FOOL'S MATE

It is a pleasure to listen to Peter Hammill and his friends. Still, the mood of VDGG, is far away.

Short and light pieces of music like "Happy" proves that Peter can also write more optimistic songs (even if "Solitude" is not the most joyful one). Some songs from his debut album are extremely pleasant.

Amongst these, "Candle" is my absolute fave. What a great melody! What a passion! So sweet and gentle crescendo building. And his so recognizable voice which, in this case, is full of poetry. At the opposite of his tortured VDGG style.

One has of course to get used to these shortly formatted songs. No long and disjointed Jackson interventions nor complex song writing. This album is much more accessible than the usual VDGG production ("Still Life" excluded). A song as "Vision" in fact holds some of the mood of this great album (although released five years earlier).

But "Fool's Mate" has little to do with a VDGG (which is OK with me). Other ones from his solo work will have this indelible mark associated (which is also fine with me). I can't really tell that this album is a masterpiece. Too many average songs are included to get the level ("Re-Awakening", "Sunshine").

"Fool's Mate" is almost folkish at times ("Child"? the closing "I Once Wrote Some Poems") but I will always be biased by Peter's extraordinary tone of voice. I just love it. And as such I rate this album with three stars which depicts a good album (and let's forget about the non-essential stuff).

The dark and sad mood is not totally absent of course. Besides "Solitude", the gloomy "Viking" has this frightening side so dear to VDGG (and to me).

Is it necessary to add that the guest list is absolutely impressive? But so will it be on lots of PH "solo" albums.