Those who already know my opinion on Hammill here would say they know that for this record, the famous Isola Deserta, I would take three copies, just to be safe. The absolute and dizzying peak of Peter's solo career, also a podium contender when you consider Van Der Graaf Generator, a whirlwind of moving, disarming expressive sincerity, of intimacy and autobiographical impulses from an artist who lays himself bare and speaks without filters to the listener, with regrets, pain, spine-chilling melancholy, and yes, also anger, bitterness ("Betrayed," for instance, is the angriest beautiful song of his career). Inspiration at sublime levels, with some of his very best lyrics, melodies, and arrangements. Far from being merely a collection of sad ballads (consider tracks like "Crying Wolf" and "Lost and Found," two incredible pieces), the melancholic ballads present are all tear-jerkers, especially, of course, the trio "Time Heals" - "Alice (Letting Go)" and "(This Side of) The Looking Glass," songs in which Hammill truly puts everything of himself and even something leftover. I must also tell you, this is THE Masterpiece of Hammill, who will go on to create many other truly beautiful works, but this Everest, for obvious reasons, he will never reach again.
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