In his book of lyrics, Killers, Angels, Refugees,* he says the song is based on the idea of working out maths problems by starting with the answer, at the back of the book, and wondering if the same approach might be used to work out emotional problems. Of course, if the answer pages are missing, it's all a lot harder. *His comments are only n the first edition.
The title Out of My Book is Hammill relating the way he feels in this relationship to the way he felt at school one time when he found that the answers to the questions had been torn from the back of his text book. School taught him these answers would confirm he'd understood and got the right answer, but both back then and now he feels lost because he's not getting any feedback to tell him whether he's right or wrong.
Love the mood this little piece, peacefully set's you in. Looking at present, back to the past. Can be akin to going "Through The Looking Glass"! White wabbit? I'm currently reading a med. school textbook, "Understanding Human Behavior" for insight. And for fun and the love of all music, "Suit's Me". The true story of a woman who lead a double life as a male jazz musician, during the 1920's up till her death in the late 80's! Peace & Love.
Evening Justin. Dave from London, watching The Approaching Storm. Top notch reaction to this track. I love its pastoral mood and I agree there's some lovely, peaceful instrumentation - especially the flute and keys. The last book I read? Well, I'm half-way through one at the moment. It's about an anti-monarchist uprising against King Charles. No, not 2023 - it's the 1600s and the Monmouth rebellion to succeed Charles II. It's Lorna Doone. P.S. my song ref The Approaching Storm is by Chicago.
Strangely I didn't remember that one well. Nice and quiet song. I admit I'm not listening that album too often. I'm more in their second period with Godbluff and Still Life. It's nice that you, JP, share this with us.
This is such a lovely little track. It shows the band's melodic style, and really demonstrates Hammill's more tuneful singing voice. One if my favourites.
Hi Justin. I'm hoping you'll do some more Ren reactions. There's a lot of music that you'd really enjoy, both on his channel, as well as the band that he used to be a part of called 'The Big Push'. If I could pick which one you'd react to next, I'd choose 'The tale of Jenny & Screech (Full)'. It's 13:32 in length, so maybe a 'long song Saturday'? Just a thought. Here's the top comment from that video: "This feels like a modern Shakespearean tragedy. Ren is out here giving us new literary classics." That comment currently has 4.4k likes, and the video has gotten 1.7m views in 9 months. Not as popular as 'Hi Ren', but still quite popular, and getting more popular over time, as many have now reacted to it. There's 3 separate videos (Jenny's tale, Screech's tale, and Violet's tale), but he put all 3 in 1 video. I really hope you react to it soon.
Oh, and the last book I read was Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming, by Shainberg. Good read, actually - read it for grad school, writing a report on it this week. ✨
Your assessment of this track being a setup before the finale is correct. No, the final song has no relation to it at all, but it clears the palette so the listener is prepared for the attack that comes
Can you react to Declan McKenna - You Better Believe. He’s a young British quirky songwriter inspired by David Bowie and Peter Gabriel. I think he has a lot of really good songs that push boundaries a bit. Nothing that is too expected or predictable. But still pop music.
I'm a big VdGG fan and am (almost) a completist but I had all but forgotten this track. It's a bit too conventional to be one of their best and needs a dramatic tonal change (a la White Hammer) to elevate it from the pleasant croon that it nearly is.
It occurred to me that the organ sounds a lot of baroque. Just pay attention to the lines of the lyrics, when Peter shows problems in the story and the song goes way down - that's metatext working!
I know you did the live vid for Whatever Would Robert Have Said? but it would be appropriate to react to the studio version in context of this whole album
This is so NOT a Van der Graaf song. It's like back in '68 PH wrote something for someone else to record but the deal fell through so they just did it themselves. Not a bad song. Just not a VdGG song. But if the debut KC album can have "I Talk to the Wind" then I guess TLWCDIWTEO can have this one.
Yeah, this album sounds a bit coming out of the sixties still (and I know it was recorded in 69), but H to He puts an end to all that. Even on the most recognizable vddg sound tracks, like "After The Flood", they haven't achieved the cohesiveness they would get on "Lost", or specially on "Pioneers over C." And that makes me think one question for you dear friends. When did really the sixties ended? Take this question in general form (happenings that put an end to that decade) or take it as in sound recordings (as in this vdgg sense). Thanks for your answers. I'm curious.
Sweet track from an underrated though formative album. I've said it before, but you MUST listen to The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome next. Such mature songwriting, and violins! There are days I think this is their BEST album, like reliably right after I listen to it. Of course, that's not the only album of theirs that happens with. 😄 But it's the crowning achievement of the mid period, and far superior to World Record imo. And btw, when talking about their best (that you've heard), you always mention Still Life, Pawn Hearts, and H to HE, but never Godbluff. Why the snub? I think it's right on the heels of Still Life, and much better than H to HE, which is so uneven. On Godbluff they're searing hot out the gate into the mid-period, is there something that rubs you the wrong way about this one? Maybe you ought to give it another listen...
@@vdggmouse9512 I hope you don't mean Meurglys III - that's the reason I downgrade it. It's a great track, but doesn't nearly stack up to Childhood's End or anything on Godbluff for me. It has great riffs and punch, but it's so skraggy & dark, and it just doesn't have any literary depth or uplift, no heart - it just doesn't really say anything or go anywhere. It's just him whining about his depression & isolation. Far too much space on the album given to that one - the rest of the album is fully high-bar par for the period. We can always agree to disagree. Or is it another song that you see as greatest?
@@DavidImiri Hi David - Meurglys is my favorite song of all time - I know that's a tough call for most of us music fans - but for me it's a no brainer - Meurglys III is my favorite song of all time 🎸
@@vdggmouse9512 Just for personal importance to me I would MAYBE say Childlike Faith is my favorite but I have played Meurglys at least once a night for several months on end before. Just something about it, maybe it is that "dark scragginess." It just seems like Peter Hammill is bearing the loneliest parts of his soul to the world relentlessly and it just works so well to me! These lighter songs are nice also. what a range! Take care man!
The wall between VDGG and solo Hammill was often porous, and this definitely has more of a "solo" vibe. I like it, though. Most of the songs on this album are very good, but to me, the two longest ("White Hammer" and "After the Flood") are the two weakest tracks. I don't think they'd figured out how to write a real "prog epic" yet at this point, and that's what keeps this from being in the upper echelon of their discography.
Yes, take their "first" album (the previous) : it's all filled with Hammill sound songs (I know it was to be released under his name) but then there's "Necromancer" or "Octopus"... When a band was truly taking form. In the very starting point.
Re the track... meh. Re my last book: My last one was a re-read: The Witches Of Chiswick, by Robert Rankin. A fun read were one of the main protagonists is a sprout called Barry. Just before that, last one i'd not read previously, Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke. Also a good read.
![[Oh No I Must Have Said] Yes](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Igaxf4GpT2M/mqdefault.jpg)
In his book of lyrics, Killers, Angels, Refugees,* he says the song is based on the idea of working out maths problems by starting with the answer, at the back of the book, and wondering if the same approach might be used to work out emotional problems. Of course, if the answer pages are missing, it's all a lot harder.
*His comments are only n the first edition.
I'd forgotten about this song, hearing it this evening was like finding an old friend again.
A brief peaceful piece of music that fits perfectly here and set the stage for the last epic track.
The title Out of My Book is Hammill relating the way he feels in this relationship to the way he felt at school one time when he found that the answers to the questions had been torn from the back of his text book.
School taught him these answers would confirm he'd understood and got the right answer, but both back then and now he feels lost because he's not getting any feedback to tell him whether he's right or wrong.
Simply a beautiful gem, beautifully sung, perfect organ, and I love the sound of the acoustic guitar, just do.
Prepare for a massive last track; titan is a good word indeed.
A lovely song indeed
Love the mood this little piece, peacefully set's you in. Looking at present, back to the past. Can be akin to going "Through The Looking Glass"! White wabbit? I'm currently reading a med. school textbook, "Understanding Human Behavior" for insight. And for fun and the love of all music, "Suit's Me". The true story of a woman who lead a double life as a male jazz musician, during the 1920's up till her death in the late 80's! Peace & Love.
A brief respite from the maelstrom, beautiful.
Always have loved this track
Evening Justin. Dave from London, watching The Approaching Storm. Top notch reaction to this track. I love its pastoral mood and I agree there's some lovely, peaceful instrumentation - especially the flute and keys. The last book I read? Well, I'm half-way through one at the moment. It's about an anti-monarchist uprising against King Charles. No, not 2023 - it's the 1600s and the Monmouth rebellion to succeed Charles II. It's Lorna Doone.
P.S. my song ref The Approaching Storm is by Chicago.
Strangely I didn't remember that one well. Nice and quiet song. I admit I'm not listening that album too often. I'm more in their second period with Godbluff and Still Life. It's nice that you, JP, share this with us.
This is such a lovely little track. It shows the band's melodic style, and really demonstrates Hammill's more tuneful singing voice. One if my favourites.
I’ve always loved this song. Maybe it’s a minor work in comparison but it hits the spot.
Hi Justin. I'm hoping you'll do some more Ren reactions. There's a lot of music that you'd really enjoy, both on his channel, as well as the band that he used to be a part of called 'The Big Push'. If I could pick which one you'd react to next, I'd choose 'The tale of Jenny & Screech (Full)'. It's 13:32 in length, so maybe a 'long song Saturday'? Just a thought. Here's the top comment from that video: "This feels like a modern Shakespearean tragedy. Ren is out here giving us new literary classics." That comment currently has 4.4k likes, and the video has gotten 1.7m views in 9 months. Not as popular as 'Hi Ren', but still quite popular, and getting more popular over time, as many have now reacted to it. There's 3 separate videos (Jenny's tale, Screech's tale, and Violet's tale), but he put all 3 in 1 video. I really hope you react to it soon.
Oh, and the last book I read was Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming, by Shainberg. Good read, actually - read it for grad school, writing a report on it this week. ✨
Your assessment of this track being a setup before the finale is correct. No, the final song has no relation to it at all, but it clears the palette so the listener is prepared for the attack that comes
Can you react to Declan McKenna - You Better Believe. He’s a young British quirky songwriter inspired by David Bowie and Peter Gabriel. I think he has a lot of really good songs that push boundaries a bit. Nothing that is too expected or predictable. But still pop music.
I'm a big VdGG fan and am (almost) a completist but I had all but forgotten this track. It's a bit too conventional to be one of their best and needs a dramatic tonal change (a la White Hammer) to elevate it from the pleasant croon that it nearly is.
It occurred to me that the organ sounds a lot of baroque. Just pay attention to the lines of the lyrics, when Peter shows problems in the story and the song goes way down - that's metatext working!
I know you did the live vid for Whatever Would Robert Have Said? but it would be appropriate to react to the studio version in context of this whole album
Champion of VdgG...without 70's prog. Where would we/I be?
This is so NOT a Van der Graaf song. It's like back in '68 PH wrote something for someone else to record but the deal fell through so they just did it themselves. Not a bad song. Just not a VdGG song. But if the debut KC album can have "I Talk to the Wind" then I guess TLWCDIWTEO can have this one.
Very apt comparison with "I Talk to the Wind"!
I always considered this album alright, but nothing special compared to what they achieved from H to He onwards.
Yeah, this album sounds a bit coming out of the sixties still (and I know it was recorded in 69), but H to He puts an end to all that.
Even on the most recognizable vddg sound tracks, like "After The Flood", they haven't achieved the cohesiveness they would get on "Lost", or specially on "Pioneers over C."
And that makes me think one question for you dear friends.
When did really the sixties ended?
Take this question in general form (happenings that put an end to that decade) or take it as in sound recordings (as in this vdgg sense).
Thanks for your answers. I'm curious.
Sweet track from an underrated though formative album. I've said it before, but you MUST listen to The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome next. Such mature songwriting, and violins! There are days I think this is their BEST album, like reliably right after I listen to it. Of course, that's not the only album of theirs that happens with. 😄 But it's the crowning achievement of the mid period, and far superior to World Record imo. And btw, when talking about their best (that you've heard), you always mention Still Life, Pawn Hearts, and H to HE, but never Godbluff. Why the snub? I think it's right on the heels of Still Life, and much better than H to HE, which is so uneven. On Godbluff they're searing hot out the gate into the mid-period, is there something that rubs you the wrong way about this one? Maybe you ought to give it another listen...
Disagree - World Record is just as great as all the others - plus - it has the greatest song on that album.
World Record is the better album for me, but Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running) is genius.
@@vdggmouse9512 I hope you don't mean Meurglys III - that's the reason I downgrade it. It's a great track, but doesn't nearly stack up to Childhood's End or anything on Godbluff for me. It has great riffs and punch, but it's so skraggy & dark, and it just doesn't have any literary depth or uplift, no heart - it just doesn't really say anything or go anywhere. It's just him whining about his depression & isolation. Far too much space on the album given to that one - the rest of the album is fully high-bar par for the period. We can always agree to disagree. Or is it another song that you see as greatest?
@@DavidImiri Hi David - Meurglys is my favorite song of all time - I know that's a tough call for most of us music fans - but for me it's a no brainer - Meurglys III is my favorite song of all time 🎸
@@vdggmouse9512 Just for personal importance to me I would MAYBE say Childlike Faith is my favorite but I have played Meurglys at least once a night for several months on end before. Just something about it, maybe it is that "dark scragginess." It just seems like Peter Hammill is bearing the loneliest parts of his soul to the world relentlessly and it just works so well to me! These lighter songs are nice also. what a range! Take care man!
The wall between VDGG and solo Hammill was often porous, and this definitely has more of a "solo" vibe. I like it, though. Most of the songs on this album are very good, but to me, the two longest ("White Hammer" and "After the Flood") are the two weakest tracks. I don't think they'd figured out how to write a real "prog epic" yet at this point, and that's what keeps this from being in the upper echelon of their discography.
Yes, take their "first" album (the previous) : it's all filled with Hammill sound songs (I know it was to be released under his name) but then there's "Necromancer" or "Octopus"... When a band was truly taking form. In the very starting point.
Whatever would Robert have said?
Justin has alredy done it time ago (not the original version but a video live version).
@@marcomazzola5651 ah ofc i remember watching it, my bad^^
Re the track... meh. Re my last book: My last one was a re-read: The Witches Of Chiswick, by Robert Rankin. A fun read were one of the main protagonists is a sprout called Barry. Just before that, last one i'd not read previously, Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke. Also a good read.