PETER HAMMILL

PETER HAMMILL
A BLACK BOX (1980)
320 KBPS

Once again, this Hammill solo album is produced and performed mostly by Hammill, with the only help this time coming from three Davids (Lord, the ubiquitous Jackson, and Ferguson). ‘A Black Box’ is split between upbeat, fairly straightforward material ("Golden Promises", "Losing Faith In Words", and a song that recalls the very first Van Der Graaf Generator album, "The Spirit") and difficult experimental material that spans a wide sonic scope.
This is the last of the truly progressive Peter Hammill solo albums (that I’ve heard, anyway). ‘A Black Box’ is a mandatory listen for fans of the man’s ‘70s work, and a bittersweet swansong before his music took on a much more conventional shape.

1. Golden Promises
2. Losing Faith in Words
3. Jargon King
4. Fogwalking
5. The Spirit
6. In Slow Time
7. The Wipe
8. Flight:
I.Flying Blind
II.The White Cave Fandango
III.Control
IV.Cockpit
V.Silk Worm