Chameleon in the Shadow of Night

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
May 1973

Overview Edit

Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night was the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, although (as with many of Hammill's "solo" albums from this period) the other members of Van der Graaf Generator all perform on the album, blurring the distinction between solo and group work.

The album was produced by John Anthony at Rockfield Studios, Wales, for the first time using pre-recorded parts done by Peter Hammill in his home studio in Worth. For final mixing the then much better equipped Trident Studios were used. The album was released in May 1973 on Charisma records.

Some of the songs ("German Overalls" and "In the End") relate to Van der Graaf Generator's decision to split, following an exhausting, demoralising and poverty-stricken experience of being a touring rock band.

Hammill has continued to perform "Easy to Slip Away" in concert to the present day. The song relates to him losing touch with student housemates Mike and actress Susan Penhaligon (who were also namechecked in the Van der Graaf Generator song "Refugees").

The complex and atmospheric "(In the) Black Room/The Tower" was originally planned for inclusion on Van der Graaf Generator's album following Pawn Hearts, an album that because of the band's split never came to be. It features all of Van der Graaf Generator's ex-members. The song was later performed on stage by Van der Graaf Generator when the band reformed in 1975, and also during their 2005 reunion.

The cover was designed by Paul Whitehead, who also was the artist for Fool's Mate as well as for other Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis albums in the beginning of the 1970s. It shows Peter Hammill's astrological sign scorpio twice, as a painting of a real scorpion and as part of a personal logo which Hammill introduced with this album and which would appear on the covers of many coming releases. The photo on the front side was taken by Bettina Hohls in Hamburg.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chameleon_in_the_Shadow_of_the_Night. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
unknown
Release dates:
  • Sep 25 2006

Genres

Progressive Rock, Pop, Rock. Vote on Genres

Track listing Edit

  • CD

    format:
    number:
    title:
    number name artist hh:mm:ss
    1
    German Overalls (2006 Digital Remaster)
    7:05
    Play Buy track
    2
    Slender Threads (2006 Digital Remaster)
    5:00
    Play Buy track
    3
    Rock And Role (2006 Digital Remaster)
    6:40
    Play Buy track
    4
    In The End (2006 Digital Remaster)
    7:24
    Play Buy track
    5
    What's It Worth? (2006 Digital Remaster)
    4:04
    Play Buy track
    6
    Easy To Slip Away (2006 Digital Remaster)
    5:23
    Play Buy track
    7
    Dropping The Torch (2006 Digital Remaster)
    4:11
    Play Buy track
    8
    (In The) Black Room (Including 'The Tower') (2006 Digital Remaster)
    11:21
    Play Buy track
    9
    Rain 3am
    4:49
    Play Buy track
    10
    Easy To Slip Away (Kansas)
    4:51
    Play Buy track
    11
    In The End (Kansas)
    7:23
    Play Buy track

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Other versions Edit

Chameleon in the Shadow of Night 8 tracks format: 1 x vinyl
record label: Charisma
catalog number: CAS 1067
release dates: May 1973 in United Kingdom
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Chameleon in the Shadow of Night 8 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Blue Plate Caroline
release dates: Aug 20 1990
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Chameleon in the Shadow of Night 8 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Sba
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