Issue 2026-024
Joe Banks — Rock And Roll The Visionary Songs Of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator
Mark Hughes
If you are a Peter Hammill fan and you found that the SonicBond On Track books on the work of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator were somewhat lacking in in-depth analysis and rather one-dimensional, then this book by Joe Banks could be what you have been waiting for. Thoroughly researched and fact-checked by Hammill himself, the book features new interviews alongside contemporaneous reviews and articles and a plethora of photographs, many of which have not been widely seen.
Banks has also managed to secure input from Alice (an adopted sobriquet by which she is referred to throughout the book), Hammill's partner from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, who inspired many songs (such as My Room (Waiting For Wonderland) and La Rossa) as well as the heart-wrenchingly beautiful break-up album, 1977's Over, which includes the only song to mention her directly, Alice (Letting Go).
Just as with the recent excellent Hammill solo box set, the main focus is on the Charisma years, arguably the period when the artist was at his most prolific and adventurous musically both with Van der Graaf Generator and as a solo performer, although as his early solo albums tended to feature many, if not all, of his VdGG colleagues, there is no real need to differentiate between the two, particularly as VdGG would ofen perform Hammill solo songs (and vice versa) on stage.
However, this does not mean that the story ends in 1980 with the release of A Black Box, as there is a lengthy chapter (some 60 pages) covering the post-Charisma years that includes the VdGG reunion and takes us all the way up to a couple of solo Italian concerts in January 2025.
In addition to the albums, the text also covers radio performances and sessions, and one of the informative appendices provides a comprehensive chronological list of all known radio and TV appearances from 1968 to 1974, far more than even the most ardent of Hammill fans would be familiar with. One very interesting chapter breaks down the lyrical themes of songs penned in the 1970s, which Banks divides into the following categories: Free Will versus Fate, The Individual in Isolation, Role-Playing and the Alter Ego, The Mysteries of Love, Religion versus Science, and The Quest for Meaning. All weighty topics indeed, and ones that are wrangled with by possibly the greatest exponent of lyric writing as a literary art form, certainly no "moon in June"-type couplets in Hammill's work. Okay we can dismiss, as Hammill himself does, the non-album single The Polaroid, where the artist re-invents his Rikki Nadir re-invention as a foil for Chas & Dave!
Another excellent chapter provides a portrait of Hammill from the perspectives of the world at large, the members of VdGG, Alice, and the artist himself. Very interesting reading seeing how different people, both associates, press, and fans view the artist that is Peter Hammill.
Banks has produced an articulate and comprehensive book of a legendary album which sits very comfortably alongside the VdGG and Hammill boxsets, VdGG The Book, and Hammill's own two slim volumes of printed work.
Andrew Darlington — On Track... The Yardbirds
Ignacio Bernaola
I'll be honest: before reading this book, The Yardbirds were little more than a name to me. One of those bands you hear about constantly in rock history conversations but somehow never actually sit down to explore. I knew they were important, I knew they were old, and that was pretty much it. Not exactly the ideal starting point for reviewing a book about them, but it is what it is...
Andrew Darlington's entry in Sonicbond's On Track series does exactly what the series does best: go song by song, album by album, and leave no stone unturned. What makes this particular volume so interesting, though, is not just the music itself but the web of connections it unravels. The Yardbirds were essentially a launching pad for some of the most legendary names in rock history, and Darlington maps that out clearly and with real enthusiasm.
Reading about how Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page all passed through the band at different points is genuinely fascinating, even for someone like me who was coming in completely cold and not being a proper fan of those names.
But the story doesn't stop there. The book follows the threads beyond the band's original run, tracing former members into Led Zeppelin, Renaissance, Box of Frogs, and the later reunion years. That's where things get really interesting. You start joining the dots between groups and eras, and suddenly rock history feels like one long connected story rather than a series of isolated bands.
It's the kind of reading experience that makes you want to open several browser tabs at once, and that's exactly what I did. Darlington writes with the confidence of someone who has lived with this music for decades, and that enthusiasm is contagious.
The track-by-track format works well here because The Yardbirds' singles were often more significant than their albums, and each one gets the attention it deserves. If I had to find a weak spot, I'd say the book assumes a certain familiarity with the British blues scene of the sixties that not every reader will have, or at least unfamiliar readers like me. A brief contextual intro at the start would've helped newcomers like me find their footing a bit faster. Minor, and totally personal complaint, though.
If you think you know the history of rock, this book might surprise you with how much was happening in one small but enormously influential band. Highly recommended, and yes, like any good teacher, it inspires you to dig deeper into rock history.
Andrew Wild — A Playground Of Broken Hearts: The Progressive Rock Revival 1984 To 1989
Jerry van Kooten
Before I started reading this sequel to the excellent Mirror Of Dreams: The Progressive Rock Revival 1981 To 1983, I wanted to read that one again. I wanted to immerse myself (again) into the social and historical event that I experienced only from distance, and a little after the fact as well. However, it was still a very important factor in my musical exploration. The fact that his book made me feel like I was a part of it just a tiny bit larger than I actually was, is praise to Wild's writing. I was looking forward to reading part two of the story (even though we all know how it would end) but wanted to take the opportunity to feel again what I felt by reading part 1.
And this part 2 is no difference. I felt really taken in to the history of the genre. It was proving the theory that the music one is listening to around the age of 12 to 14 stays with a person. Following the big six names in the field really brings the reader to so many elements of the time and life of bands, fans, and related people. The way I felt sad for the struggling bands, or how I felt joy for my favourite bands when successful gigs were described. The books have a quality that really drags you into the history.
The titles of the two books are well-chosen, and even if you were not aware of the history of this movement (you would not be reading this if you don't...) then you would know this would not end well for the revival of progressive rock in Britain. There is clearly a rise and a fall.
Reading the books gave me a clearer view on several aspects that I could only guess what they were about. The most important thing is how the stress of trying to find and keep a record company changed several bands. It depends on your taste, of course, but to me, it seems the musical fashion in the 1980s and the pressure from record companies gave a blow to many bands. Musically, but in several cases also in the sense of line-up changes or even break-ups because of the pressure.
It is, again, thanks to Wild's engaging narrative that draws the reader into the story of the movement, as if they were there.
It's interesting to see that Pendragon and IQ were the only ones who pulled through, and I think that is partly because of them having their own record company. It's clear with Pallas and Twelfth Night, and it certainly looked like it played a big part in Solstice calling it a day. It is understandable that Marillion, who stayed on EMI for a bit, gave them the opportunity, but it did change their style as well. (I think Seasons End is their best album, so Marillion are a bit of an exception, according to my taste.)
No one in this relatively small world of prog will ever say there was a time that prog died. Prog moved out of fashion, as does everything. The movement started and ended, yes, and it is just fascinating to read about it.
There were other prog revivals. Like the one in the 1990s, fuelled for an important part by SymInfo's concerts and SI Music's label. And the freedom that came with being able to record music simpler and cheaper has brought not only a revival but a list of reunions as well.
The book has a large chapter with brief histories of several other bands in the field, some who were there for most of the same time, some who formed a little later. Several of those, I would say, warrant a proper written history of their own, but these books were not the place.
These books tell of a movement, and they tell it very well.