Already got the album and it is discussed on the other thread ... this should be moved over to the other thread!

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Hi,

Very long, but with wonderful bits and pieces, and you really get the feeling that few artists are as good, or as able, as Peter Hammill has been, and on top of it flexible to the point of being able to play with the suggestions made and end up with better material altogether.

The history of it, is really nice, were it not for the bits about the two idiot "rock stars" who didn't care about music as long as they could have a hit. Somehow, they just seemed hollow, and when hearing one of them say ... "don't ask me to be a voice actor, again!" ... you get the feeling that the turkey only knew his notes and songs and couldn't careless about anything else. Conversely, it looks like PH adjusted his vocals several times and even joked about it ... and in the end, when you hear it on the album, it sounds right, comfortable and really cool ... we never really heard PH sing to a symphony or orchestra, and all of a sudden, this is what he has ... it has always been that the music adjusted around PH's emotions and voice, and all of a sudden he has to match the music somewhat to make it good, and he does it beautifully ... I'm not sure that one can expect, or hope for, something more than that from a true artist ... and one that is not afraid to try different things.

That one goon, suggesting that he did not want to be a voice actor, is really bizarre and strange, when considering that the 80's and 90's were very much about the "voice" and even David Bowie could be said to be at the forefront of it, though he was also doing films and showing he had the ability to be an actor as well ... so that rock goon being afraid of it, or not liking it, must have been a dig about someone in specific that was not mentioned in the interview ... but in the end, it came off as petty, stupid, and completely uneducated, not to mention naïve and childish in terms of the guy's musical knowledge. It was all about the hits ... forget anything else.

A wonderful interview ... and very strong about one thing that "progressive" folks forget about when it comes to music ... that sometimes, there is a lot more than just a 3 minute song, and the care and attention to the detail of the music itself, is what has made FSOL and AA so special all of these years. But seeing the rock goon just take a lick and steal it for a song of his own, just shows you the ability and talent it takes for some folks to create music that makes a difference ... since all you did was take a lick, and forgot the rest ... which, of course, is so rock song and top thisandthat oriented as to make us totally sick ... and the only thing missing is a half naked singing girl ... in this case they would be in the background of course ... where is Tim Curry when we need him to destroy this stupid idea?

Wonderful work, and my compliments to the FSOL folks and PH ... some work is about magic ... pure magic!

Glad you liked the interview! :-) Yes, Noel G doesn't come off too well, lol. For what it's worth, I'm also glad you like the new Amorphous Androgynous / Peter Hammill album. I play drums on two tracks and am included in the video above (at the 1:33 & 2:00 minute marks). Fun stuff!