Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Hammill, Peter
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1971
Length: 44:52
Rating: 3.5/5
Peter Hammill, the legendary singer and songwriter, occasionally also a guitarist, pianist, poet, writer and above all philosopher, who earned his worldwide fame as the soul of prog rock giants Van Der Graaf Generator, needs no special introduction. Anyone who has ever wandered into the wonderful world of progressive rock and experimental music in general knows he’s one of the most unique and prolific artists in rock music, having already recorded more than twenty-five studio albums in his career so far, most of them stylistically wildly different from one another.
Versatile artist though he is, Hammill earned the greatest respect of experimental music fans as a fantastic singer, blessed with a completely unique voice that radiates a singular charisma at all times. His singing is marked by dramatic and often rapid shifts between high and low registers, sometimes seasoned with a generous dose of theatricality. His greatest wealth, though, lies in his richly colorful expression of diverse, utterly heartfelt emotions. He can thoroughly unsettle the listener with brutal yet carefully controlled screams, then in the very next moment move them to tears with a tender, almost angelic falsetto. It’s precisely these qualities that have kept him among the most highly regarded singers in progressive rock for four decades now.
“Fool’s Mate” was the debut of his solo career, created not long before the Van Der Graaf Generator magnum opus “Pawn Hearts” (1971). The album has a long and interesting evolution that stretches all the way back to the beginnings of his professional music career and in many ways overlaps with the activities of his main band. Peter’s solo path should actually have started back in 1969. The reason was that in 1968 he signed a contract with Mercury Records as the only member of VDGG. When the band broke up for the first time in 1969, he had already started recording his solo debut and even played a few gigs at the Lyceum in London. After VDGG’s unexpected revival, the material intended for his solo debut came out as the first VDGG album, “The Aerosol Grey Machine” (1969). Most of the material written in those early days of his musical journey (from 1967-1968) ended up on “Fool’s Mate”, via somewhat polished-up arrangements.
Accordingly, compared to his later, far more complex and ambitious solo work, the album is a much simpler and more compact collection of shorter pieces. Its musical content is even less comparable to the VDGG albums, which sit at the very top of complex progressive rock. By that yardstick you could even call it a pop rock record. Hammill was well aware of this. So he sent the album off with the words that “Fool’s Mate” doesn’t reflect his current artistic state, but on the other hand captures his musical roots and reflects a good chunk of his personality.
The album title is a pun on tarot cards (the fool is one of the cards) and chess (mate is a familiar chess phrase). The album sports a great cover by Paul Whitehead (also known for his VDGG and Genesis covers), who also guested on the record as an additional drummer. Despite its lightness (compared to Peter’s later solo work, it’s almost benevolently naive), “Fool’s Mate” is a solid debut with a bunch of interesting and catchy songs.
Alongside Hammill, a fine crew of top-notch musicians took part. First and foremost, there are his VDGG buddies: keyboardist Hugh Banton, drummer Guy Evans, saxophonist and flutist David Jackson, and bassist Nic Potter, who by then was already a former member of the band. Robert Fripp, boss of prog rock titans King Crimson, is on hand too with his electric guitar. Hammill also worked with him on two VDGG albums. And there are also Rod Clements and Ray Jackson from the folk rock band Lindisfarne, who were then VDGG’s label mates at Charisma.
The lion’s share of the songs rests on simple, mostly pastoral arrangements built around Peter’s acoustic guitar, piano and, of course, his singing. Contrary to Hammill’s usual practice, the lyrics are dominated by unusually positive, even loving messages, reflecting his emotional state from the late ’60s, i.e. his youth. Occasional baroque arrangements on keyboards and strings add a few folk rock touches to the songs. That goes above all for the gentle, acoustic-tinged ballads like “Happy”, “Child”, “Viking” and “The Birds”.
The slightly more experimental pieces include the opener “Imperial Zeppelin”, with its cowbell accompaniment and dance rhythms, a sort of cross between rock’n’roll and symphonic rock; “Re-Awakening”, built on jazzy-symphonic arrangements and stylistically the closest thing on the album to VDGG; “Summer Song (In The Autumn)”; and the closing “I Once Wrote Some Poems”, which ends with a rather annoying wailing “siren” effect (also present at the start of the album).
Apart from “Vision”, one of his most beautiful love ballads (Fripp plays on it too) and one he still likes to perform live today, none of the songs on the album marks a major milestone in his career. But every last one of them is at the very least a solid piece of work, with gentle, pastoral melodies that get under your skin in no time.
“Fool’s Mate” is a solid debut that successfully embodies Hammill’s musical roots. With its sacred simplicity and likable, pastoral affability, it’s of course light-years away from his later solo and VDGG masterpieces. Even next to “The Aerosol Grey Machine” it’s almost a folk/pop rock album. So it’ll never be all that exciting for prog rock fans, except from the angle of exploring the musical roots of one of the most important musicians of the genre. That’s kind of a shame, because it’s a quality collection of acoustic-tinged pieces that show Peter in a somewhat more approachable light, as a writer of simple, shorter, mostly love-themed songs. With VDGG he had by then more than proven himself as a fantastic writer of advanced, complex and ambitious compositions. With “Fool’s Mate”, he showed more clearly for the first time that he’s also a quality writer of shorter pieces that appeal even to a less demanding audience.
Lineup
Peter Hammill – vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar, piano, keyboards
Hugh Banton (VDGG) – organ, piano, keyboards, backing vocals
David Jackson (VDGG) – saxophone
Guy Evans (VDGG) – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Nic Potter (ex-VDGG) – bass guitar
Robert Fripp (King Crimson) – electric guitar
Rod Clements (Lindisfarne) – bass guitar, violin
Ray Jackson (Lindisfarne) – harmonica, mandolin, harp, backing vocals
Martin Pottinger – drums
Paul Whitehead – drums, cover art
John Anthony – backing vocals, producer
Production
John Anthony
Track list
1. Imperial Zeppelin
2. Candle
3. Happy
4. Solitude
5. Vision
6. Re-Awakening
7. Sunshine
8. Child
9. Summer Song (In The Autumn)
10. The Birds
11. I Once Wrote Some Poems
Bonus tracks from the 2005 reissue:
13. Re-Awakening (4:33)
14. Summer Song in the Autumn (2:46)
15. The Birds (3:18)
16. Sunshine (3:50)
17. Happy (2:46)
(all bonus tracks are VdGG demos)
