Peter Hammill's pH7 is one of those albums that bedevil every artist's catalog, once they've racked up a certain longevity. When it's good, it's astonishing. But when it's average, it really doesn't bear too many listens, and fully one-third of pH7 falls into that category. Sweep away "My Favourite"! The manic percolation and shock-opera acrobatics of "Careering" would have made a far more effective album opener anyway. "Handicap and Equality" and "Not for Keith" can go as well, while "Mirror Images" was (and remains) far ...
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Peter Hammill's pH7 is one of those albums that bedevil every artist's catalog, once they've racked up a certain longevity. When it's good, it's astonishing. But when it's average, it really doesn't bear too many listens, and fully one-third of pH7 falls into that category. Sweep away "My Favourite"! The manic percolation and shock-opera acrobatics of "Careering" would have made a far more effective album opener anyway. "Handicap and Equality" and "Not for Keith" can go as well, while "Mirror Images" was (and remains) far inferior to the version of the same song that hallmarked VDGG's Vital live album. But the science-gone-mad horror of "Porton Down" and the political scourging of "The Old School Tie" were both timely and well-targeted observations on Britain at the end of the 1970s, and provided the taut prelude to the album's frenetic nightmare end. The ease with which the deceptively tender balladry of "Time for a Change" melds into "Imperial Walls" seems almost prophetic, and that despite this chilling, post-apocalyptic study of society-in-ruins having been penned over 1,000 years ago. And then there's the brutal denouement of "Mr X (Gets Tense)" and "Faculty X," a ten minute mini-epic that wipes out everything that has gone before. And if you thought it sounded amazing in the past, the remastering has pulled things out of the mix that could keep you awake at nights. Astonishing.Once again, the bonus tracks are less than stunning, a reprise of the album's finale, lifted wholesale from Hammill's BBC sessions CD. But the solo performances themselves are fascinating, and they do allow the enterprising listener to play alternate endings with the original album. ~ Dave Thompson, Rovi
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Add this copy of Ph7 to cart. $11.06, very good condition, Sold by Streetlight_Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Cruz, CA, UNITED STATES.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. This item is in very good condition with all original artwork and materials. The disc may have light superficial marks that do not affect play.
