Released in the latter half of 1976 as a half-hearted attempt at some sort of commercial focus in the U.K. and U.S.,
World Record suffers from several ailments: there was much tension in the band at this point, particularly between leader
Peter Hammill and keyboardist
Hugh Banton. In the end, the band would split apart, with
Banton and wind player David Jackson leaving, while
Hammill and drummer
Guy Evans recruited replacements.
World Record is very much a divided record, sounding beautifully clean, but lacking in both performance and focus.
Evans plays as well as ever, but without the creative spark of earlier records;
Hammill, meanwhile, was responsible for the rambling, scattered "Meurglys III (The Songwriter's Guild)," a lumbering piece named after one of his guitars. Of the cuts present, the best are the operatic "Masks," which mines one of
Hammill's favorite themes, that of identity, and "Wondering," written in collaboration with
Banton. "Wondering" is beautifully hymn-like until the very end, when it suddenly becomes querulous and uncertain, ending the album both with a note of hope and a desperate question. [This version of the album contains the bonus tracks "When She Comes" and "Masks."] ~ Steven McDonald