Not just a reissue, this is a complete reworking of these two albums from Peter Hammill, originally released on 1988 & 1990 respectively. Hammill decided that the two albums suffered from a dated production style and from his learning curve as he was beginning to use MIDI technology on these albums.
‘In A Foreign Town’ is a starkly political album, very much appropriate in today’s world as it was in ’88, with his dark vocals over stark percussion and brooding and depressive synths. The songs do not make for easy listening, but they make observations that are clear to anyone with an eye to see or an ear to hear.
‘Out Of Water’ is much more musical and plays much more to the human condition. The percussion is still very much of its time, but the rest of the music shows the softer side of Peter Hammill. The eight tracks cover such subjects as Hammill’s brother’s suicide – ‘A Way Out’ – and the Tiananmen Square massacre – ‘Our Oyster’.
The rerecording and reworking make the two albums clearly more listenable today and will, hopefully, improve their popularity within the Hammill fanbase.
Definitely worth pursuing if you are a listener of Peter Hammill’s music.
