Customer Reviews

Nadir's Big Chance

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fantastic record! Peter Hammill never made another album like this, and it's a shame: not only is it remarkably consistent, well constructed, and thematically coherent, but the entire Van Der Graaf Generator group plays like mad all over the thing, and they play it relatively straight (which for them means still quite off-kilter). It rocks hard as hell, the songs have recognizable pop hooks (that's pretty much never the case with Hammill), and the vocal performances are simply amazing (which is pretty much always the case with Hammill!) It's wonderfully bizarre to consider that Hammill had this record in him, especially when you trace his album releases throughout the seventies, but the fact remains that one of the most influential and ambitious "prog" rockers released a totally accessible hard rock album smack dab in the middle of his prime! It's a totally overlooked treat and highly recommended.

"Nadir's Big Chance" was labeled a seminal influence by none other than Johnny Rotten, along with albums by Can and Captain Beefheart. That Rotten would not name albums by The Stooges, The New York Dolls and MC5 but rather three equally obscure art-rock releases is truly puzzling, although one listen to this CD will draw some lines. Hammill invented an alter-ego for himself here who was intended to be the antithesis of all of the lengthy, sophisticated prog of which he had played an integral part in the early 70s, as well as pretty much all of the rest of the rock scene at the time of its creation in 1975. Although elements of art-rock certainly remain (few of the early UK punk albums contained saxaphone, and a track like "The Institute Of Mental Health, Burning" sounds more New Wave), it is a much more succinct album than any of his previous releases, featuring
a lot of power-chord thrashing, angry vocals and maximum volume. The mix is blurry and distorted, and while the second half of the album begins to lag, with the songs seeming not so much punk but some form of 70s pop-metal, it was still a radical departure for the man and one that showed an intuition of the future.

Nadir's Big Chance is, by far, Hammill's finest solo effort of the 70's (if not his entire career). The strengths of these sessions make clear the weaknesses of other efforts. Unlike the majority of his other 70's solo work, this outing is a band effort. The band being VDGG. Unlike typical VDGG efforts (if there is such a thing) the band downplay their particular idiosyncratic inclinations to support Hammill's vision. They do so brilliantly. There are moments where one can hear a similarity to mid-70's Roxy Music or glitter-era Bowie (without the effeminate overtones) but more times than not this is an original sound. There are some hard-core rockers mixed with quirky English ballads that all in all make for an unheralded classic. Where Hammill often erred in other solo efforts was that he would, more times than not, opt to play all of (or most of) the instruments himself. He is not a gifted enough musician to make such ambitions hold up. Here the band spares him the effort and creates a joyous noise. Highly recommended...Simon

After hearing so much about this album I was expecting it to be a clattering, punked-up affair, but the bulk of the album is much more restrained than that.
To me, the lyrical and vocal intensity gives the power to the sound as opposed to the music, that's not to put down the musicianship however - it's fab. One of the best albums heavily featuring a saxophone released in the 70's if you ask me (and the nominations are...)
It's very dark in places but somehow never overbearing, songs like 'Airport' have a syncopated melody and a melancholy lyrical air that really gets under your skin - as they constantly veer off in directions you don't expect.
I also love the way this record is recorded. The production has a characteristic dry 70's sound (somwhat akin to Man That Sold The World or Be Bop Deluxe's early releases) which gives a really direct sonic feel - the lead vocals are really bass-heavy and it feels like you have your ear right up against Peter's mouth (euurghhh!).
The songs are much more concise than those on the VDGG albums that preceded this and there are less instrumental sections, but this (to me anyway) makes this album great - it's concentrated Hammill. You probably won't like it right away - especially if you buy it without hearing any of his other work, but you will like it. Promise.

It's little wonder that rabid fans of Hammill regard "Nadir's Big Chance" as one of his lesser efforts. NBC is a major departure for Hammill as it ROCKS! Sometimes Hammill could come off as a bit pretentious and bombastic. NOT HERE! Great tunes, accessible lyrics and terrific playing (by VDGG, no less) make this Hammill's most consistantly enjoyable release. Not for "Room Temperature" fans. If you get off on great pop/rock music with a touch of punk thrown in for good measure, you can't do much better than this.

Now if he'd only do a followup...

Peter Hammill, angst-driven rock commentator with more demonds on hand than the Catholic church, here takes run at the iconic status of rock and roll. This 1975 album, featuring Hammill's grungy alter-ego of Rikki Nadir, puts out a call to "smash the system with a song" -- with the surprising result that many of the following wave of UK punk rockers quoted this as an influence. While a rocking set, Hammill could not suppress his intelligence enough to avoid moments of fascinating lyricism, razor-sharp satire and musical invention. More than adequate support from regulars Hugh Banton, Dave Jackson and Guy Evans bring the dark musical fantasies to life, from Nadir's declaration of intent to Nadir's dissolute finish.

Steven McDonald END

I've heard every single Van Der Graaf Generator album from the 60'a and 70's, and only one Peter Hammill album besides this one (that being The Silent Corner & the Empty Stage). My biggest surprise- I was NOT expecting an extremely raw and aggressive punk song to lead things off! That was about the very last thing I thought I'd experience from a Peter Hammill album. Choosing to not read any reviews for Nadir's Big Chance turned out to be a pleasant surprise, I suppose (though I'm still not sure how I'd rate this album, to be honest- I guess I'll figure that one out as I write out the review).

The title song is honestly pure punk no matter how you look at it, closely resembling the Sex Pistols- it packs all the necessary amount of raw aggression and energy that's required to make a punk song successful. I'm REALLY surprised Peter Hammill was able to change his vocal style and make it believably gritty. The whacked out guitar solo is borderline unlistenable but... I suppose that's the point of the whole punk movement, so... Oh, and good luck making out a single word Peter Hammill is singing through all this chaotic screaming. He may be a lyrical genius, but it's hard to tell if his lyrics are up to snuff this time around or not.

"The Institute of Mental Health" is a step in a different direction. The verse melody is realy good, but becuase of how often it repeats, it's not as impactful as a Van Der Graaf Generator epic. The "burning" chant at the end is a distraction though, but it's short so my complaints concerning that moment of the song shall be limited. Still, I like the song because Peter Hammill's creepy vocals give it character. That actually means something to me since we now live in a world with one derivative band after another with no creativity whatsoever.

"Open Your Eyes" contains elements of Van Der Graaf Generator in both the atmosphere and saxophone playing. However the rhythm speeds along in a fairly basic, though admittedly quite memorable way. The vocal melody is decent enough, which is a plus in my world. The best part about it however, is the sax jam at the very end. After a few more listens, I'm really growing to like most of the song. "Nobody's Business" has lyrics pertaining to being quickly forgotten after reaching a certain point in your career and subsequently being tossed aside like a piece of trash, though the vocal melody seems pretty mediocre to me. In fact, the verse melody in particular does absolutely nothing for me and the sax solo near the end is really annoying and pointless.

"Been Alone So Long" is supposed to be a tender written ballad of some sorts bringing the listener to tears and... well, it doesn't hit me nearly as hard as a few Van Der Graaf Generator tunes I could name, but it's effective enough. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can actually relate to a good chunk of these lyrics, much to my unhealthy displeasure! To the songs credit, the vocals *do* become more meaningful and emotional after a few repeated listens. "Shingle Song" shows Mr. Hammill singing in a really low pitched voice, with a rather bizarre vocal melody. Well no, it's not bizarre (not after hearing Van Der Graaf Generator's entire 60's and 70's discography- NOTHING is strange in comparison to that!) but it's sung a bit *too* quietly, perhaps. I simply can't feel any kind of emotional attachment when the vocal melody strikes me as fairly bland. Some of the sax solos are quite gorgeous though. Still... there's something appealing about it. It's like calling it bland isn't giving it enough credit, and I admit it. Perhaps it needs to grow on me some more.

"Pompeii" is a fairly forgettable ballad with lyrics that are below par. An average song overall. My original feelings concerning "Airport" were that it has an alright vocal melody, though at only 3 minutes it never progresses into anything better. Just a slab of quickly put together vocals. However, it has grown on me a LOT over the last several listens and is perhaps one of the more enjoyable songs from the album. Alright, I have GREAT news. Peter's vocal range in "People You Were Going To" definitely reminds me of one of his finer moments from a VDGG song. Everything from the creepy sound in his voice, to his ability to expand his range, to the sax chugging along in a melodic and memorable way... oh yeah, this definitely sounds like a VDGG song. This song is positively awesome and the lyrics (especially the first few line) are spot-on fantastic. The bombastically heavy intro from "Birthday Special" reminds me of Todd Rundgren for some reason. The vocal melody is pretty decent too. "Two or Three Spectres" is perhaps a few minutes overlong, but the rhythm contains enough energy and the vocal melody is good enough that I don't really mind.

Overall... perhaps giving it a rating of 4 out of 5 is being generous, but even though I prefer Van Der Graaf Generator by a huge margin, I can't deny the amount of variety on this Peter Hammill solo album is simply staggering, so a high rating it does deserve and shall receive.

In 1975 Peter Hammill released Nadir's Big Chance his 5th solo effort. I think he really put it all into this one.
He had rock and than he had really heart felt emotional tunes. Rocking out from the first cut the title track of the recording Nadir's Big Chance. The one I Love is the heart felt"Been Alone So Long". If you ever wanted to try some of Peter Hammill's solo I think this is one you should start with. PH7 from 1979 is excellant it contains some fine tunes,rocking than heart felt such as"My Favorite" and "Handicap and Equality" that should make every normal person glad that they are born OK.

I stumbled across some comments about Peter Hammill by a "professional" reviewer not long ago, somewhere on Amazon. He seemed to indicate that Hammill woulda been, coulda been, wished to be as big as Peter Gabriel. While I attributed this comment to mean money, not weight, I've always thought it a waste of time to try to imagine the desire, goals or intent of others. But I must admit that I am at an utter loss to imagine why Peter Hammill could in any way be unsatisfied with a career of such originality and artistic integrity. Which is a long waying of saying that, when he wants to, he can also write some pretty amazing tunes.

Funny and telling enough that Peter Hammill's "alter ego" would be hungry for fame and its attendant perks. The fact is that the quality of the work on "Nadir's Big Chance" clearly undercuts the "concept" of this as a collection of dumb pop tunes aimed at manufacturing stardom - Rikki's work is just too good to be lumped in with the "jerks in their tinsled glitter suits". It's also one of the better indictments of not just the industry, but more importantly of the borderline talents that are, after all, not honest enough to let us know that music be damned: they're really only in it for the fame, for the money. ( apologies to Mr. Zappa).

Bottom line, these are just great songs. And, unlike the formless and undifferentiated mass of pop music that continues to focus on sales above all else, these songs are about something. Not another cliche-ridden weepy love song. Not another four-bar party rocker. Nadir ranges from the beautifully imagined day in an ancient city in "Pompeii " to the double-meaning club scene of "Open Your Eyes" (could there be a better line here than "these are the last days of the locarnos"?) "Nadir's Big Chance" lets us see another side of the talent behind some of the most complex writing ever recorded and filed under "Rock". And throughout the music and lyrics, no sign of a low point in sight - Rikki and the band never give in to the pop impulse of expediency. I'll bet Peter Gabriel would agree.

Hammill tells you about his alter ego, Rikki Nadir, and that's the "story" of the album. But who cares? from the first "Nadir's big chance" to the last "2 or 3 spectres", Hammill proves that he's a great rock'n'roller. Also, his fans were surprised to hear that bitter artist telling a joke and laughing about one of his songs, that was too close to Stevie Wonder. David Jackson is wilder than ever with his saxophones (if you had the chance to see him on stage playing 2,3 and 4 saxes simultaneously, you can understand how good the man is). Yet it's not the typical Hammill I recommend this album to all rockers around.