None of the Above (album): Difference between revisions

None of the Above
None of the Above
Studio album by Peter Hammill
Released	April 2000
Recorded	Jan 1999 – Feb 2000
Genre	Art rock
Length	44:32
Label	Fie!
Producer	Peter Hammill
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None of the Above is the 26th studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in 2000.

Production and instrumentation

Hammill recorded None of the Above in his home studio, Terra Incognita, between January 1999 and February 2000, playing, producing and arranging nearly all instruments and singing nearly all voices. Some contributions were made by Stuart Gordon (violin, viola) on three tracks and Manny Elias (drums, percussion) on one track. Peter Hammill's daughters Holly and Beatrice Hammill sing backing soprano voices on two tracks. The instrumentation is dominated by guitars (more as a "colour-wash", as Hammill wrote in his newsletter), keyboards and some strings.

The long recording time is due to Hammill's parallel work on a remastered 4-CD compilation of Van der Graaf Generator called The Box.

Title

The title of the album is the English phrase "None of the above", meaning none of the other choices are appropriate. The expression can be seen here as a metaphor for "people in earthy and/or earthly circumstances",^[1] i.e. as the opposite to heavenly conditions.

Mood and style

The mood of the album is calm and melancholic. A typical song is "Naming the Rose", a chamber music-like arrangement for lead vocals, keyboards (in Hammond organ sound), violas and background choirs. It is about a gardener who names his last creation – a damask rose – after his wife who died on the very day the best blossom opened. The rose breeder fertilizes the seeds of the variety with the ashes of his wife. Thus the couple that had no children both live on in the new rose.

The first seven tracks all have the same topic as "Naming the Rose": people coming to an end of a phase in their life, in very different circumstances. But the eighth song ("Astart") says: every end can be a new start. In his newsletter from April 2000,^[1] Hammill comments:

This song doesn't hold out the possibility of changing one's past or even one's present; but it does propose that one should embrace both and go forward in expectation....

Cover

The cover shows a serious-looking Hammill photographed by Dinu and the back cover – again alluding to the title of the album – a section of the star-spangled sky.

The booklet was designed by Paul Ridout. Each double page shows a washed-out photo presenting a staircase or a ladder ending nowhere or against a bricked entrance or upon an empty floor with black garbage bags lying around. Only the last double page for the song "Astart" shows busy people on an elevator rolling into some kind of shop scene.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

The music press did not take much notice of None of the Above. In allmusic.com Simon Cantlon gave 3 out of 5 stars for "poignant musical snapshots" and "atmosphere" but found "points on this release when things become a bit too monotonous".^[2] With 3 out of 5 stars the same rating is given on the fan site Progarchives.^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Hammill.

"Touch and Go" – 4:05
"Naming the Rose" – 5:16
"How Far I Fell" – 5:55
"Somebody Bad Enough" – 4:03
"Tango for One" – 6:43
"Like Veronica" – 5:54
"In a Bottle" – 8:01
"Astart" – 4:17

Personnel

All tracks are played and sung by Peter Hammill with the following contributions:

Stuart Gordon – violin, viola (2, 5, 8)
Manny Elias – drums, percussion (6)
Holly Hammill – vocals (2, 8)
Beatrice Hammill – vocals (2, 8)

Technical

Peter Hammill – recording engineer, mixing (Terra Incognita, Bath)
Paul Ridout – design

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Sofa Sound Newsletter 18/April 2000". Retrieved 10 July 2007.
^ ^a ^b Cantlon, Simon. "None of the Above – Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
^ "PETER HAMMILL – None Of The Above (2000)".

External links

Peter Hammill's comments on the album

[NL-1] "Sofa Sound Newsletter 18/April 2000". Retrieved 10 July 2007.

[CANTLON-2] Cantlon, Simon. "None of the Above – Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2007.

[3] "PETER HAMMILL – None Of The Above (2000)".

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{More citations needed|date=October 2024}}
-{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
-| Name        = None of the Above
-| Type        = Studio album
+{{Infobox album
-| Artist      = [[Peter Hammill]]
+| name       = None of the Above
-| Cover       = Peter_Hammill_None_Of_The_Above.jpg
+| type       = Studio album
-| Released    = [[2000]]
+| artist     = [[Peter Hammill]]
+| cover      = Peter_Hammill_None_Of_The_Above.jpg
-| Recorded    = Jan [[1999]] - Feb [[2000]]
-| Genre       = [[Art rock]]
+| alt        =
-| Length      = 44:32
+| released   = April 2000
-| Label       = Fie!
+| recorded   = Jan 1999 – Feb 2000
-| Producer    = [[Peter Hammill]]
+| venue      =
-| Reviews     =
+| studio     =
+| genre      = [[Art rock]]
-*[[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|3}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dnfwxqukldae link]
+| length     = 44:32
-| Last album  = ''[[This (album)|This]]''<br/>(1998)
+| label      = Fie!
-| This album  = ''None of the Above''<br/>(2000)
+| producer   = [[Peter Hammill]]
-| Next album  = ''[[What, Now? (album)|What, Now?]]''<br/>(2001)
+| prev_title = [[Typical (album)|Typical]]
+| prev_year  = 1999
+| next_title = [[What, Now? (Peter Hammill album)|What, Now?]]
+| next_year  = 2001
 }}
+'''''None of the Above''''' is the 26th studio album by [[Peter Hammill]], released on his Fie! label in 2000.
-'''''None of the Above''''' is an album by [[Peter Hammill]], released on his Fie! label in 2000. The genre of ''None of the Above'' is not located in [[progressive rock]] music like Peter Hammill's band [[Van der Graaf Generator]] and some of his earlier solo albums, but can be described best as [[singer/songwriter]]. Along with ''[[This (album)|This]]'' (1998) and ''[[What, Now? (album)|What, Now?]]'' (2001), ''None of the Above'' belongs to a set of three albums Peter Hammill recorded around the turn of the [[millennium]] and of which it is the most accessible albeit the most conventional in terms of composition and instrumentation.
-==Production and instrumentation==
+== Production and instrumentation ==
+Hammill recorded ''None of the Above'' in his home studio, Terra Incognita, between January 1999 and February 2000, playing, producing and arranging nearly all instruments and singing nearly all voices. Some contributions were made by [[Stuart Gordon (musician)|Stuart Gordon]] (violin, viola) on three tracks and [[Manny Elias]] (drums, percussion) on one track. Peter Hammill's daughters Holly and Beatrice Hammill sing backing soprano voices on two tracks. The instrumentation is dominated by guitars (more as a "colour-wash", as Hammill wrote in his newsletter), keyboards and some strings.
+The long recording time is due to Hammill's parallel work on a remastered 4-CD compilation of [[Van der Graaf Generator]] called ''The Box''.
-Peter Hammill recorded ''None of the Above'' in his home studio ("Sofa Sound") between January 1999 and February 2000, playing, producing and arranging nearly all instruments and singing nearly all voices. Some minor contributions were made by [[Stuart Gordon (musician)|Stuart Gordon]] (violin, viola) on three tracks and [[Manny Elias]] (drums, percussion) on one track. Peter Hammill's daughters Holly and Beatrice Hammill sing backing soprano voices on two tracks. The carefully arranged instrumentation is dominated by guitars (more as a "colour-wash", as Peter Hammill wrote in his newsletter), keyboards and some strings.
+== Title ==
-The long recording time is due to Peter Hammill's parallel work on a remastered 4-CD compilation of [[Van der Graaf Generator]] called ''The Box''.
+The title of the album is the English phrase "[[None of the above]]", meaning none of the other choices are appropriate. The expression can be seen here as a metaphor for "people in earthy and/or earthly circumstances",<ref name=NL>{{cite web  | title=Sofa Sound Newsletter 18/April 2000 | url=http://www.sofasound.com/nlapr2000.htm | accessdate = July 10, 2007}}</ref> i.e. as the opposite to heavenly conditions.
+== Mood and style ==
-==Title==
+The mood of the album is calm and melancholic. A typical song is "Naming the Rose", a chamber music-like arrangement for lead vocals, keyboards (in [[Hammond organ]] sound), violas and background choirs. It is about a gardener who names his last creation – a damask rose – after his wife who died on the very day the best blossom opened. The rose breeder fertilizes the seeds of the variety with the ashes of his wife. Thus the couple that had no children both live on in the new rose.
+The first seven tracks all have the same topic as "Naming the Rose": people coming to an end of a phase in their life, in very different circumstances. But the eighth song ("Astart") says: every end can be a new start. In his newsletter from April 2000,<ref name="NL"/> Hammill comments:
-The title of the album refers, as a typical Peter Hammill play on words, to the English phrase "[[None of the above]]" meaning none of the choices on a form are appropriate. The expression can be seen here as a metaphor for "people in earthy and/or earthly circumstances", <ref name=NL>{{cite web  | title=Sofa Sound Newsletter 18/April 2000 | url=http://www.sofasound.com/nlapr2000.htm | accessdate = July 10 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> i.e. as the opposite to heavenly conditions.
-==Mood and style==
-The mood of the album is calm and melancholic. A typical song is "Naming the Rose", a chamber music-like arrangement for lead vocals, keyboards (in [[Hammond organ]] sound), violas and background choirs. It is about a gardener who names his last creation - a damask rose - after his wife who died on the very day the best blossom opened. The rose breeder fertilizes the seeds of the variety with the ashes of his wife. Thus the couple that had no children both live on in the new rose.
-The first seven tracks all have the same topic as "Naming the Rose": people coming to an end of a phase in their life - in very different circumstances. But the eighth song ("Astart") says: every end can be a new start. In his newsletter from April 2000<ref name=NL>{{cite web  | title=Sofa Sound Newsletter 18/April 2000 | url=http://www.sofasound.com/nlapr2000.htm | accessdate = July 10 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>, Peter Hammill comments:
 {{cquote|This song doesn't hold out the possibility of changing one's past or even one's present; but it does propose that one should embrace both and go forward in expectation....|30px|30px}}
-==Cover==
+== Cover ==
+The cover shows a serious-looking Hammill photographed by Dinu and the back cover – again alluding to the title of the album – a section of the star-spangled sky.
+The booklet was designed by Paul Ridout. Each double page shows a washed-out photo presenting a staircase or a ladder ending nowhere or against a bricked entrance or upon an empty floor with black garbage bags lying around. Only the last double page for the song "Astart" shows busy people on an elevator rolling into some kind of shop scene.
-The cover shows a serious-looking Peter Hammill photographed by Dinu and the back cover - again alluding to the title of the album - a section of the star-spangled sky.
+== Reception ==
-Paul Rideout again designed the booklet. Each double page shows a washed-out photo presenting a staircase or a ladder ending nowhere or against a bricked entrance or upon an empty floor with black garbage bags lying around. Only the last double page for the song "Astart" shows busy people on an elevator rolling into some kind of shop scene. -
+{{Album reviews
+|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
+|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=CANTLON />
+}}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
+The music press did not take much notice of ''None of the Above''. In allmusic.com Simon Cantlon gave 3 out of 5 stars for "poignant musical snapshots" and "atmosphere" but found "points on this release when things become a bit too monotonous".<ref name=CANTLON>{{cite web | author=Cantlon, Simon | title=None of the Above – Review | work=Allmusic | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r488521|pure_url=yes}} | accessdate = July 10, 2007}}</ref> With 3 out of 5 stars the same rating is given on the fan site Progarchives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2592|title=PETER HAMMILL – None Of The Above (2000)|publisher=}}</ref>
-==Reception==
-The music press did not take much notice of ''None of the Above''. In allmusic.com Simon Cantlon gave 3 out of 5 stars for "poignant musical snapshots" and "atmosphere" but found "points on this release when things become a bit too monotonous"<ref name=CANTLON>{{cite web | author=Cantlon, Simon | title=None of the Above - Review | work=Allmusic | url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dnfwxqukldae | accessdate = July 10 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>. With 3 out of 5 stars the same rating is given on the fan site [http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2592 Progarchives].
-==Track listing==
+== Track listing ==
 All songs written by Peter Hammill.
-#"Touch and Go" – 4:05
+# "Touch and Go" – 4:05
-#"Naming the Rose" – 5:16
+# "Naming the Rose" – 5:16
-#"How Far I Fell" – 5:55
+# "How Far I Fell" – 5:55
-#"Somebody Bad Enough" – 4:03
+# "Somebody Bad Enough" – 4:03
-#"Tango for One" – 6:43
+# "Tango for One" – 6:43
-#"Like Veronica" – 5:54
+# "Like Veronica" – 5:54
-#"In a Bottle" – 8:01
+# "In a Bottle" – 8:01
-#"Astart" – 4:17
+# "Astart" – 4:17
-==Personnel==
+== Personnel ==
 All tracks are played and sung by Peter Hammill with the following contributions:
-*[[Stuart Gordon (violinist)|Stuart Gordon]] – violin, viola (2, 5, 8)
+* Stuart Gordon – violin, viola (2, 5, 8)
-*[[Manny Elias]] – drums, percussion (6)
+* [[Manny Elias]] – drums, percussion (6)
-*Holly Hammill – vocals (2, 8)
+* Holly Hammill – vocals (2, 8)
-*Beatrice Hammill – vocals (2,8)
+* Beatrice Hammill – vocals (2, 8)
+===Technical===
+*Peter Hammill – recording engineer, mixing (Terra Incognita, Bath)
+*Paul Ridout – design
+== Notes ==
+{{Reflist}}
+== External links ==
+* [http://www.sofasound.com/nldec2006.htm Peter Hammill's comments on the album]
+{{Peter Hammill}}
+{{Authority control}}
-==Notes==
-<div class="references-small">
-<references/>
-</div>
+{{DEFAULTSORT:None Of The Above (Peter Hammill Album)}}
-==External links==
-*[http://www.sofasound.com/nldec2006.htm Peter Hammill's comments on the album]
-[[fr:None of the Above]]
 [[Category:Peter Hammill albums]]
 [[Category:2000 albums]]

v t e Peter Hammill
Studio albums	Fool's Mate (1971) Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night (1973) The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage (1974) In Camera (1974) Nadir's Big Chance (1975) Over (1977) The Future Now (1978) pH7 (1979) A Black Box (1980) Sitting Targets (1981) Enter K (1982) Loops and Reels (1983) Patience (1983) Skin (1986) And Close As This (1986) Spur of the Moment (1988) In a Foreign Town (1988) Out of Water (1990) The Fall of the House of Usher (1991) Fireships (1992) The Noise (1993) Roaring Forties (1994) X My Heart (1996) Sonix - Hybrid Experiments 1994-1996 (1996) Everyone You Hold (1997) This (1998) The Appointed Hour (1999) None of the Above (2000) What, Now? (2001) Unsung (2001) Clutch (2002) Incoherence (2004) Singularity (2006) Thin Air (2009) Consequences (2012) Other World (2014) ...All That Might Have Been... (2014) From the Trees (2017) In Translation (2021)
Live albums	The Margin (1985) Room Temperature (1990) There Goes the Daylight (1993) The Peel Sessions (1995) The Union Chapel Concert (1997) Typical (1999) The Margin + (2002) Veracious (2006) Pno Gtr Vox (2011) Pno Gtr Vox Box (2012) Peter Hammill & The K Group Live at Rockpalast 26/11/81 (2016) X/Ten (2018) Not Yet Not Now (2019)
Singles	"Red Shift" (1973) "Birthday Special" (1975) "Crying Wolf" (1977) "If I Could" (1978) "The Polaroid" (1979) "My Experience" (1981) "Paradox Drive" (1982) "Film Noir" (1983) "Just Good Friends" (1985) "Painting by Numbers" (1986) A Fix on the Mix (1992) ‎(CD, EP)
Live videos	In the Passionskirche (1992) Live at Rockpalast - Hamburg 1981 (2016)
Compilation albums	Vision (1978) The Love Songs (1984) The Essential Collection (1986) The Storm (Before the Calm) (1993) The Calm (After the Storm) (1993) Offensichtlich Goldfisch (1993) After the Show - A Collection (1996) Past Go: Collected (1996) The Thin Man Sings Ballads (2002)
Collaborators	Judge Smith David Jackson Guy Evans John Ellis Nic Potter Roger Eno Stuart Gordon