Thin Air
曲目リスト
1 | The Mercy |
2 | Your Face on the Street |
3 | Stumbled |
4 | Wrong Way Round |
5 | Ghosts of Panes |
6 | If We Must Part Like This |
7 | Undone |
8 | Diminished |
9 | The Top of the World Club |
商品の説明
2009 release from the Van der Graf Generator leader, his 29th solo album overall. These new recordings mark a return to solo territory, but in the knowledge that Van der Graf is still an ongoing entity. Peter therefore decided to make this set of recordings a genuinely one-man effort, playing and singing every note on the disc. As might be expected of an artist now more than 40 years into his career, these are adult songs, addressing grown-up themes. This is a worthy, fascinating and mature addition to Peter's body of work, which remains uneasy listening. It doesn't look as if he will be disappearing just yet.
登録情報
- 製品サイズ : 14.1 x 0.99 x 12.47 cm; 95.25 g
- メーカー : Fie
- EAN : 5024545555424
- 商品モデル番号 : FIE9132
- オリジナル盤発売日 : 2009
- レーベル : Fie
- ASIN : B0028OGY2O
- ディスク枚数 : 1
- Amazon 売れ筋ランキング: - 738,888位ミュージック (ミュージックの売れ筋ランキングを見る)
- - 165,941位ロック (ミュージック)
- - 260,704位輸入盤
- カスタマーレビュー:
カスタマーレビュー
私たちの目標は、すべてのレビューを信頼性の高い、有益なものにすることです。だからこそ、私たちはテクノロジーと人間の調査員の両方を活用して、お客様が偽のレビューを見る前にブロックしています。 詳細はこちら
コミュニティガイドラインに違反するAmazonアカウントはブロックされます。また、レビューを購入した出品者をブロックし、そのようなレビューを投稿した当事者に対して法的措置を取ります。 報告方法について学ぶ
他の国からのトップレビュー
I temi principali dell'artista sono l'incomunicabilità tra le persone, la difficoltà dei sentimenti, la coscienza dell'umana fragilità, il "sensus finis", l'alienazione e il rifiuto di scorciatoie consolatorie.
Mentre i primi album erano scritti da un percepibilmente giovane Peter che infondeva nei suoi brani adrenalina a fiumi con inattesi sprazzi di malinconia - "The Silent Corner and The Empty Stage" (1974), che alterna l'Apocalisse di "Modern"alla dolcezza di "Wilhelmina", in particolare, non dovrebbe mancare in nessuna discoteca - le uscite della maturità sono più pensose, il tessuto strumentale è quasi sempre scarno, la voce si mantiene all'altezza.
Per ritrovare le atmosfere e i "pieni" strumentali dei VDGG - parliamo di quelli "storici", non della formazione a tre - questo album non è il luogo adatto, allo scopo è meglio rivolgersi ai due abbastanza recenti CD incisi da Hammill con gli Isildurs Bane.
Qui impera il clima ben raffigurato dalla copertina: un mare immobile, invernale, un cielo grigio, appena squarciato dal sole, una nave in lontananza.
Non è musica per hammilliani principianti, e forse i testi possono essere davvero capiti solo oltre una certa età, quando si sono viste e vissute un po' di cose.
Anche per i veterani ci vuole comunque qualche ascolto, ma superato lo scoglio iniziale si viene avvolti poco a poco da quel clima onirico, da notte fonda e coscienza sospesa, che è la cifra del miglior Hammill.
Un brano strumentale, "Wrong Way Round", posto quasi a metà del disco, potrebbe fungere da porta d'ingresso: atmosfera alla Peter Gabriel di "Birdy", si aspetta l'entrata della voce e niente, finisce come è iniziato.
L'unico brano che musicalmente ricorda la giovinezza dell'artista è la ballata, si fa per dire, "Stumbled", basata su splendide chitarre acustiche, il resto spazia dal senso di impotenza nel vedere una giovane vita stroncata ("Your Face On The Street") al senso di resa finale dei conti (da "Ghosts Of Planes" a "The Top Of The World Club" è quasi una "suite" in tema, inframmezzata solo da "If We Must Part Like This", titolo già chiarissimo in sé).
Che allegria, si dirà, ma di ciarpame finto allegro e di inni alla riproduzione della specie, le canzoni d'amore non sono altro, ne abbiamo piene le orecchie: Peter Hammill è un rifugio sicuro nella verità delle cose, sarà poco consolatorio, ma non è mai rassegnato, e un raggio di sole comunque penetra fra le nuvole.
At the begining of the decade Peter Hammill came out of a relative creative slump, and has been releasing consistently intriguing music since. "Thin Air", may be his best since then, and perhaps his best since his 70's - mid 80's peak.
An early review of this album made a comparison to 1980's A Black Box , and since then I have noticed other reviewers latch on to that. It's not totally unfounded. Before "Singularity", he re-mastered the late 70's / early 80's albums, which featured an experimental / noise edge in some of the material, and that he had been inspired to use some avant-garde elements on the two most recent albums, but I would not go too much further in the comparison. The single close parallel is "Ghosts of Planes", which evokes "Fogwalking" on "A Black Box".
The album is more cohesive musically, as well as lyrically, than Singularity . All the songs are rather slow paced & understated in their production. There are no rockers. What traces of melodies there are also very tenuous, and seem on the verge of vanishing as well.
As the tile suggests, there is a theme of disappearance and impermanence throughout the album. The lyrics of the opening song, "The Mercy" make reference to famous last words of people who subsequently disappeared. All of the songs in some way deal with loss, imminent loss, time slipping away (an old Hammill standby), and other forms of vanishing. and of a lack of control. Thematically it's perhaps closer to Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night . It should be pointed out that, although this description might sound rather depressing, the effect of this music is anything but.
Even in his 20's Peter Hammill's work was thought-provoking and insightful. In an interview recently he described himself as a "stumbler in dark" on many questions, particularly spiritual ones. Hammill's lyrics will rarely give you a pat answer - the are more likely to leave you asking new questions. This new material reflects the concerns of the same seeker discussing his concerns at a mature stage in life.
Do check this one out, and give it a couple of listenings to sink in.
I've been a Hammill fan for some years now, and he's one of the few artists that, while I will not always agree with his musical choices, I will forgive him pretty much anything. If he turns out something that...um, may not be to my taste, there's a good chance that, at some point, he'll come back with something that's just stunning. It may take a while, but he will. His previous release, "Singularity", took me by surprise after a series of so-so albums for being quite so brilliant, sharp and cohesive. After that, I held my breath and waited to see how he'd follow that.
And so we have "Thin Air" which, while it lacks the immediacy of its predecessor, shines with a luminous, eerie quality all of its own. It's a dense, layered piece, full of ruminations on death and even suicide and yet...and yet, somehow Hammill, in his inimitable and unique way, works it into something approaching glory. It feels muted, but beats with a definite pulse right from the human heart. Of particular note are the menacing, sinuous instrumental "Wrong Way Round", the spooky, other-worldly "Ghosts of Planes" with its chugging, twanging guitars in the background, sounding as if they fell off the back of a David Lynch film and "If We Must Part Like This", which spirals outwards, chiming acoustic guitars and chugging electric ones circling Hammill's still-astonishing voice. There's also the anthemic "Undone" and....well, every corner you turn on this album yields another surprise. The thing is, every time you turn the same corner, there's a different surprise waiting for you.
Despite his protestations (and those of his more hard-core fans) Hammill is definitely an acquired taste, but he's one that's worth the effort. Those who give this album a chance will be richly rewarded with an intelligent, passionate and haunting experience.
For sheer emotional intensity it is comparable to "Over" (though less tuneful),to the point where it lacks even the limited light and shade of its excellent predecessor "Singularity".
All the music is by pH; no guests this time. The sounds themselves are largely atmospheric backdrop to The Voice, which is in fine fettle, as ever.
So difficult, yes- and dark, challenging and occasionally uncomfortable. It may not be the place to start a Hammill collection, but it has an essential place in one.