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The Long Hello

Artist: David Jackson , Guy Evans & Hugh Banton
Label: United Artists Records
Catalog#: UAS 29718
Format: Vinyl
Country: Italy
Released: 1974
Tracklist
A1 Fairhazel Gardens  
  Notes:

Bass - Ced Curtis
Written-By - David Jackson
Written-By - Pietro Messina

A2 Looking At You  
  Notes:

Written-By - David Jackson

A3 I've Lost My Cat  
  Notes:

Written-By - David Jackson

B1 The Theme From "Plunge"  
  Notes:

Written-By - David Jackson

B2 The Obsession  
  Notes:

Bass - Hugh Banton
Written-By - Pietro Messina

B3 Morris To Cape Wrath  
  Notes:

Written-By - David Jackson

B4 Brain Seizure  
  Notes:

Instruments [All] - Hugh Banton
Written-By - Hugh Banton

Credits

Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar - Pietro Messina
Artwork By [Cover Art] - Paolo Paglia
Bass - Nic Potter
Drums, Producer - Guy Evans
Electric Guitar - Ced Curtis
Engineer - Hugh Banton
Saxophone [Assorted], Flute, Piano - David Jackson

Notes

Recorded at Foel Studios, Cefu Coch, Montgomoryshire.
Mixed at Chalk Farm Studios, London 74.
℗ 1974
S.I.A.E.-DR
Title on front cover: "The long hello by David Jackson, Guy Evans, Hugh Banton & friends"

Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
While Peter Hammill was off and busy with his solo career, The Long Hello offered a rare glimpse into Van der Graaf Generator without him. The initial impetus for the project revolved around Guy Evans and Dave Anderson's Foel Studio. Along with David Jackson, they got together in Wales with some Italian friends to record the resulting album. Jackson wrote most of the material and graces the record with sax and flute, while Nic Potter lends his bass. Hugh Banton's role was primarily technical in nature, although he does contribute one rather lackluster track, "Brain Seizure," in its entirety. The instrumental album trades the fury of VdGG for a melodic beauty that, no doubt, reflected the environment in which it was recorded. Highly original, the album defies categorization. It has jazz elements, but is most certainly not jazz. It rocks, but again, it's not really rock music. "The O Flat Session" approaches the sonic challenges of Henry Cow, but there's nothing that highbrow here. "Morris to Cape Wrath" captures the immediacy of VdGG, but avoids any chaotic digression. The acoustic guitar of Piero Messina is one of the album's charms, providing an understated rhythmic element on the second side. In particular, "Fairhazel Gardens" is a highlight. The album was issued several times in small numbers, ranging from a near-white label pressing in the UK to a full-color Italian issue. Three other volumes under the Long Hello umbrella would see release in the early 80s, each under the direction of a former VdGG member.
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