01	Lemmings (Including Cog)						11:39
	02	Man-Erg						10:21
	03	A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers						23:05

Hugh Banton, Hammond E&C, Farfisa Professional organs, piano, mellotron, ARP synthesizer, bass pedals, bass guitar, psychedelic razor, vocals;
Guy Evans, drums, tympani, percussion, piano;
Peter Hammill, lead vocals, acoustic and slide guitar, electric piano, piano;
David Jackson, tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, devices, flutes, vocals;
Robert Fripp, electric guitar

Jon Byrne:
VdGG is another of what I call the second tier of early UK prog bands. Occupying the same level as bands like Gentle Giant, VdGG did some great work, but never found the great success that Yes or ELP did. They remind me a little bit of a cross between Genesis, King Crimson, and maybe even early Pink Floyd in places. The lyrics and vocals, courtesy of Peter Hammill, are more intense and obtuse than most, and the rhythmic/diction patterns had an obvious influence on Fish (of Marillion fame). Pawn Hearts is regarded by many as their best, which is why I went out and got it. Personally, I find the music wanders a little bit too much for my tastes. I tend to like structure in my music and sometimes VdGG sounds like a lot of uncontrolled noodling. That's not the norm, but I think it detracts from the rest of the music. As an example, my favorite of the three tunes is "Man-Erg", which has none of that free-from kind of stuff. David Jackson's sax lines above the lush keys are superb. Overall a very good album, and possibly great if you don't need the structure in your life I do. :)

Bob Eichler:
I don't really understand why so many people are so into this band, and this album in particular. To me, it sounds like a slightly more psychedelic take on the early King Crimson sound, substituting organ for mellotron. There are some good bits of music here and there (particularly in the side-long "Plague of Lighthouse Keepers"). But I think what most people enjoy about this album is the same thing that turns me off to it - Peter Hammill's vocals. Flamboyant and melodramatic, they jump out at the listener and are impossible to ignore. Many prog fans go for that sort of thing, but to me it's a prime example of the critics being right when they call prog pompous and pretentious. Actually, the word I'd use is cheesy. I know most prog fans would disagree, but I think this album is vastly overrated.

Heather MacKenzie:
This is complex, melodramatic, symphonic progressive rock. A strong, minor key, dark mood prevails through almost every moment of the recording. The mad melodramatic singer sounds like Tim Curry in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, from croon to crazy grandiose emotion (one usually follows the other, jerkily). Imagine a Foxtrot-era Genesis, only very dark, very surreal, and very mad.
The selection of instruments is unique: mainly organ, acoustic guitar, sax, drums, and bass. The heavy use of the organ gives the whole affair a very dated psychedelic sound. The sax playing here is very unconventional; you might mistake them for some evil honking geese that step in at a convenient break in the song.
I think this is one of VDGG's best recordings. The only down side to this band is that the music sometimes sounds really dated (I think due to the heavy organ and electric piano sound), especially as compared to, say, King Crimson. Speaking of King Crimson, Robert Fripp is the guest electric guitar player here.






Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawnhearts

Release Date: 1971

Track Listing
1) Lemmings (Including Cogs) [11:40]
2) Man-Erg [10:22]
3) A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers [23:05]
a) Eyewitness
b) Pictures/Lighthouse
c) Eyewitness
d) S.H.M.
e) Presence Of The Night
f) Kosmos Tours
g) (Custard's) Last Stand
h) The Clot Thickens
i) Land's End (Sineline)
j) We Go Now


Member: Thekouderwunz

A cult band even within a genre of vagabonds to the "rock" world, Van der Graaf Generator had their music scorned by critics and even most progressive rock lovers find them a difficult pill to swallow.

A band often cited for their lack of cohesion (no permanent lead guitar presence, abstract lyrics, music that rambles apart from each other), Van der Graaf's (Generator) Pawn Hearts is a frustrating as it gets when it comes to not only the band, but to the progressive rock genre as well.

Off the heals of the superb H To He album, which the band finally records an album that is pleasant and plays to each members talents, the band records an album that could frustrate even the most patient of listeners. For those who have never heard Van Der Graaf Generator and are planning this particular album as your first purchase, I would seriously advise H To He before this album.

I bought Pawn Hearts a few years ago, and it is only till recently that I actually got into it. Maybe it was finally having access to the album's lyrics, but the album sounds like a breath of fresh air now, or it could be that I have everything else by the band and this album was the only at the time that I could not listen to.

Released in 1971, Van Der Graaf Generator should have been on the top of the world, but this album, to some real scornful "so called" fans of VDGG, consider this the band's worst album. The first few listens, I was in agreement with those statements, and I was ready to send this to garbage bin, but groups like Can, Velvet Underground, early experimental Pink Floyd had the same troubled sound to their music, and I love those bands, so I figured what is out their that is similar to this particular avant-sound? VDGG's Pawn Hearts!

I printed out the lyrics and read many reviews on this album (both good and bad) and after giving it a few spins in the CD player, I finally see why some patient fans see in this album.

Pawn Hearts is one of those albums whose genius is hidden behind shabby engineering and its tendency to lose a devoted listener with the nonsensical fadeouts/quiet spaces. Such things nuances could have easily been edited out providing one the ability to enjoy the rest of the music on the album.

Beginning with the first track "Lemmings", this track could have easily been edited a couple of minutes. The sorry re-issue on Caroline's Blue Plate doesn't help the cause by not re-mastering Pawn Hearts.

"Man-Erg" is what most find to be the most accessible song on Pawn Hearts, the song at time can be disturbing (in a good way) with Hammill's mocking chant laughing towards the end of the song.

The last song on the album "A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers", is a juxtapose of songs in suite form that to even some die-hard VDGG fans find unbearable. This song which Peter Hammill said in an interview, was about his fear and attraction to the ocean. There are many other explanations and theories to this song, but I would have to let the listener decide on that. One of the highlights of this song is that Robert Fripp (whom plays in spots throughout the album, but is poor recorded) ends the song with one of his greatest all time solos. I also read that this song had a profound influence on label mates Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. Hmmm?

In my review, I have said a number of negative things about Pawn Hearts, but on the contrary, it is actually a great album that would have and should have been greater had it not been for the sloppy recording engineers that manage to screw up Genesis's Trespass and Nusery Cryme as well. All three songs are as great as any of the recordings of its time, but like many of their peers, such songs did not need to ramble on as well to make a statement.

Album rating: Four and half stars. (bad engineering keeps it from being a "Classic" album)

Charles

(A note to first time listeners to VDGG, Pawn Hearts should be listened to after require VDGG prior albums.)


Member: Man In Space 8/21/03
This was my second VDGG album. I often read it's an acquired taste, but just as with Godbluff, the first I bought, I was hooked from the first gentle notes.

"Lemmings"..... what a monster riff, even more gigantic when that dissonant organ note kicks in. But balance is the main quality that Hammill/VDGG possesses, it's tension and release all the time, building up into an insane crescendo with the middle piece Cog. I go simply NUTS whenever I hear that demented organ and sax wailing, only to be pulled back again to a very soft and gentle piece, and WHAM again. As you can see, these are not the sentiments of an intellectual who has acquired the taste, these are superintense ROCK'N'ROLL kicks. Weird r'n'r, yes, original, breaking rules, setting standards, clever and all that, but basically a bomb.

I don't listen to symph stuff anymore, but I once used too, and my indie/punk/guitarrock friends hated that. But their reaction to VDGG was similar to mine : "Holy Crap, what the hell was that?", while leaving the imprint of their backs and heads into the couch they were sitting when I exposed them to this thermonuclear explosion. It's a good thing the piece slowly ebbs out, so one can catch ones breath.

"Man-Erg" is the hit single, the most accessible. It's the only one I skip sometimes, not because it's a bad song at all, but it's played a bit tame to me (except for the brutal middle piece). Also, the recording quality of the album isn't very good, and that's a real shame. The version on Maida Vale shows how good a song this really is.

Then the big one : the ultimate "chaotic/controlled, tempest/calm thing which was our aim and raison d'кtre" , as Hammill describes VDGG. From very fragile and delicate to more brutal than most metal bands, back and forth. It's like being thrown from one twister to another, occasionaly resting in the eye. The piece always brought feelings of ebb and flow to me, now I read above this that it is about Hammill's feelings for the sea, I'd say the man knows how to bring his feelings across. That's a true artist. And really, he was still very much a boy then, his true great lyrics would come only later.

Well throught ebb and flow, despair and mayhem, this piece arrives at another beautiful and grand finale, speaking of hope, just as the other pieces. The fantastic Fripp solo at the end is in fact Mr Banton on his 'Farfisa From Hell'.

When I've listened to this album, I'm so charged with power and emotion, I can stand tall, chest forwards, arms and legs akimbo, and shout with booming voice at the starry sky : Universe, get out off my way!

And it ain't even my fave VDGG album!


c2001 - 2003 Progressive Ears
All Rights Reserved








Van Der Graaf Generator - Godbluff

Release Date: 1975

Track Listing
1) The Undercover Man [7:00]
2) Scorched Earth [10:10]
3) Arrow [8:15]
4) The Sleepwalkers [10.26]


Member: Prog Owl

Peter Hammill: Lead Vocals, Clavinet, Guitar
David "Jaxon" Jackson: Saxophones, Flute, Devices
Hugh Banton: Organ, Bass
Guy Evans: Drums, Percussion

After a nearly 4 year absence, VDGG roared back to life again in 1975 with a leaner and definitely meaner and angrier sound! The question in many fans minds was, "Could the old electricity and creative spark survive the long pause and the harrowing experiences the had on the road in Italy that caused their breakup?" The answer was thankfully, yes!

A quiet echoed flute figure begins the album in "The Undercover Man", a poignant tale of intrigue that Hammill spins masterfully, supported by Jaxon's melodious flute with Banton and Evans laying down plaintive atmospheres.

The emotional ending of "The Undercover Man" segues into the mounting tension of "Scorched Earth", a song of war and desolation between two beasts. Here, Hammill spins off memorable lines like,"And it's far too late to turn, unless it's to stone" among others. Throughout, Guy Evans' jazz inflected drumming pushes the song into an angry firestorm with Hammill in full roar as Jaxon's snarling saxophones and Banton's churchy organ paint the desolate scenery to a fiery end.

"Arrow" continues the "war" theme and examines it on a more personal level, the emotional state of the participants. It begins with a chaotic almost free-jazz intro with Guy unleashing fiery drumming, Jaxon's free-floating sax, and an understated bass figure that all threatens to dissolve into chaos until Hammill roars in with an authoritative clavinet figure to bring it all under control. From here, the tale begins of soldiers in emotional extremis. Anguished outbursts from Jaxon and Hammill both paint vivid pictures of a raging battle within and without before winding down.

"The Sleepwalkers" is like a horror movie without the movie, a tale of murderous somnambulists highlighted by Banton's spooky organ and Hammill painting detailed pictures with his cinematic wording. Somewhere in the middle, there is an unexpected and quite hilarious musical segment featuring Jaxon playing the song's pained chorus in what to my ears sounds like a demented vaudeville/English music hall/cha-cha amalgamation! This little segment has to be heard to be believed! But then it's back to the action with Guy, Hugh and Jaxon roaring full tilt to a truly chilling conclusion, with Hammill's plaintive vocals and Hugh's spooky echoing organ.

Intense, compelling and very much unlike typical prog, in the sense that with VDGG, the vocals are the main focus. While not being loaded with rip snortin' displays of chops, VDGG can paint vivid musical pictures and colors, and are one of the very few bands that can sound heavy and crunchy without the use of guitar, opting instead for sax/organ riffing as the basis of its sound.

Not happy-slappy music for certain, but for those who like intelligent lyric writing and vivid musical atmospheres, this is definitely for you!





Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life

Release Date: 1976

Track Listing
1) Pilgrims
2) Still Life
3) La Rossa
4) My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)
5) Childlike Faith in Childhood's End

Member: (!rKu$

Personnel:
Hugh Banton : Bass, Guitar, Keyboards
Guy Evans : Drums
Peter Hammill : Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
David Jackson : Keyboards, Winds


..."Take away the threat of death and all you're left with is a round of make believe"...


Hot on the heels of their excellent comeback album, Godbluff, the swiftly completed Still Life followed in early 1976. It was the second release since the band's reformation in 1975 and since this reunion, the band seemed to have a new, more focused approach to their compositions. Despite this, there is no doubt in your mind about what band you are listening too. The Generator was definitely back in all their sonic glory and Hammill has
an even more biting quality to his voice this time around.

The album starts with the optimism tinged "Pilgrims". Communicating to the listener that no matter how alone you may feel, in your darkest hour, we are all in this together and to not become discouraged. David Jackson's distinct and gloriously ominous saxophone closes the piece wonderfully.

"Still Life" considers how awful immortality could be for those who may wish it so for themselves. It starts quietly with Hammill's vocals and Hugh Banton's low organ accompanying him. Soon, the organ transforms and comes tromping back into the piece like a lumbering, angry giant. Definitely one of those spine tingling passages for me.

"LaRossa" puts the spotlight on Banton's mastery of the Hammond organ. Following it is "My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)" which features Jackson out in front of the band with his distressed sax passages that sound like no one (or nothing) else. The 12 minute plus "Childlike Faith in Childhood's End" closes the album. The tempo of the piece haphazardly switches up and down throughout the track and their are some great sections of interplay between the instrumentalists in the band. Not one uninteresting second can be found here and very little is repeated. In the final line of the track, Hammill sums up the boundless possibilities of what the afterlife holds for us..."In the death of mere humans life shall start!" I guess it that remains to be seen folks.

Still Life is a glimmering artifact of some of the best music this era had to offer. The raw emotion and creativity is as powerful today as it was then. Uncommonly found trademarks of great musicianship and originality.

Happy listening,
(!rKu$