A Black Box

AMG Review of A Black Box

Ali Sinclair
All Music Guide

Another emphatic, powerful and technically excellent production from Peter Hammill. More rocky than PH7 or Silent Corner and the Empty Stage, less techno than Sittings Targets, this recording smooths a path between the '70s and the '80s. The lyrics are searching, poetic, psychological. It is difficult to choose a highlight: the hypnotic "Fogwalking" makes an instant impression, while the multipart "Flight" spans all aspects and facets of Hammill's talents: from gentle through loud and brash and back to gentle again, studded with the inimicable sax of David Jackson. The multipart piece is one of Hammill's trademarks: he takes a lyrical theme and expands it, story-like, through several short, connected pieces. Another good example of this type is "Headlong Stretch" on Roaring Forties.