Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 1971
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Length
12 tracks
Fool's Mate is Peter Hammill's solo career debut album, the first of eight of his studio albums all released by Charisma Records. . It was recorded at Trident Studios, London W.1 on April 20, 21, 27 and 28th 1971.
Comprised by shorter and simpler pop songs mostly composed in the early years of his band Van der Graaf Generator (there's even a demo of "Sunshine" played by the band and released in 2021), Peter most likely released this album under his own name because it didn't matched the experimental, epic and progressive nature of VdGG. Also, Fool's Mate is more colorful and playful in nature when compared to the work of the band, and, when melancholic, the songs of this debut are more personal and intimist in a way.
It is a diverse album in its songs and qualities, with pop, rock, folk and singer-songwriter sensibilities, ranging from high-spirited songs to melancholic ballads. Among Fool's Mate tracks, the intimist piano love ballads "Vision" and "The Birds" stands out as some of the most popular and loved songs of Peter's solo carrer, both being even re-recorded for his 1984 album The Love Songs.
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