TO WHERE I AM NOW

Today’s trip to the shoreline was something of a small nature trip. On the way the sky couldn’t make its mind up, the gardens were recovering from early rain, the sun was appearing and disappearing, the wind too was unsure. We found another pathway through, one that we hadn’t taken before which seemed impossible in such a small place. It wasn’t a direct route or a shortcut, it was like entering a grotto. It was a winding path with a roof of leaves that made it dark and mysterious. We went in and found ourselves in another world and because it was Morrab Gardens in Penzance, there were exotic plants (you can see in today’s pic that I was standing between those exotic plants that begin with the letter ‘E’ – Echium Pininana?), there was even bamboo all around us. It was fleeting, we were soon out of the hidden pathway and heading briefly through the gardens towards the sea.

A deep dark translucent green hypnotized and lured us towards it. We walked along the road and peered through the erected fence behind where they are attempting to replace the promenade paving. The pandemic has halted work and only recently have they started up again. It’s stopped us walking the length of the promenade next to the sea which has added to the frustration. There’s little spots where they have left gaps so you can get to the sea wall and look out towards the horizon and at another place descend the weathered stone steps to the beach. It was so enticing we did just that. The waves were coming in thick and fast and we walked right up to the water’s edge and stood there for ages taking it all in. Olivia spotted a small crab doing its sideways dance attempting to disappear into the water, after 3 or 4 waves it was gone.

All of a sudden a fish appeared on a wave, it was dead and it was quite small, about 4 inches long. It had lost its tail and its mouth was open with large round eyes staring. But it seemed like it hadn’t been dead long perhaps attacked by a predator, a seagull or a diving bird. It was bright silver and lying there on the stones it shone like a beacon. You’d think creatures like this would have better camouflage. I took a small piece of seaweed and picked it up and took it towards where the seagulls drink the flowing freshwater from the stream that flows across the beach from the hills. I left it near there on the stones and as we walked away a bird soon found it and carried it off. An unexpected feast, better than chips or ice cream. Olivia did some research, these gulls are European Herring Gulls, the ones with the black wings are Great Black-Backed Gulls. It makes it even better knowing the species, knowing about the animals around you improves the experience of them.

We were also as always dropping off recycling, again it was too full so we were happy we didn’t have too much. We went into the supermarket and bought a few supplies, honey, carrots, brie, sweet potato, and headed back into town. On the way back we found ourselves facing the same mad woman that abused us a few weeks earlier. We humorously gave her a very wide berth although I’m not sure she or her two yappy dogs appreciated the sentiment. We ambled up the hill and witnessed the local cat population. Sometimes there’s one on every corner or asleep in the window of a house on the way up to the studio. In the building next door to the studio (where Dylan Thomas was married) there’s a dog that always sits in the window checking out the action. There was an excitable dog on the beach today. It was one of those dogs with an enthusiastic face, all tongue and droopy ears.

I had no seshes today and no studio so the plan was to catch up with emails, put records away, write down the records played in the last few days. Also listen to Tony’s and Rajan’s songs in preparation for Sunday’s seshes. But by the time we’d been out, had dinner, watched an episode of Star Trek and I’d done my French lesson it was already late. Which reminds me, today’s episode of Star Trek I acted out on stage in Dublin. It was the episode where the inhabitants of the planet are moving so fast that you can’t see them. It wasn’t them that I impersonated, it was the slow motion Enterprise crew, it was pretty easy, I just stood very still for 30 seconds, seemed like an eternity for the audience, ha ha.

Music today comes from another unique musical genius from England, the unforgettable Peter Hammill. In between two groundbreaking Van der Graaf Generator albums, The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other (1970) and Pawn Hearts (1971), Peter Hammill released Fool’s Mate (1971) as a solo album. He described them as older songs and they needed a home. They were also shorter pieces than the VDGG material so he nipped into the studio and recorded the album in two days, you’d never know it. The album features all VDGG members plus Robert Fripp on electric guitar. There’s also two members of Charisma Records label mates Lindisfarne, Rod Clements on bass and violin and Ray Jackson on harp and mandolin. You’ll remember that Ray Jackson was the man who Rod Stewart thanks on his album Never A Dull Moment as ‘the mandolin player from Lindisfarne whose name escapes me’. Another drink, Rod?

As I’ll be playing Peter Hammill albums all night I won’t go into too much detail mainly because you could write an essay about every song he writes. Suffice to say this album was the beginning of a prolific solo career that to date includes 61 albums if you include live albums and compilations. The albums I’ll be playing tonight are his first four, Fool’s Mate (1971), The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage (1974), Chameleon In The Shadow Of Night (1973), and In Camera (1974). Hammill’s incredible voice and delivery along with all the lyrical ideas which seem to go from strange visions to normal life experiences are always thoughtful in some way. On Fool’s Mate I must mention Child as a wonderful track, although it’s a crime not to mention any other songs.

By the second album Chameleon In The Shadow Of Night (1973), Van der Graaf Generator had broken up. You can hear the story of why or at least part of the reason in the lyric to the first track, German Overalls. It’s just too hard and too expensive to be a touring rock band that is only amazing. Still all the latest VDGG members play on the album so it really was more about financial discomfort rather than personal issues. Lots of great tracks on this one, magical Mellotron on Easy To Slip Away.

This might be the time to mention the cover art. Both this album and Fool’s Mate were at the hand of Paul Whitehead. He also did H To He Who Am The Only One (1970) and Pawn Hearts for Van der Graaf Generator and let’s not forget those classic Genesis album covers Trespass, Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme. The photograph on the cover of Chameleon In The Shadow Of Night was taken by Bettina Hohls who was involved with Ash Ra Tempel and Timothy Leary as a vocalist on the album Seven Up (1972). She is also a synesthete, I’ll let you look that up. Paul Whitehead has gratefully prepared other album covers in the In Deep Collection, namely High Tide – Sea Shanties (1969), Renaissance – Illusion (1971) and Tom Fogerty – Myopia (1975) as well as three covers for Italian Proggers Le Orme.

The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage was the third solo album although it again featured all the members of Van der Graaf Generator. Artwork is by Bettina Hohls. The album opens with the classic 7-minute Modern, what a sound the band makes, odd notes, over the top singing, you can see where Johnny Lydon got his ideas from. He just changed the packaging. Randy California appears on Red Shift, all the songs are long on this album, Red Shift is 8 minutes. Even the short songs are long.

In Camera was the second last solo album before the band got back together but not the last solo album, there are another 57 after this one. Nadir’s Big Chance came in 1975 but also in that year Van der Graaf Generator reformed and released Godbluff. A lot of In Camera was recorded at home (Sofa Sound), then he took it to Trident Studios where he added ARP synth and Guy Evans played drums. There’s also percussive appearances from original member Chris Judge Smith (who left in 1968) and the cover art man Paul Whitehead (although this was not his cover art). When you hear this challenging, dark record, it makes you wonder why we needed Punk Rock, apart from the speed and the safety pins of course.

Make sure that after this post you research Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator. I wrote about the first VDGG album the other day (essentially a Peter Hammill solo album), Aerosol Grey Machine (1969). He is like Roy Harper one of the great originals of British music. I’ve mentioned this before but I’ve met him a couple of times, but I may not have told you about the time he was watching me in Canada restring my guitar standing up, tuning up and coming in at exactly the right moment with the broken string replaced. He came up to me afterwards and said he’d never seen anything like it, talk about tension, it was like James Bond defusing a bomb. (In Camera’s Magog is the aftermath of the explosion.)

Song Of The Day is Pendulum from the Seeing Stars album released in 1997. Why? After Peter Hammill it’s obvious.

 

Pendulum

Left hanging delicately
You lean forward over the rail
And you haven’t seen me
These hallways never seem to end
Only conspire to exaggeration

Now watch the time
A hand grenade
Death by design
An accolade

Unhinged, all askew
All unconsidered
All backwards and forwards
All finished all done

Now watch the time
A hand grenade
Death by design
An accolade

Tick tock, tick tock
Pendulum swinging
Death by design
An accolade

Morning slips discreetly in
You lean forward over the rail
Until you see me

Now watch the time
A hand grenade
Death by design
An accolade

Now watch the time
A hand grenade
Death by design
An accolade

Tick tock, tick tock
Tick tock, tick tock
Tick tock, tock tock tock tock tock…

(Willson-Piper / Cousin / Price)
Seeing Stars – Seeing Stars (1997)