THE MASTERS

What a disgusting scam. This Van der Graaf Generator compilation lures in listeners with the promise of strange, unfamiliar-sounding songs from the band, but don't be fooled! Most of these tracks are recycled from Time Vaults, and suffer from exactly the same poor sound quality issues and general inconsistency as those tracks. (Not that this should reflect badly on the band - the material there wasn't recorded with public consumption in mind.) The three remaining tracks aren't even VdGG pieces at all, but from the Jackson/Banton/Evans collaboration Gentlemen Prefer Blues - a reasonable enough release in its own right, perhaps, but to pass off material from it as VdGG songs rather than giving credit to where it is really due is insulting to all parties concerned. It's debatable as to whether the credit to VdGG or the term "classic tracks" is the bigger lie on the front cover of this one.