The Long Hello

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.