Fool's Mate/In Canada [CCCD]

A two for one revamp for two of Peter Hammill's most idiosyncratic '70s solo albums -- which, given that all of his period releases merit that description, should serve as fair warning of what lies within. Fool's Mate was his solo debut in 1971; In Camera appeared two albums and three years later and, that voice notwithstanding, they really could be the work of two completely different performers. Fool's Mate, after all, is a largely balladic, acoustic outing, packed with songs that Van Der Graaf Generator could never get their distortions around; In Camera comprised numbers that were written with the band a distant memory, but their methods still firmly in hand. Certainly one yearns to hear what VDGG would have made of "(No More) The Submariner," because the epic "Gog Magog (In Bromine Chambers)" certainly slipped seamlessly into the re-formed band's live set a couple of years later. It's an ill-fitting coupling, then, but the ensuing dislocation and disruption nevertheless ensures that an hour or so spent in the company of these two albums is unlike any other listening experience you've ever enjoyed. ~ Dave Thompson|