With an extensive solo career spanning dozens of albums, Peter Hammill is certainly more than just the front-man and leader of Van Der Graaf Generator (VdGG). His literate, soul-examining lyrics and his often-anguished vocal delivery make his music perhaps an acquired taste, but his uncompromising artistic vision has shone since his first release, Fool's Mate, back in 1971.
Stylistically, he has forged his own path, touching on progressive rock, punk (before it was even called that), electronic experimentation, intimate singer-songwriter settings, and even opera/musical theatre (with his adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher).
Hammill's solo career has coexisted with VdGG's activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When VdGG broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo-album. In the summer of 1969 Hammill had a residency at The Lyceum and played weekly solo-concerts there. Eventually the intended solo-album was released under the VdGG-banner as their first album (The Aerosol Grey Machine). Hammill's first official solo-album was Fool's Mate (1971), containing songs from the early (1967/68) VdGG-days.
When VdGG broke up again in August 1972, Hammill resumed his solo-career. Songs that were intended for VdGG, now ended up on his solo-albums, notably "(In The) Black Room (Including 'The Tower')" (on Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night) and "A Louse Is Not A Home" (on The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage). This to some extent makes it difficult to separate Hammill's solo work during the 1970s from his work with the band (for the majority of both his solo-songs and the band's songs he is credited as the sole songwriter, and some of his solo albums feature all the members of Van der Graaf Generator). In general, however, solo Hammill is concerned with more personal matters, while the band's songs deal with broader themes.
Hammill's Nadir's Big Chance (1975} was a great change from the preceding album, In Camera. Whilst In Camera is characterized by extremely intense and complex songs and even has some musique concrete on it, Nadir's Big Chance is notable for its anticipation of punk rock. In a 1977 radio interview, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album and expressed his admiration for Hammill in glowing terms: "Peter Hammill's great. A true original. I've just liked him for years. If you listen to him, his solo albums, I'm damn sure David Bowie copied a lot out of that geezer. The credit he deserves, just has not been given to him. I love all his stuff"
Over (1977) contains very personal songs about the break-up of a long-term relationship.
Hammill's first solo-album after the 1978 break-up of Van der Graaf was The Future Now. With the next albums, pH7 and A Black Box, the sound got more compact, more new wave. On those albums, Hammill played the drums himself. What followed was 'the K-group'. In later years Hammill would sometimes refer to the band as a "beat group". The K-group consisted of Hammill himself on guitars and piano, with John Ellis on lead guitar, Nic Potter on bass, and Guy Evans on drums and percussion. They recorded the albums Enter K and Patience.
Hammill's early records, like the VdGG albums, were released on Charisma Records. He parted company with them after pH7 (1979), and then released albums on a number of small labels. A Black Box came out on S-Type, a label run by Hammill and his manager Gail Colson. Enter K and Patience appeared on Naive, Skin and Margin on Foundry and In A Foreign Town, Out of Water and Room Temperature: Live on Enigma Records. In 1992 he formed his own label, Fie!, on which all his albums since Fireships have been released. The label's logo is the Greek letter phi (Φ), a pun on PH-I. Ever since the 1970s he has also had his own home recording studio, appropriately called Sofa Sound (his website was later named after the studio).
Musically, Hammill's work ranges from short simple riff-based songs to highly complex lengthy pieces. Mainly because of his refusal to make anything resembling middle-of-the-road music, and the general absence of any smooth or glamorous sounds in his music, there is much debate amongst his admirers whether Hammill is to be considered a part of the so-called progressive rock scene. In many interviews however Hammill himself has stated that he does not want to be put in the progressive rock music label, or any music label at all.
His output is prolific. Many different styles of music appear in his work, among them artful complexity (for instance Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night), avant-garde electronic experiments (Loops & Reels), opera (The Fall of the House of Usher), solo keyboard accompaniment (And Close As This), solo guitar accompaniment (Clutch), improvisation (Spur of the Moment), film music (Sonix), band recordings (Enter K), and slow, melancholic balladry (None of the Above).
Hammill survived a heart attack in December 2003, less than 48 hours after having finished the recording of Incoherence. In 2005, Hammill announced the reformation of Van der Graaf Generator. In 2004 they had recorded a new album, Present, which was released in April 2005, and from May until November 2005 played a series of well received concerts.
Between 2005 and 2007 Hammill has overseen the remastering of almost all of his pre-Fie! releases, and has also started similar work on his more recent catalogue. The last of the Charisma remasters was released in September 2007.
Hammill's solo-career did not end because of the VdGG-reunion. He released his new album Singularity in December 2006. It was the first solo-album he completed after his heart attack, and for a large part it deals with matters of life and (sudden) death.
In 2007 several gigs by Van der Graaf Generator as a trio (minus David Jackson) have taken place in Britain and the rest of Europe, and their new album Trisector was released in March 2008. Hammill's new solo album, Thin Air came out 8th June 2009. Hammill and the band are touring extensively in USA, Japan and Europe these days.
tenderness
Peter Hammill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
if you want I'll stay and be with you.
Just let the tears flood down and, yes,
I can offer you tenderness.
What is gone is gone, it can be no more,
so we must move along and close the door.
I'm not his match, this I confess –
No more, no less:
I can offer you tenderness.
He'll stay with you, I know...
(now's the time to)
remember and let go.
Life will turn around though now it's growing dim,
although you feel the light's gone out with him.
Cry out all your tears, you loved him best –
still I offer you tenderness,
no more, no less;
deep in your distress
I'm here to offer some tenderness.
I'm here to offer you tenderness.
All I can offer's tenderness.
Remember and let go.
In the song "Tenderness" by Peter Hammill, the singer acknowledges that nothing they say can fix the situation, but they offer to stay with the person in question and offer them tenderness. The person they are addressing is grieving over the loss of someone they loved deeply, and although the singer admits they cannot replace that person, they can still offer comfort and support. The lyrics suggest that the singer is aware that this offer of tenderness may not be enough to completely heal the person's pain, but it is still a gesture of kindness and empathy. The song encourages the listener to remember the good times they shared with the person they lost, but also to let go of the pain and move forward with the support of those who care about them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Tenderness" convey a sense of compassion and solidarity with someone who is experiencing grief. The singer acknowledges the pain and loss that the person is feeling, but also offers a glimmer of hope and comfort in the form of tenderness. The repetition of the phrase "no more, no less" emphasizes that the singer's offer of tenderness is not a grand gesture, but rather a simple yet meaningful one.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing I can say, but this much I can do:
I may not have words but I can offer physical comfort.
if you want I'll stay and be with you.
I'm willing to be with you through your pain.
Just let the tears flood down and, yes,
Let your emotions out and don't hold back.
I can offer you tenderness.
I can only give you kindness and gentleness.
What is gone is gone, it can be no more,
Accept what's happened because it can't be changed.
so we must move along and close the door.
It's time to move forward and leave the past behind.
I'm not his match, this I confess –
I'm not here to replace him or compete with his memory.
but still I offer you tenderness.
I can still offer you kindness and compassion.
No more, no less:
It's nothing more or less than what I can give.
He'll stay with you, I know...
His memory will always be with you.
(now's the time to)
It's time to take action and move on.
remember and let go.
Remember the good times but let go of the pain.
Life will turn around though now it's growing dim,
Although things seem bleak now, life will get better.
although you feel the light's gone out with him.
You may feel like your light has gone out but it hasn't.
Cry out all your tears, you loved him best –
It's okay to grieve and cry because you loved him deeply.
still I offer you tenderness,
I'm here for you to offer you comfort and understanding.
no more, no less;
I can only give you what I have to offer.
deep in your distress
Even in your deepest pain and heartache.
I'm here to offer some tenderness.
I'm here to give you some comfort and compassion.
I'm here to offer you tenderness.
I'm here for you to offer you kindness and empathy.
All I can offer's tenderness.
All I have to give is love, care, and compassion.
Contributed by James R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mariuszbroda7627
Everyone You Hold..... Petera Hammilla...... Niezwykle piękna i nastrojowa płyta ..... 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎸 Bravo
@victorsosa6972
I'm love You, Hammill
@alessandroseravalle3807
The Voice.
@mariminu8819
bella