Nadir's Big Chance

Last updated

Nadir's Big Chance
Peter Hammill Nadir's Big Chance.jpg
Studio album by
Released1 February 1975
Recorded1–7 December 1974
Studio
Genre Progressive rock, garage rock, proto-punk, art rock
Length48:24
Label Charisma
Producer Peter Hammill
Peter Hammill chronology
In Camera
(1974)
Nadir's Big Chance
(1975)
Over
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Sounds (favourable) [2]
Tentative ReviewsStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Nadir's Big Chance is the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975.

Contents

It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwriter) and Nadir's Big Chance is actually performed by the reformed Van der Graaf Generator line-up.

The album's songs vary greatly in style, as acknowledged by Hammill in the sleeve notes, which refer to "the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts".

In a 1977 Capital Radio broadcast, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album, "The Institute of Mental Health, Burning" and "Nobody's Business", and expressed his admiration for Hammill. [4]

The album includes two of Hammill's most frequently performed ballads at concerts and radio interviews, "Been Alone So Long" (written by Judge Smith) and "Shingle Song", and a reworking of Van der Graaf Generator's first single from 1968, "People You Were Going To".

The album presented Hammill's first use of the Hohner clavinet D6 keyboard, which featured prominently on the next few Van der Graaf Generator albums (particularly Godbluff ).

In the song "Pushing Thirty" (from The Future Now , 1978), Hammill claims that he "still can be Nadir". The Rikki Nadir persona returned in October 1979, when Hammill released a single titled "The Polaroid" under the name, with "The Old School Tie" from pH7 as the B-side. It was included on some American pressings of pH7.

"Been Alone So Long" was re-worked for Hammill's 1984 album The Love Songs .

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Hammill, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriterLength
1."Nadir's Big Chance" 3:27
2."The Institute of Mental Health, Burning"Hammill, Chris Judge Smith 3:50
3."Open Your Eyes" 5:10
4."Nobody's Business" 4:15
5."Been Alone So Long"Chris Judge Smith4:20
6."Pompeii" 4:50
Total length:26:02
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Shingle Song"4:10
2."Airport"3:02
3."People You Were Going To"5:10
4."Birthday Special"3:40
5."Two or Three Spectres"6:20
Total length:22:22

Personnel

Technical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hammill</span> English musician and recording artist

Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer-songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards.

<i>Godbluff</i> 1975 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Godbluff is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour.

<i>Pawn Hearts</i> 1971 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released on 12 November 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". The album was not commercially successful in the UK, but reached number one in Italy. It has since seen retrospective critical praise and was reissued on CD in 2005 with extra material.

<i>H to He, Who Am the Only One</i> 1970 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

H to He, Who Am the Only One is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records.

<i>The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage</i> 1974 studio album by Peter Hammill

The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage is the third album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was released on Charisma Records in 1974, during a hiatus in the activities of Hammill's progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Other ex-members of Van der Graaf Generator also perform on the recording.

<i>The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other</i> 1970 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and their only one to chart in the top 50 in that country.

<i>The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome</i> 1977 studio album by Van der Graaf


The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome is the eighth album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Released in 1977, it was their last studio album before their 2005 reunion. The album features a more energetic, new wave sound than its three immediate predecessors, anticipating singer and songwriter Peter Hammill's late 1970s solo work.

<i>Vital</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 1978 live album by Van der Graaf

Vital: Van der Graaf Live is the first live album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was recorded 16 January 1978 at the Marquee Club in London and was released in July, one month after the band's 1978 break-up. The album was credited under the abbreviated name Van der Graaf, like the previous year's The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (1977), and featured the same line-up plus newcomer cellist/keyboardist Charles Dickie, who had officially joined the band in August 1977, and original saxophonist and flautist David Jackson, who re-joined the band for this recording.

<i>Over</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Peter Hammill

Over is the sixth studio album by the English singer and songwriter Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in April 1977. It was issued for the first time on CD on Virgin Records in the early 1990s, and was reissued again in a remastered version in 2006 with bonus tracks.

<i>The Aerosol Grey Machine</i> 1969 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

The Aerosol Grey Machine is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was first released in the United States in 1969 by Mercury Records.

<i>World Record</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 1976 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

World Record is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock group Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976 on Charisma Records. Bonus tracks were added for the 2005 rerelease.

<i>Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night</i> 1973 studio album by Peter Hammill

Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, and other ex-members of Van der Graaf Generator perform on the album.

<i>Fools Mate</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Peter Hammill

Fool's Mate is the debut solo album by Peter Hammill of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. The title is both a chess and tarot reference. It was produced by Trident Studios' in-house producer John Anthony. The album was recorded in 1971, in the midst of one of Van der Graaf Generator's most prolific periods. Hammill used the album to record a backlog of songs which were much shorter and simpler than his Van der Graaf Generator material, and declared on the original album sleeve: "This isn't intended to be any kind of statement of my present musical position, but at the same time, it is an album which involves a great deal of me, the person, basically a return to the roots."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van der Graaf Generator</span> English rock band formed in 1967

Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans.

<i>Real Time</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 2007 live album by Van der Graaf Generator

Real Time: Royal Festival Hall, London, 06.05.05 is a live album by Van der Graaf Generator, released in 2007 on Fie! Records. It contains the entire recording of the group's reunion concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 6 May 2005. The album includes at least one song from every album released between 1970-1976, plus their 2005 reunion album Present. Nothing is included from 1969's Aerosol Grey Machine and The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, released in 1977 after Hugh Banton and David Jackson left the group. The album also contains "(In the) Black Room", a song performed live by Van der Graaf Generator in 1972 ; following the band's August 1972 breakup, it was released on Peter Hammill's 1973 solo album Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, with Banton, Evans and Jackson all performing on the track.

<i>Trisector</i> 2008 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Trisector is the tenth studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on Virgin/EMI Records in March 2008. It is the first album the band has recorded as a trio. Saxophonist David Jackson departed the band following the 2005 tour.

<i>Time Vaults</i> 1982 demo album by Van der Graaf Generator

Time Vaults is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1982 on cassette only, almost four years after the break-up of Van der Graaf Generator in 1978. Later it was released as a vinyl LP, and in 1992 it was released on CD.

<i>Maida Vale</i> (album) 1994 live album by Van der Graaf Generator

Maida Vale: The BBC Radio One Sessions is a compilation album by Van der Graaf Generator, containing eight songs from four different recording sessions at Maida Vale Studios for BBC Radio 1 in 1971, 1975 and 1976, three of which were Peel Sessions. It was released in June 1994 on Band of Joy Records.

<i>A Grounding in Numbers</i> 2011 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

A Grounding in Numbers is the eleventh studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on 14 March 2011. This date, if written as 3,14, comprises the first three digits of the number π. The second track, "Mathematics", refers to Euler's identity, sometimes known as the mathematical poem. The album's release signals a continuation in the direction set by the current trio lineup, but it is released on a new label, Esoteric Recordings, a departure from previous releases on Virgin/Charisma. Hugh Padgham is the mixer of the album.

<i>Do Not Disturb</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 2016 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Do Not Disturb is the thirteenth studio album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released, on Esoteric Recordings, on 30 September 2016.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. "Don't ignore this one". Sounds. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  3. "Review". Tentative Reviews. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. "John Lydon: Capital Radio, Tommy Vance Show, July 16th 1977". Fodderstompf. Retrieved 12 February 2021.