Search - Peter Hammill :: What Now

His best since Black box

07/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Hammill fan since the mid-70's and it was great to hear him sounding so inspired on this CD. In my opinion, this is the disc that many Hammill/VDGG fans have been waiting a long time for. What, Now? has to be the most natural and direct effort from PH in ages. This really is a classic sounding Peter Hammill lp, much more so than any of his releases since Black Box, and with a unique quality that I think was missing from even his strongest recent material ("X" My Heart, Roaring Forties). Most material on this CD could have been from any classic Hammill release. "Far-Flung (across the sky)" could be from In Camera or Chameleon..., "Wendy & the Lost Boy" recalls "Wilhelmina" from Silent Corner..., "Fed To The Wolves" could be on Black Box or Over, "Edge of the Road" could be from VDGG's Still Life, and so on... Possibly a key to the success of this release is that Hammill seems more comfortable with his past than in any time in recent memory and the melding of PH's older sound (something he seemed to try to distance himself from in recent years) with a more modern sensibility has never been as effective as here (a few cuts find Hammill sounding more than a little like Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon although we all know it's more the other way 'round; Hammill fans should really give a listen to Divine Comedy's "Regeneration" CD which practically screams Hammill on some tracks i.e. "Eye Of The Needle" which is "Faint-Heart & the Sermon" all the way; but I digress...).
There are still a few things that some will find fault with (yes, Manny Elias is still way too predictable a drummer but he's only on 4 tracks here, and does well for the most part, and the production is a bit glossy at times, but this is ALSO the best production job PH has done in quite awhile) but these are minor quibbles when given such a fine gift as this music. Bravo!"