SAHARA is a mid-70's act that produced two albums, but prior to that they'd worked and released another as SUBJECT ESQ. The music is rather typical early 70s proto-prog with elements of JETHRO TULL (for the flute-guitar interplay), early YES, and the occasional saxophone riffs remind of early VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR…
An excellent idea (if, perhaps, a somewhat self-indulgent one): 12 of Peter Hammill's (Van Der Graaf Generator) finest recent songs, rendered into the German language that his more stentorian vocals seemed to be striving for, even in English. Titled for Out of Water's "Evidently Goldfish," the album is dominated by material from the early '90s: cuts from Fireships and The Noise account for more than half the album, while the remainder is culled from 1988's In a Foreign Town and 1986's And Close As This. But Offensichtlich Goldfisch is no simple retread of already familiar material. Although little more than the vocals were re-recorded from the original master tapes, the musical textures change immensely in their new setting, regardless of whether or not one understands German…
The Amorphous Androgynous return with symphonic 41 minute 'We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal' in 6 epic parts. Featuring the legendary Peter Hammill (the Van Der Graaf Generator) on vocals alongside a host of musicians including Paul Weller (piano and guitar) Ray Fenwick (Spencer Davis Group / Ian Gillan Band) lead guitar, Brian Hopper (Caravan / Soft Machine) on sax and many others including the 50 piece Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir and a 25 piece sumptuously recorded live orchestral string section…
A New 4 CD Remastered Clamshell Various Artists Boxed Set Celebrating The Finest Sounds Of The So-Called "Underground" And Progressive Rock Music Of 1972. Five Hours Of Music Featuring Tracks By Atomic Rooster, Barclay James Harvest, Edgar Broughton Band, Caravan, Curved Air, Emerson Lake And Palmer, Family, Free, Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Help Yourself, Khan, Lindisfarne, Man, Matching Mole, Nektar, Pretty Things, Procol Harum, Nektar, Rare Bird, Al Stewart, Ten Years After, Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Van Der Graaf Generator, Vinegar Joe, Wishbone Ash, Yes And Many More.
A new 6CD boxed set anthology celebrating the music of Rare Bird recorded between 1969 and 1975. Featuring 59 tracks on 6 CDs including the albums Rare Bird, As Your Mind Flies By, Epic Forest, Somebody’s Watching & Born Again along with a previously unreleased disc recorded Live At The Theatre Royal, drury lane in 1974 and a further 12 bonus tracks drawn from rare singles, an ep and a studio out-take. All newly remastered. Includes an illustrated book with extensive essay & interviews with Steve Gould & Mark Ashton & poster.
Peter Hammill has been at it for almost 40 years now, and yet, since the early 2000s, he has been on a new way up, creatively speaking. Clutch (2002) and Incoherence (2004), his previous two studio albums, had both hit high artistic marks, but that is only one of the main reasons why Singularity was so highly anticipated by the fans. It was also the Thin Man's first studio album since remastering his '70s LPs for EMI, his first since the re-formation of his old group, Van der Graaf Generator. Yet, most importantly, especially for a man of words like he is, it was his first studio release since his heart attack two years earlier. Were all the expectations generated by these "firsts" met? Surprisingly, yes. Singularity stands among Hammill's best albums of the past 25 years.