Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hammill, Peter
Label: S-Type Records
Release: 1980
Running time: 40:54
Rating: 4.5/5
Right before the release of »A Black Box«, the British label Charisma Records, best known for once having two prog rock legends under its wing in the shape of Van Der Graaf Generator and Genesis, parted ways with the versatile singer, occasional guitarist and keyboardist Peter Hammill. The label’s sudden hunger for commercial success meant nothing to Mr. Hammill, who had carried on his solo career fruitfully and diligently after Van Der Graaf Generator broke up, so ahead of »A Black Box« he teamed up with his manager Gail Colson and founded his own label, S-Type. Nobody was surprised that it didn’t last long. Then again, Charisma Records is long gone too, ‘swallowed’ in the early eighties by the label giant Virgin Records, which today also owns the publishing rights to this album.
On »A Black Box«, Hammill more or less picked up, in terms of songwriting and arrangements, right where he left off with its predecessor »pH7« (1979), which means he once again played almost all the instruments himself, drum parts included. Old VDGG buddy David Jackson keeps him company on saxophone and flute on two tracks, while the other guest musician, David Ferguson (Random Hold), handles synthesizer and tambourine.
The first half of the album is made up of shorter pieces, while the second half is one longer and thoroughly ambitious creation called »Flight«. It was split into several sections, a first in Hammill’s solo career up to that point. The mood of the album is markedly dark, at times downright gloomy, in keeping with its cover and the message of most of the lyrics. The brutally sarcastic opener »Golden Promises«, thanks to the successful teamwork between Hammill’s electric guitar and Jackson’s sax passages, recalls a sort of minimalist version of Van Der Graaf Generator. The same could be said for »Losing Faith in Words«, which features sacred-sounding piano arrangements and the ‘tongue doctor’ at the peak of his distinctive vocal snarling, shaking his vocal cords like mad as he hurls his rage in all four directions.
»Jargon King« is a total avant-garde switch-off and sounds completely nuts even by Hammill’s usual highly experimental standards, made up of countless cacophonous and dissonant improvisations while Peter’s almost narrative vocal is dragged through a string of weird effects. »Fogwalking« is another markedly dark, almost morbid piece with a slow rhythm and Hammill’s openly sarcastic vocal performance. »The Spirit« is one of the few somewhat more upbeat tracks on »A Black Box«, and, unbelievable but true, it features bluesy guitar passages from Peter, which is not just more than unusual but almost unique in his career.
Heaven and hell split apart once again on the phantasmagorical closer »In Slow Time«, where Hammill sounds like he’s just clawed his way out of the ninth pit of Dante’s Inferno, backed in the background by mighty waves of synthesizer. Despite the considerable minimalism of the individual arrangements, the dark mood, once again thanks to Peter’s singing, is incredibly intense and shattering. The instrumental »The Wipe« is yet another perfect avant-garde ‘brain tornado’, with cacophonous improvisations on electric guitar, synthesizer and tambourine taking center stage.
The previously mentioned conceptual EP »Flight«, the album’s centerpiece, which tells the story of a plane crash, is also its most ambitious creation, with every single section showing off Hammill’s incredible genius as a composer, improviser and conceptualist. That makes it, in terms of quality, even equal to some VDGG classics. The opening section, »Flying Blind«, has elegant piano arrangements and an elegiac vocal approach, before »The White Cane Fandango« takes a brutal turn into ‘rocker’ territory over punchy guitar passages. The »Control« section has dizzying improvisations on guitar and piano, while the ‘tongue doctor’s’ vocal suddenly turns paranoid.
On the sarcasm-spiced section »Cockpit«, the mood calms down a bit again over almost Aryan-sounding vocal harmonies, while the lyrics this time turn downright biting, mocking the fact that some ‘distinguished’ politician has ended up in the cockpit, keen to try his hand at the controls. He, of course, was the main culprit behind the tragedy. »Silk-Worm Wings« has energetic sax passages and massive rhythmic nuances, which means the atmosphere becomes extremely tense once more. »Nothing Is Nothing« is a punchy, almost brutal section with countless crazed guitar and piano improvisations, and an important moment where Mr. Hammill, in his fury, spews his vocal bile at human stupidity. The closing section, »A Black Box«, set after the plane has already crashed, is a genuine funeral-style closer with sacred piano arrangements and the ‘tongue doctor’s’ utterly shattering singing, who among other things solemnly announces the end of the tragic airborne adventure.
»A Black Box« was a crystal-clear demonstration that Peter Hammill couldn’t have cared less about practically every musical trend of the day, delivering yet another superb, thoroughly dark and experimental studio document where, as usual, the key role goes to his distinctive, thunderous and at times even friendly vocals.
Line-up
Peter Hammill – vocals, guitar, keyboards
David Jackson – saxophone, flute on 4 and 8
David Ferguson – synthesizer and tambourine on 4, 6 and 7
Production
Peter Hammill
Track list
1. Golden Promises (2:56)
2. Losing Faith in Words (3:40)
3. The Jargon King (2:43)
4. Fogwalking (4:04)
5. The Spirit (2:38)
6. In Slow Time (4:07)
7. The Wipe (1:45)
8. Flight (19:38)
