01	Lizard Play						04:29
	02	The Habit Of The Broken Heart						04:40
	03	The Siren Song						06:04
	04	Last Frame						06:13
	05	The Wave						03:14
	06	Yellow Fever (Running)	Cat's Eye					05:20
	07	The Sphinx In The Face						05:57
	08	Chemical World						06:10
	09	The Sphinx Returns						01:16

Van Der Graaf
The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome
Caroline (CAROL 1640-2)
UK 1977

Tracklist:
1. Lizard Play — 4:29
2. The Habit of the Broken Heart — 4:38
3. The Siren Song — 6:03
4. Last Frame — 6:13
5. The Wave — 3:13
6. Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running) — 5:20
7. The Sphinx in the Face — 5:58
8. Chemical World — 6:07
9. The Sphinx Returns — 1:14

total time 43:15

bob

Anyone who's read some of my other reviews probably knows by now that I really don't go for the melodramatic aspects of some prog, particularly extroverted vocalists. For that reason, most of the Van der Graaf Generator that I've heard really hasn't been my cup of tea.
This album is different though. Musically, it's a little more straightforward than other VDGG, almost poppish. But the biggest difference is in the restraint that Peter Hammill shows. There's still some drama to his vocals and lyrics, but it's not as over-the-top as usual. Another nice aspect of this album is the violin that's all over it - I'm a big fan of lead violin playing in prog, and the work here is very good.

For those who are looking for a first VDGG album to buy, you'd probably be better off starting elsewhere since this one isn't really representative of their sound. On the other hand, if you tried their other albums and found them a little too much to take, you might want to try this toned down version.

review by Bob Eichler — undated — post a comment (0)

heather

There are two different covers for this CD; a cover for the Quiet Zone songs and a cover for the Pleasure Dome songs. I normally hate to judge music by the cover, but in this case, the cover art is close in feel to the music. The Quiet Zone cover depicts a slender, blue elf-like character swinging in outer space above the earth. The Pleasure Dome cover is a picture of the musicians: a stern violinist with an Abe Lincoln beard, dressed in a black suit, and a 70s longhaired character in oversized funky sunglasses and a white suit, tossing what looks like a silver apple.
The first four songs comprise the Quiet Zone side. The instrumentation is sparse: drums, bass, piano, violin, and vocals. The music is very melodic, with steady, rolling beats, ethereal acoustic guitar, and classical violin. Add to this the melodramatic vocals of Peter Hammill. He sings quietly on these tracks, in a croon that turns from playful and sarcastic, to moody and sarcastic, to sorrowful.

The Pleasure Dome side consists of faster pieces, but the instrumentation is the same. Overall I think the combination of classical sounding violin with the acoustic, bass and drums sounds excellent. "Cat's Eye" is my favorite song here, with the tension building vocals and staccato violin, explosive release sections, and the calmer mid-sections with the rolling violin. "The Sphinx in the Face" and "Chemical World" are less dramatic, and have a simpler "rock" sound.

Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome is pretty simple compared to other VDGG music, but I think it works out really well. It is still very artsy and tasteful. This might appeal to prog rock fans that have avoided VDGG due to too much melodrama. The melodrama is still here, but toned down; and it is also more song-oriented and melodic.

review by Heather Mackenzie — undated — post a comment (0)


© ground and sky



Member: Prog Owl (Profile) (All Album Reviews by Prog Owl)
Date: 4/9/2002
Format: CD (Album)

Peter Hammill: Vocals, Piano, Guitar
Guy Evans: Drums, Percussion
Nic Potter: Bass
Graham Smith: Violins

Special guest appearances by David Jackson on sax

With the 1970's drawing to a rapid end and the onset of punk and synth pop beginning to take its toll on the more adventurous, Van Der Graaf (the "Generator" portion of the name had to be removed for legal reasons after Hugh Banton's departure) summoned up one last masterpiece of an album!

First off, the band's sound changed significantly, with the departure of organist Hugh Banton (currently enjoying a career building organs) and saxophonist David Jackson (first to truck driving, then teaching math in the British public school system). No longer were the songs built on the heavy sax/organ riffing. Instead, piano and violin became the predominant colors in the palette, adding a more impressionistic sheen with more emphasis on melody and shifting colors, supported by the returning Nic Potter's thick propulsive bass lines and Guy Evans just playing his heart out on his drum kit (in this writers opinion, some of his best playing is heard here).

The songs themselves are nothing less than top notch here, as Peter Hammill unleashes colorfully crafted tales of loneliness ("The Siren's Song"), longing for connection to others ("Lizard Play"), intrigue ("The Wave"), despair ("The Habit of a Broken Heart"), obsession ("Last Frame"), drugs ("Chemical World"), and shameless greed, ambition and arrogance ("The Sphynx In The Face") plus more. Not exactly happy-slappy stuff, but nonetheless very engaging.

It's hard to pick highlights, but my favorites are definitely the biting "The Sphynx In The Face" (with some particularly fierce Guy Evans drumming and more time shifts than one can count), the plaintive "Siren's Song" (could be a tearjerker) and the mysterious "The Wave". Sonically, I love the edgy and soaring violins plus the Evans/Potter rhythm section going full tilt with Hammill's assertive piano and his vocal colorings just drawing you in.

Some quibbles? Peter Hammill's real strengths are that of songwriter/vocal stylist, plus he is pretty strong on piano too. The weak part for me comes in the guitar department, he just is not a very strong or assertive 6-stringer at all. If the songs really needed guitar at all, he would've been better off to pull in a full blown guitarist to color in where needed. Have to admit too, I do miss the organ as well, but still, that in comparison to the brilliance shown here turns out to be a minor quibble.

It's not often you find a band's swan song as brilliant as this, dive in!

This Owl gives it 4.5 hoots of a possible 5.
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