressive Jazz Rock - www.mahtrak.com
I enjoyed this solo period more than his earliest solo stuff, and later solo stuff... hands down. But unless you lived it, its hard to explain.
I'm surprised for the love for Sitting Targets. I honestly thought is would get ripped.
Yes, it is more straight ahead than earlier pH albums, but it still is Hammill still on a decade long peak. I still enjoyed the K Group material. Skin is where I started to get off the train.
"The woods would be very silent if the only birds that sang were those who sang best..." - Henry David Thoreau
Did he play drums on these albums ?
Was Nadir the prototype for this series of albums ?
What a great album...
ground breaking stuff
IIRC, he does play all of the drums on Black Box and pH7. In the liner notes to the latter states: “I’ve never pretended to be much of a drummer, but this was the time when I felt that I really had to begin to understand what happens with drums. The only way to do that was to hit the skins myself.” And: “The drumming's pretty strange, I admit...but I wanted to find out about it!”
On Sitting Targets, Guy Evans plays most of the drums (except for “What I Did” and “Central Hotel”). Other than that, some kind of Roland (?) pre-MIDI beatbox thingy is employed.
"Dem Glücklichen legt auch der Hahn ein Ei."
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Perspective Vortex - my new solo project available now at http://perspectivevortex.bandcamp.com
Mahtrak Progressive Jazz Rock - www.mahtrak.com
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Don't forget Morris Pert on percussion on Sitting Targets.
I love Sitting Targets & A Black Box more than almost any other PH solo album (except, perhaps, In Camera). I think they're that good.
I'm also a fan of the K Group stuff, but I've never enjoyed The Margin live album (though I loved the Rockpalast video!).
I used to claim to love The Future Now & pH 7, but, with years of dust on my shelf bearing witness, I don't really think the songs hold up as well as Hammill's best work. Cool aesthetic, though, but mixed results.
I’d say so too, although the relatively minimalistic “The Institute of Mental Health” does hint at 78-81 PH, however tentatively.
If you’re looking for other prototypes or “incipient species”, check out In Camera’s “Magog”. It rears its frightful head throughout Hammill’s 78-81 work, informing pieces such as “Jargon King”, “The Cut”, “A Motorbike in Africa” and even “Mr. X”.
In a way, PH only really became PH with The Future Now. Prior to that, the distinction between his solo stuff and VdGG is fuzzy. (If you listen to “In the Black Room” or “A Louse” - they’re VdGG in all but name. Even something like “Lost & Found” would’ve been right at home on World Record, regardless of the personnel employed.)
"Dem Glücklichen legt auch der Hahn ein Ei."
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
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