Skin

Not certain that this is still in production, but it is one of the best story albums of all time. Up there with Pink Floyd, Kinks, and Moody Blues. I think this is the best that Himmelman has ever done so far.

thank you so very very much, have looked for this all over and i was so happy when i found it.

I've liked every Peter Himmelman that I've heard, particularly "Flown This Acid World," but upon reflection, and renewed listenings recently, I think "Skin" could be the best of the bunch. Then again, I haven't heard anything he's done in the past decade, but this 1994 effort on Sony was outstanding in so many respects. Musically, this is a very strong album, packed with melodic tunes and songs that display a wide sonic variety; rock and real. And the lyrics? This is powerful, moving material. Few singer-songwriters in the rock era are impressive as Peter Himmelman. Really. This man's songs have plenty of lyrical depth and punch, the sort of songs you feel in your gut. One reviewer noted that he was moved to tears by "Disposable Child," which is indeed one of the highlights of this extraordinary album. I'm also very fond of "With You", "Easy to Be Broken", "Nowhere Else to Go," and the powerful "Chaos and Void." Nothing lightweight or disposable about this music whatsoever.I find it impossible to resist a songwriter who pens inspired lines like:"The moths fly in circles near the doorbell chimes/The neighbors are playin' Yahtzee and drinkin' iced tea/And I've just read the phone book from A to Z."Music fans, please discover the music of Peter Himmelman. It's never too late to admire such eloquence and excellence.

"SKIN" is Minneapolis, Minnesota native Peter Himmelman's 6th studio album, this is the follow up to "Flown This Acid World" a great album from 1992. When this was released in 1994, I bought it the first day it was released, again his music got lost in the album shuffle of mindless crap that got played on the radio back then. The spoken word intro of "Prelude" threw me for a loop the first time I heard it, but it is very entertaining. This is probably Peter's hardest rockin' disc overall, up to this point. The key tracks included here:The rockin' "11 Months In The bath Of Dirty Spirits", Kristen mooney's harmonies with Peter make this. "They're Naked And They're Calling Me", great track, J'Anna Jacoby's violin stands out, band in fine form. The eloquent "Disposable Child", some great by Greg Herzenach. The great lyrics of "Regular Daydream", hipnotic guitar.The great acoustic guitar and violin interplay of "With You". What I think should of been a hit single "Shilo", great vocals between Peter and Kristen. The fine "Laugh My Beloved". The mid-tempo rocker "Easy To Be Broken", fine organ by Jeff Victor. "The Fifth Of August", song that builds, about a man who runs out of time on earth. The lovely "Nowhere Else To Go", "I'm filled with and disgrace". The great track "Chaos And Void", I wish Rock Radio would of picked up on this track. "Been Set Free", just excellent lyrics, "I have believed in money, but all I got was greed". The band pulls it all together, a true gem. Overall a great concept album.The Band: Peter Himmelman vocals,guitar Jeff Victor keyboards,vocals Greg Herzenach guitar Al Wolovitch bassAndy Kamman drums J'Anna Jacoby violin and Kristen Mooney vocals.Epic dropped Peter after this release, his next studio album would be 4 years later. Peter's new album "The Mystery And The Hum", comes out September 14th, it sounds amazing!

There are five Philosophical units that this albums covers, as Himmelman has excellent views on life, Reality and the Paradigms that our society collectivley faces. These elements are not stated blatently, but are evident throughout the album. You can imagine the changes on the perception of life when one has switched skins from a rich, young & good-looking white man; to a 43 year old poor black woman, and Himmelman shows an excellent depiction of this jolt of reality, when it happens. These five units are Morality, Reality, God, Love, and Paradigms.Paradigms seem to play a big role in his music, as they do in most music. Starting with the song "Clean" as he is now free from himself, "Consummately one , no deception, no distortion, nothing criminal or cruel, I am clean for the first time" as Tyler Durton from the book/movie "Fight Club" says, "What you own, ends up owning you." This goes hand in hand with the entire song "5th of August" which talks about how people get caught up in making money and whatnot, that everything in life becomes mundane, and they miss out on doing things that they really want to do. "Easy to be Broken" talks about how people are just thrown around and used for whatever they need to be used for, and money is pointless if you cannot enjoy it. On "Disposable Child" he sings "Well now, don't shed a tear, he's just another disposable child" or on "regular Daydreams "There's probably a million normal people singing along" ties in with Pink Floyds "The Wall" ideas of becoming another bricks in this wall. Another example or a Paradigm is evident in the song "Chaos and Void," which is about his desire to get out of everything and live freely. Paradigms play an important role on this album, however I never hear him blatantly state anything about women - other than love. In "Been Set Free," a song about being freed from who he was - owned by his possessions, Himmelman is freed from the everyday toil he was a part of, singing "I have believed in money, but all I got was greed, I believed in vengance, but all I did was bleed, I believed in fame, but it turned its back on me....". Himmelman comes to realize social paradigms, and is freed from them all in the end.As far as the impact that this album would make to one's view of reality, one would really have to dig deeper into understanding what message Himmelman is trying to portray. Two main lessons learned from this album would be one of Empathy, and not to blindly follow your preconcieved notions of what reality really is. Second, he tries to get across the point that we really only know what we see, so we cannot live out life based on these preconcieved notions.I think that Peter Himmelman takes life with a grain of salt, and looks at everything at face value, then digs deeper. The lyrics of Himmelman's reflect a philosophy on life that is unscathed by society, one that is down to earth (so to speak) and is open-minded. I believe that Himmelman is the type of guy who will accept everyone, and is open to others. His philosophy on life must be that in order to be at peace with yourself, you must be empathetic. I think this is the motivation that Himmelman had when writing this album. He wants people to be more open minded, and to live their life more, and stop worrying about money, because what you own ends up owning you and you never have time to do what you intend to doThis is a very excellent, beautifully played album. Peter Himmelman really makes you think about society and the paradigms/routienes that one would face everyday. The music is played skillfully with beautiful overtones, soothing guitar, vocals, and good drums.