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The Pessimist 
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: June 13 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3834 |
 Topic: Van Der Graaf GeneratorPosted: February 04 2008 at 13:20 |
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The Least... is by far the easiest to get into because of its lack of complexity. i would start with that.
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: February 03 2008 at 16:36 |
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There's a review here: http://vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/trisector.htm |
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VanderGraafKommandöh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 04 2005 Location: Malaria Status: Offline Points: 89372 |
Posted: February 03 2008 at 08:37 |
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Fantastic news! That's not too far away either.
I just hope it's a great album. |
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: February 02 2008 at 22:53 |
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The European audience gets it on March 17th.  They always get the good albums earlier. |
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gsolman
Forum Newbie 
Joined: December 26 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
Posted: February 02 2008 at 22:09 |
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A new VDGG album called Trisector is coming out in April:
http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/ |
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 29 2008 at 23:11 |
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So, I just bought World Record and The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome today. The most amazing part is that I actually found them in a store, the first time that had ever happened. I was browsing and they didn't have a separate VdGG section, but World Record was mixed in with some other artists albums and I looked around to see if maybe they had misplaced some others and I found The Quiet Zone, so today was quite the day. I listened to both and really loved them, but probably not as much as Pawn Hearts or Still Life. Oh well, at least now I'm about halfway through getting their entire discography. I just have to make some more money to get the rest now.
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 22:32 |
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maybe they'd have some stuff up on youtube, that seems pretty common. |
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VanderGraafKommandöh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 04 2005 Location: Malaria Status: Offline Points: 89372 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 22:30 |
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The only problem is, I don't have access to any Stranglers/Hammill material, although I did hear a track by them both together once on Dick Heath's Radio show.
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 22:26 |
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It's always worth the try. I'm having trouble getting my Dream Theater obsessed friends into this stuff (it's not flashy enough I think), let alone the ones that don't even like any sort of prog. |
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VanderGraafKommandöh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 04 2005 Location: Malaria Status: Offline Points: 89372 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 22:22 |
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However, if I played VdGG to my friend who loves Joy Division, I think he'd hate it.
Maybe I can reel him in by playing that Hammill/Stranglers stuff, he loves Stranglers. |
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 22:04 |
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I'm not very familiar with Joy Division, so I don't think I can really comment, though what you say does make sense.
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gsolman
Forum Newbie
Joined: December 26 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
Posted: January 27 2008 at 21:50 |
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The madder the music sounded the more he liked it" member of Joy Division (I think B. Sumner) on Ian Curtis' attitude on writing music.
I think its well known regarding Hammill's influence on John Lydon but I see some connections between them and post-punk heroes of J.D. Why? Well first of all they both come from Manchester. Secondly Ian's vocals became more haunting and powerful as he developed confidence along with the help of their semi-genius producer Martin Hannett. Lyrically Hammill and Curtis really aren't that far apart, both are introspective, existential, and quite a bit apocalyptic. As far as the music both had quite a bit of dissonance which makes them cult bands by default. Both bands were capable of overpowering the listener emotionally and "physically." Anyone familiar with both bands want to comment? |
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 14:45 |
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I understand where you're coming from bucka, and i must add that part of it might be that since they were broken up during the 80's, they couldn't go the route that the likes of Yes and Genesis took and made their sound more appealing to the masses, something I'm quite glad for.
I think part of what makes them so great is that they good do just as much as the other bands but with less, although whether or not they would have used more equipment if they had been able to afford it is up to your discretion to decide, as I don't know them personally. I agree that they were great musicians, as their music sounds very demanding, but it also sounds naturally that way, not forced. They just showcased their technical prowess in a different form than flashy solos, and I think King Crimson was also similar in that regard. When I've played them for people, they usually just complain that the songs are too long. |
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bucka001
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: November 16 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 864 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 14:04 |
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I agree they deserve more recognition (and at least in the UK and Europe, they get real articles written about them and decent coverage in major newspapers and music magazines, especially since the reunion, although I don't suppose they'll ever have a 'hit').
The problem, I think, is Hammill's voice. For many people it is just too harsh and over-the-top (except for when he reins it in and sings in his beautiful falsetto, etc). I personally love his singing, but if there's ever been a deal breaker when I've played VdGG for people, that's it. Except, of course, for my friends who love metal and punk - they seem to be able to deal with the vocal performances on "Arrow", "When She Comes", and others quite well because Hammill sounds very harsh and metal/punk-like on some of those tunes (well, not exactly but you get the drift). I mean, VdGG is one of the only classic prog groups that the punks actually *liked* (Johnny Rotten was a fan, as was Mark E Smith, The Germs, The Dead Milkmen, and several others)
Also, the 70's were the era of major solo-ing, flashy displays of musical virtuosity and showmanship. VdGG were phenomenal musicians but not too interested in the "show off" aspects of musical display. Also, Evans didn't have a 30 piece drum kit and Banton wasn't surrounded by 12 different keyboards (a pre-requisite for 70's prog bands). I think their music and image have aged better than Yes, ELP, etc because of this, but at the time the masses wanted more flash. Edited by bucka001 - January 17 2008 at 14:06 |
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jc
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sean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 02 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1155 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 13:14 |
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I'm planning on getting the book sometime in the future, maybe over the summer when I don't have to worry about paying for school.
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bucka001
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 16 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 864 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 13:05 |
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I'm still a bit miffed about Amazon UK having that "temporarily out of stock" notice up there. They do have stock (Phil just sent them another box) and so it should be no problem to order from them. I'm just annoyed because I'm sure that having that notice up there will deter people from checking it out. Amazon is such a huge entity that I'm sure no one's gotten around to taking that notice off yet.
For Genesis, the book for me will always be Armando Gallo's "I Know What I Like". Got it in high school back in the day and it was the Genesis bible as far as I was concerned. I Interviewed Armando extensively for the VdGG book, by the way, and he was kind enough to also donate some vintage VdGG photos! Edited by bucka001 - January 17 2008 at 13:06 |
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jc
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Okocha
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 13 2007 Location: Greece Status: Offline Points: 681 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 08:26 |
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Pawn hearts,Still life and Godbluff
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gsolman
Forum Newbie
Joined: December 26 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
Posted: January 17 2008 at 00:29 |
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I guess I'll wait until amazon.com.uk has it back in stock. This weak dollar is killing us yanks though - makes me want to rethink my vacation plans. Anyway I've heard very good things about "The Book." If it is as good as they say it is maybe you should think about doing a book about Genesis. I was just finishing up with the Platts book on Genesis and am feeling a little underwhelmed. His style isn't very creative and there are those gaps in the history that make you feel like you are only getting part of the story of just one side of the argument. |
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TGM: Orb
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 21 2007 Location: n/a Status: Offline Points: 8052 |
Posted: January 15 2008 at 18:03 |
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Just got Godbluff and listened through it for the first time. All seems good so far, and I'm particularly fond of Scorched Earth, Arrow and Sleepwalkers (the lyrics are superb) at the moment. That could all change, though.
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bucka001
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 16 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 864 |
Posted: January 15 2008 at 17:25 |
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Yes, and since you're a Genesis fan you may be interested to know that we interviewed Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel for it (they're in there quite a bit for the 'start up of Charisma Records' and 'Six Bob tour' sections). The book is available through the VdGG website ( www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk ) and the British Amazon site ( www.amazon.co.uk ). For some reason the Amazon site says they're temporarily out of stock, but we just sent them another box a few days ago...
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jc
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Van Der Graaf Generator
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Geck0 wrote: