THIS

Even if the gang of the pH quartet are supporting Peter, he wanted this album to be a very much personal matter (at least he said so).

But, as usual, it is the more band oriented songs that I will prefer. "Unrehearsed" has the indefinite Graaf feeling I like so much. Mighty Jackson is as great as ever and Stuart's violin is just remarkable. When you would combine these elements with a passionate vocal part, you just have to acknowledge that this song is outstanding.

Same perspective for "Since the Kids" which is another highlight from "This". More tranquil but same passion. These moments are pure joy. During his long and (too) prolific career, Peter has dotted his albums with such wonderful songs.

I wasn't really enthusiast about Peter's output in the nineties and "This" might well be his best work since "Roaring Forties" or "Out Of Water". The delicacy of "Nightman" or "Fallen" is so moving. Hammill at his best. Like he should have always been. Stuart being a very good add-on of course.

Some less inspired songs here and there ("Stupid", "Always Is next") bring the listener back on earth again. The long and closing epic is more on the experimental and atmospheric side.

About this song, Peter said: "This was entirely improvised as far as music is concerned. I began playing one morning in a completely open - if somewhat anxiously reflective and somber - frame of mind. Just I'm making music, in a free sense. I played my parts...my performance...in one continuous pass, adjusting the various sound sources I was using as I went.

Again, a process of editing brought the piece into (admittedly long) shape. By this time the vocal line, theme and lyrics were well under way. David and Stuart's contributions were made under strict rules: they were allowed only two passes each. The first was without having heard the music at all; the only reference points I gave them were It's 14 minutes long and it's Antarctic. I remain really happy with this piece".

My feeling is probably more mixed, but "This" remains a good album in the man's discography. Three stars.

This is another steady Hammill album, it has a mix of ballads and semi-rock tracks. It is enjoyable all the way through but still lacks the vigour and inspiration to make it much better then just, well, 'regular'.

Unrehearsed is a nice song that mixes Hammill's calm 90's side with an attempt at VDGG craziness. Stupid returns to the experiments from the 78-81 period. It's ok but pales in comparison to its obvious examples. Since the Kids is a first real high point and another example that Hammill was a lot more successful at writing soft ballads in the 90's then at his many dreary attempts to 'rock' in that period. Also Nightman is a beautiful calm piece with an excellent interplay between acoustic guitar and violin.

The ambient closing track The Light Continent is a very sparse and quiet yet haunting piece. As I've pointed out in other reviews, this kind of music might really win over some David Sylvian fans. It's very similar to Sylvian's ambient music but here it's done by a much better vocalist (Oops, shouldn't have said that :)

With this album Hammill continued the growing quality curve that had set in with X My Heart. It will be of little interest to the majority of prog heads but this is one of Hammill's good 90's efforts that fans might want to pick up. 3.5 stars