From: C.J. Currie <curriecj@mcmail.cis.McMaster.CA>
Subject: Tentative Reviews: Peter Hammill-And Close As This (1986)
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 98 12:27:00
Message-ID: <6dsvm9$m0l@mcmail.CIS.McMaster.CA>
Newsgroups: alt.music.yes,rec.music.progressive,alt.fan.peter.hammill
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Tentative Review No. 82:  Peter Hammill-And Close As This (1986)

        Track                   Rating

1.  Too Many Of My Yesterdays   **** 1/2
2.  Faith                       ** 1/2
3.  Empire Of Delight           **** 1/2
4.  Silver                      *****
5.  Beside The One You Love     ***
6.  Other Old Cliches           ****
7.  Confidence                  **** 1/2
8.  Sleep Now                   *** 1/2

Personnel:

Peter Hammill:  vocals, keyboards

Credits:

All tracks written by Peter Hammill except "Empire Of Delight", written by
Emerson/Hammill.

Comments:

     1986 was a rather unusual year in the Peter Hammill catalogue.
Hammill released two albums in this calendar year; the response to these
albums for his fan-base is, at the very least, rather telling.  One of
these albums was _Skin_, a moderately commercialized prog-pop venture
(qv. an earlier Tentative Review for a more elaborate version of my
thoughts of this work).  Although most PH fans would presumably be
tolerant of the album, few would rate it among his best.

     Is this the best album of Hammill's solo career?  Well, not quite.
Though Hammill's strength of delivery is fairly consistent throughout, not
all of the material is quite up to par.  That said, the "highs" of the
album are *extremely* high -- the "moments" on the album wherein Hammill
perfectly captures the mood that he was seeking out are quite frequent,
even if the songs aren't quite able to sustain the intensity of expression
all the way through.

     The first track on the album, "Too Many Of My Yesterdays", is a
winner.  The lyrics are remarkably articulate, reflecting on a previous
relationship in a manner that easily transcends the prosaic nature of most
such songs.  Hammill's use of his vocal abilities is nothing short of
incredible here; save for the middle section, this could probably have
worked as an a cappella number (not that the piano needs to be removed,
that is).  The concluding concluding line -- "Too many of my yesterdays
are lost in you" -- sums up the track perfectly; the lines are incredibly
"charged" throughout the song.  As per the nature of the lyric, moreover,
the "choppiness" of the piano role (given its digital nature) is quite
effective.  This track is, moreover, one of only two on the album to
feature the original "sound" of the piano which Hammill used to create the
album (the other being "Beside The One You Love").  An excellent
beginning.

     This album is strongly recommended to all Hammill/VdGG fans, in spite
of its flaws.  As against that, it should be noted that this is not
necessarily the best choice for a newcomer to PH's works (it was my first
Hammill/VdGG album, and I was unsure what to think of it for quite some
time).  Even here, though, a progressive fan with a decent knowledge of
Hammill's career should be able to digest it fairly well.

The Christopher Currie
Visit the Tentative Reviews Home Page:
http://www.lodz.pdi.net:81/~eristic/yes/index.html