This is It
Michael | Olympia, WA USA | 09/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There is too much to say in praise of this very late (in Peter Hammill's career) album. It has verve, variety, volume, voraciousness and veracity. It has psychokillers, the life-inept, introspective parents and a 14 minute long meditation on the vastness and emptiness of Antarctica which is a very convincing evocation of the place. It is not one of his mellower albums, and more resembles "X my Heart" or "Roaring Forties" (both of which are also must-haves). I was worried that Hammill's age might have finally caught up with him when I bought this recording; I was very wrong. Age has brought experience and depth, not musical stagnation for him."
This is a fine record!
M. Sommers | Athens Greece | 02/18/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Peter Hammill has made some excellent music in his time, along with some that is not so excellent. This album is in my opinion well up there with his best. If he has a fault as a songwriter. it is a tendency to overstate good ideas, and drag things out a bit too long, but there is none of that here. Each song is absolutely to the point, with great tunes, intelligent lyrics and a consistently fantastic vocal performance. Even the longest piece on the record (the semi-ambient "Light Continent") is no longer (or indeed, no shorter) than required for the (presumably) desired effect. My only complaint is that I do not much care for the drums on the tracks that feature them. This is an otherwise sublimely produced record, but the drum sound is just wrong, the snare way too high up in the mix relative to the rest of the kit, and with a very "dry" sound."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1