In Camera (Reis) [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Import]

Peter Hammill | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B000H309PG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,547 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ferret & Featherbird

2. (No More) The Sub Mariner

3. Tapeworm

4. Again

5. Faint Heart & The Sermon

6. Comet, The Course, The Tail

7. Gog Magog (In Bromine Chambers)

8. Emperor In His War Room

9. Faint Heart & The Sermom

10. (No More) The Sub Mariner

Editorial Reviews

2006 Issued Digitally Remastered Edtion of Hammill's Third Solo Album that was Originally Released in 1974. The Original Seven Tracks have Been Augmented with Three More that Didn't Appear on the Original LP Issue: "Emperor in his War Room", "Faint Heart and the Sermon" and "(No More) the Sub Mariner".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Hammill's finest solo albums, April 9, 2007

By 

BENJAMIN MILER (Veneta, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Camera (Reis) (Audio CD)

During the period of VdGG's 1972-1975 hiatus, Peter Hammill gave use four solo albums, many of them with help from various VdGG members, Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night (1973), The Silent Corner and The Empty Stage (1974), and Nadir's Big Chance (1975). Of course sandwiched between The Silent Corner and Nadir's is In Camera, released in 1974.

This album featured Chris Judge Smith and Guy Evans (both ex-VdGG), plus Paul Whitehead (album cover artist best known for the Genesis and VdGG album covers), and David Hentschel (Trident Studio engineer, future Genesis producer and the guy who played the monster ARP 2500 synthesizer on Elton John's "Funeral For a Friend"). It needs to be said that Paul Whitehead was unaware he participated on the album, and was more likely Hammill borrowed some tracks from him, after all it was by this time that Whitehead had left the U.K. for the U.S. (he preferred the sunnier skies of L.A. to that of London) (this explained why Foxtrot was the last Genesis album to feature his artwork). This is less a VdGG album than Hammill's predecessor, The Silent Corner, simply because you don't have Hugh Banton's organ or David Jackson's sax and flute. Instead you have Peter Hammill handling all vocal, guitar, piano, Mellotron, and harmonium, with David Hentschel providing the ARP synth programming, and the rest of the guys playing drums on various tracks. I suspect the ARP synth being used is indeed the ARP 2500, as many of the synth passages sound too elaborate for the smaller, more user-friendly ARP 2600 to do, not to mention it was David Hentschel who used that beast on Elton John's "Funeral For a Friend". It was Peter who played the ARP, but since he never used one on any of his solo other albums, I can fairly feel safe that he was using David Hentschel's ARP 2500 (VdGG did use an ARP on Pawn Hearts, but I'm sure that was simply an ARP 2600 owned or borrowed by the band).

"Ferret & Featherbird" is a mellow opening piece, dominated by acoustic guitar, with a slight country feel. It's one of those pieces Hammill written back in the late '60s, but never got to recording it on album until now. It wouldn't seem out of place on The Aerosol Grey Machine. "(No More) the Sub-Mariner" is a much more sinister piece done in Hammill's dramatic fashion, with layers of ARP on top of it (including some wonderful pulsing effects). "Tapeworm" is a much more rock-oriented piece with drums. I really love the intensity of this piece, then out of nowhere, Hammill pulls a Gentle Giant by including a bunch of GG-like vocal harmonies, before rocking again like most of the rest of the song. "Again" is a nice, gentle acoustic ballad that leads up to "Faint-Heart & the Sermon". A great epic full of majestic Mellotron passages and more of use of the ARP, with some strange electronic effects as well as more conventional synth sounds. "The Comet, the Course, the Tail" is an interesting, but short piece that alternates between more mellow and acoustic, and more rocking passages. Then comes the ever sinister "Gog" that's so mindblowing you gotta hear it to believe it! Lots of intensity and some jazzy drumming, plus that harmonium. But then this album has that similar problem to King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King (second half of "Moonchild") or Can's Tago Mago ("Aumgn" and "Peking O"), a such off-the-wall experiment that many people can live without. I'm referring to "Magog (In Bromine Chambers)". Many people would obviously write this off as "self-indulgent noise", and true, a better portion of this piece is full of distortion and feedback, but I really love the sinister atmosphere, and I often like off-the-wall stuff (that's why I have no problem going through "Aumgn" and "Peking O" when listening to Tago Mago). This is so out-there that it would be totally out of the question on any given VdGG album, or even Hammill's other solo albums. And even if you couldn't stand "Magog", it's hard denying that the rest of the album is so good, you can forgive the noise that ends the album.

I have to admit the album cover is utterly ridiculous, Peter Hammill himself wearing a cape to give him that melodramatic look (to emphasize the melodrama that's so dominate in a lot of his music, both solo and with VdGG). Honestly I can live without the cover.

Even with "Magog (In Bromine-Chambers)", I really feel that In Camera is simply one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever made, right there with VdGG's H to He and Pawn Hearts, not to mention Hammill's previous offering, The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage. It's that great!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great example of his early career, January 10, 2008

By 

Andreas C G "Andreas Carl Georgi" (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Camera (Reis) (Audio CD)

I own a lot of Peter Hammill's albums and so far I have never heard one that I didn't really like, including his most recent one "Singularity" (Granted, I have been hesitant to delve into his mid-80's to 90's period, which most on-line reviewers describe as spotty). "In Camera" continues to be one of my favorites.

All of the traits which appeal to me in Peter Hammill's music are present here. Hammill's skill and versatility as a singer are at their peak here. The material is all high quality, and it's all well-paced as a whole. Even if "Again" is not a particularly outstanding or profound song, it's a pleasant interlude that fits in well between heavier, more intense tracks. The last piece, the musique concrete (noise) of "Magog" is disparaged by many reviewers who don't have a taste for that kind of stuff. I'm not going to say that this is one of Hammill's greatest compositions, but in the context of the rest of the album it works well, coming after the fire and brimstone of "Magog", and credit needs to be given because not many rock artists had done that kind of stuff at the time.

The lyrics explore many of the familiar Hammill topics. One recurring theme is an individual's struggle to maintain his identity in a harsh world, and the seemingly inevitable corrupting effect of the passage of time. "No more the Submariner" laments the loss of childhood dreams. "Tapeworm", "Faint Heart and Sermon", and "Comet, the Course, the Tail" all deal with some sort of impeding (nasty) fate. One of his recurring themes is the mixing of religious and scientific metaphors (right back to the Van der Graaf Generator name itself), and the implication is that both ultimately let down. The comet is an astronomical phennomenom, but also a messenger of doom. Peter Hammill has a talent for turning a phrase, that really stands out among rock singers/songwriters. Who else will rhyme "laugh" with "cenotaph"? (his lyrics often send me to the dictionary and/or the encyclopedia). The album culminates in "Gog" and "Magog", which run into each other. "Gog" is like an incantation of Old Nick, with the Unmentionable One, backed by a rising crescendo of dissonance and manic drumming, taunting you and tempting you to join him, saying all efforts to resist or even to define him are worthless. This truly is a masterpiece! The song finally gives way to the "Magog" noise-fest, which has a brief distorted spoken word part that lets you know that you have now arrived in the "place where the guy with the horns and the pointed stick does his business" (as Frank Zappa put it). This last track is often maligned by reviewers, and some in fact downgrade their rating for the whole album for it. I would consider it as an essential (if perhaps long) finale.

This is Hammill's first album on which he plays almost all the instruments, and which he recorded largely in his home studio. This is would become the norm for most of his solo career. The relative "low tech" sometimes results in somewhat muddy mixes, and his timing is occasionally "special", but these things, along with some decidedly avant-guarde sounds, contribute to the uniqueness. This is a very atmospheric sounding album. Don't try to pick out every little detail, just absorb the whole wash of sounds!

If you are new to Peter Hammill, there is no one album that can possibly represent his huge catalog, which spans 40 years! You will certainly want several. This one is a good example of his early period. Being the first "DIY" solo album makes it more distinct from the Van der Graaf Generator albums which bookend this series of solo albums. It is certainly not "easy listening", but then again all of his material is challenging, and if you are even interested in exploring it, presumably you have an ear for music that's out of the ordinary. Oh, and I personally think the cape adds some nice camp value!

Please give this one a listen!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Esto es rock progresivo, November 22, 2007

By 

Daniel Battiston "Daniko!" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Camera (Reis) (Audio CD)

Quizás uno de los mejores cinco discos de Hammill.

Los cinco primeros temas (lo que alguna vez fue el lado A del vinilo original) son una pequeña obra de arte por si mismos, como conjunto.

Y bueno... los dos últimos temas... bueno, agarrate porque te van a desflecar la peluca