WORLD RECORD

After the burst of creativity that created the two incredible works, "Still Life" and "Godbluff", the VDGG machine slows down. World Record is still a good album but two songs drag it down a bit. "A Place To Survive" and "Meurglys III. "These aren't bad songs but you can certainly hear the strain of putting an album out before it's done. Both songs just go on too long especially "Meurglys III" with it's extremely bloated reggae ending after what appears to be a decent prog piece turns into a long jam on a reggae rhythm with Peter Hammill making a racket on his guitar. "A Place To Survive" is a simple rocker with a simple message that is uncharacteristic of their work up until this album that would be better if it was two minutes shorter. Again the ending just keeps going on a simple chord progression. These two songs take up thirty minutes of the album. Conversely, "When She comes" is one of my favorite songs. It would have fit nicely on one of their two previous albums. A great rant on the evilness of some women. Without a doubt influenced on Hammill's marital problems at the time. "Masks" and "Wondering" are decent songs but not as good as anything on Still Life or Godbluff in my opinion. Both of these songs go on a little too long as well. World Record is an example of not having enough material for an album and filling up space by stretching songs past their breaking point. Despite this, they managed to put out a record worthy of owning but certainly a disappointment after the stellar albums that preceded this.