The Greatest Album You've Never Heard: Peter Hammill -"Nadir's Big Chance" 

By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

Peter Hammill
"Nadir's Big Chance"
(1975 - Charisma Records)
Released 50 Years Ago This Month 

"Peter Hammill is great. A true original, I've just liked him for years," John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten said in a 1978 Capital Radio interview. "If you listen to him, his solo albums, I'm damn sure Bowie copied a lot out of that geezer. The credit he deserves just has not been given to him. I love all his stuff." Lydon let loose this praise after playing two Hammill songs on the air, 'The Institute Of Mental Health, Burning' and 'Nobody's Business,' both from the 1975 LP 'Nadir's Big Chance.' Lydon had been invited on the radio to talk about his new band, Public Image Limited, and promote an upcoming concert. He also picked songs by Lou Reed, Can, Peter Tosh, Captain Beefheart, and Neil Young, among others.

To the casual music enthusiast, the name Peter Hammill likely means nothing, ditto his groundbreaking band Van Der Graaf Generator. To those who may be familiar, it might have seemed odd that this 'face' of punk rock would be championing a Prog rock genius like Hammill, but dig a little deeper, and it all makes sense.

1967, the seed from which so much would spring, was a Technicolor year full of amazing music, style, and ideas. For many of a certain age, those ideas would transform their musical and personal lives into other previously unexplored worlds. The psychedelic floodgates had opened, eventually leading to the storms of the progressive rock movement, with King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator being among the first in line to try and expand on the ideas set in motion by the Beatles, Hendrix, and others.

Unlike much of what would be wedged into cliché progressive rock territory, Crimson, and VDGG never let the flowers grow over the jagged rocks in the garden, but rather, let them all have their place. The music Hammill and company would create on their first four albums was challenging, complex, and in your face. That's not to say they were void of delicacy and beauty, but the harsh, sometimes ugly other side of the coin was given equal time.  No time for gnomes either, as Hammill's lyrics were often drawn from personal emotions and situations rather than Tolkien tales. Their music was, and remains, a challenge for many to listen to. Songs like 'Killer,' 'White Hammer,' and 'Lemmings' were at times brutal in their aggressiveness, while the side-long 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers' was never for the faint of heart. Because of that, the band built a devoted cult following across the globe, especially in Italy, where their 'Pawn Hearts' album topped the Italian charts in 1971, and their concerts were sold-out scenes of riots.

Following that tour and album, Hamill broke up the band, saying it had all gotten too intense. He had already released one solo album, the much more focused and melodic 'Fools Mate,' and kept on a solo path until late 1974 when he called in the band to back him on a new solo album. This would soon lead to a full-on revitalization of the band through the end of the 1970s. The album he had them play on would be unlike anything else in his solo or band catalog. Gone were the complexities, odd time signatures, long songs and anything resembling the heyday of progressive rock (though some elements would return with the band on their following releases). In place was a back-to-basics approach, connected to the beat groups so many had initially been inspired by but plugged into a whole other level. For some, this is where the idea of 'punk rock' first shows its face. That being said, much of the music here also has an equal sonic connection to the ‘post-punk’ stylings of bands like Magazine, Ultravox, and early Siouxsie & the Banshees.

Obviously, it's not that simple, and there are more intricate things happening: saxophones, backwards guitars, harmonies, and so on, but it's all assembled in a unique way. Recorded in December 1974, the LP hit shops in early February 1975. The very idea of recording and releasing ASAP was front and center as Hammill wanted to capture that bolt of inspiration while hot, and he and the band most certainly did. 

Opening the album is the title track, centering on the fictitious character of Rikki Nadir, an attitude-filled rocker and, some have said, alter ego for Hammill. The song is angry, in your face, and full of energy lacking in much of the music of the era. "The song Nadir itself, if not exactly a blueprint, fits in entirely with the ethos of '76 and '77," Hammill told Record Collector in 1993, "precisely in chord structure - and attitude, come to that." He rants against the superficial aspects of the pop and glam world of the day.

‘The Institute of Mental Health, Burning' is art rock with attitude, while 'Open Your Eyes' is a stomping rocker with the always excellent sax work of David Jackson in the spotlight. 'Nobody's Business' wields a metallic clang and venomous punk vocal long before the Bay City Pistols even made the papers. Not unlike Roxy Music on steroids! Next, a sharp turn with a soulful ballad, 'Been Alone So Long,' one of Hammill's finest ballads, something he was always so good with. 

'Pompeii' carries a very Lou Reed vibe, while the acoustic-driven 'The Shingle Song' and the majestic 'Airport' keep the listener guessing where things are headed next, with each adding different colors to the canvas. Next up is a re-recording of one of Hammill's earliest songs, 'People You Were Going To.' originally recorded for their debut single back in early 1969. The version here is much tougher and self-assured and makes more sense with this material.

It's the next song that truly tears the roof off. 'Birthday Special' is the most 'punk' sounding of the batch, so perfect in its simplicity and execution, it's almost not worth going into detail save to say, in many ways, it was a blueprint for what was to come. It simply sounds so unlike 1974. It is like prime Who meets all that was around the bend. Just listen to Hammill's voice! So full of attitude! In fact, he even went as far as to say it was "attitude, rather than the music" that 'Nadir' really set in place for the punks. The album ends with the sublime 'Two or Three Specters,' capping an LP unlike anything else in the Hammill catalog, and it is a very massive catalog, one that continues to this day.

From the original LP liner notes, Hamill concedes that the Nadir character is simply a part of him that he had wanted to let loose. "An ice blue Stratocaster, spinning through space, Nadir crashing his way through distorted three chord wonders. The anarchic presence of Nadir - this loud, aggressive, perpetual sixteen year old has temporary yet complete dominion, and I can only submit gladly and play his music - the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts. With the state the world in, there's always room for another Nadir."

I first fell in love with this album back in the early 80s, already well aware of VDGG, but not having dove into his solo work. This changed all that and turned me from fan into obsessed fan. I love how some music can do that. Sometimes, it's the right song or album catching you at the right time, other times it’s much more involved, but it’s always about that connection to the listener. Of course, it may not hit you the way it has always hit me, (certainly one of my favorite albums ever) but, if nothing else, perhaps it will get you to turn up the volume and enjoy!