VDGG's second step on the mid-'70s comeback trail saw Peter Hammill attempting
to meld the introspective and the cosmic throughout, though this did not
stop him from taking a dead run at a grandiose concept or two -- the consequences
of immortality on the title track, and the grand fate of humanity on the
epic "Childlike Faith In Childhood's End." The theme of humane
cooperation informed the opening "Pilgrims," while "La
Rossa" is an epic tale of desire fulfilled (a story that would be
concluded on Hammill's solo album, Over). The true highlight, however,
is the beautiful, pensive "My Room (Waiting for Wonderland),"
with its echoes of imagination and loss. Hammill did not achieve such
a level of painful beauty again until "This Side of the Looking Glass"
on Over.
(by Steven McDonald, All
Music Guide)
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