Hammill Flac

Through the 1970s, Peter Hammill was something of a regular on John Peel's BBC radio show, both solo – recording five sessions – and as a member of Van Der Graaf Generator (seven more). Many of these latter sessions have since seen release, either officially or otherwise; Hammill's solo sessions, on the other hand, have proven very difficult to pin down, with even this collection omitting his first two outings in July 1973 and March 1974…

One of the best albums ever made about the end of a relationship and the trauma that results, Over is the harrowing document of the failure of a long-term relationship Peter Hammill had been in…

Representing a stylistic left turn for Peter Hammill, this raucous, messy, rock platter was often cited as an influence by the first wave of punks in England…

2009 two CD live archive release from the Van Der Graaf Generator leader. This Berlin concert took place at The Passionkirche in Berlin in April 1992…

Hammill began work on The Fall of the House of Usher back in the early '70s, yet it didn't see the light of day until the early '90s as a hard-to-find European import. He didn't feel it was completely finished until 1991; hence its elongated delay. This rock opera is comprised of six acts, and is based on an Edgar Allan Poe tale with small changes to the story here and there…

As the title suggests, Calm After the Storm is a companion volume to the simultaneously released Storm Before the Calm compilation. But whereas that set highlighted the fiery operatics for which the (predominantly) 1970s-era Hammill was best regarded, this package takes the opposite tack, and isolates the gentle ballads that have always been a major part of his persona…

Peter Hammill is a prolific songwriter, singer, and co-founder of Van Der Graaf Generator; he has also released dozens of solo recordings on a series of labels and later on his own Fie! Records. Though he never attained the public profile of fellow countryman David Bowie, Hammill's recording career has proven just as groundbreaking and uncompromising…

Peter Hammill's solo work never surpassed the material he helped create with prog giants Van Der Graaf Generator, and in fact he really never came close…

Even longtime diehards will admit that, over the course of 30 solo studio albums, Peter Hammill has occasionally switched on the autopilot – which still ranks him higher than a lot of his contemporaries, but does mean there are occasional bursts where his albums are more or less interchangeable. That is not a problem here. Last time out, Thin Air caught him riding the momentum of the equally spellbinding Van Der Graaf regeneration, and Consequences simply picks up where it left off. Sonically, its closest relative is probably pH7, back at the end of the 1970s…

Originally a limited-edition vinyl bootleg released in the late '70s (now one of THE great Hammill collectibles), this soundboard recording of a February 1978 solo show at All Souls Unitarian Church in Kansas City was always the best of the pitifully few live documents available from this most spellbinding of performers. Reissued across two CDs, with six bonus tracks recreating the entire concert, it stands as an essential addition to his canon…