The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage (Remaster)

Like In Camera, The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage was originally released during 1974 (it is a remarkable and occasionally startling thing to realize that prior to 1980, rock musicians -- as well as in other genres -- issued two and sometimes three albums in a single year), although it is a very different recording. Released as part of the Peter Hammill reissue campaign by Virgin, this set was produced, compiled, and remastered by Hammill himself. He also wrote the liner essays and provided reprints of the lyrics from the original album's inner sleeve. This album is quite startling because of the links the material has with Van Der Graaf Generator. "Forsaken Gardens" was written between the phases of VDGG, and was performed by the later, Godbluff version of the band. Likewise, his gorgeous love song "A Louse Is Not a Home" was performed by the band just before it broke up. Neither cut was ever recorded by the group. "Wilhemina" is a gorgeous showcase for Hammill's vocals, which move all over his large range on this record, in both pitch and emotion. "Red Shift," which Hammill describes in the liners as the most bizarre session of his life, dates back to the 1960s and was performed early on by VDGG. Here strange rhythms and times move through the track, giving it a nightmarish identity. The bonus cuts selected here include a live version of "The Lie" taken from a bootleg of a Kansas appearance in 1978, and there are two BBC sessions as well, recorded for John Peel's Radio One. In sum, Hammill fans will have to have these, since they've been around in the rather muddied Caroline Blue Plate series for a decade. These are records worth buying again to be sure. ~ Thom Jurek|