Van Der Graaf Generator

Although "Scorched Earth" is currently #4 in my ranking of VdGG tracks, and "Arrow" is also one of my favourite VdGG tracks, the other two tracks are not particularly appealing to me. Bear in mind that the alternative question is why I ranked World Record, A Grounding in Numbers, and The Aerosol Grey Machine higher (I think my top four is uncontroversial). In the case of World Record, this was my initial exposure to VdGG, and thus I am somewhat indebted to the album for enriching my musical tastes. Although the second half of this album is relatively weak, the first half is very strong, "A Place to Survive" rivalling "Scorched Earth" as one of my top favourites. In the case of A Grounding in Numbers, this is a very much underrated album where the trio have found their sound without David Jackson. The sound is somewhat different to earlier VdGG though they do hark back to familiar earlier times on occasion. Also, as a person who is into mathematics, I appreciate the title of the album and a song about Euler's identity. In the case of The Aerosol Grey Machine, this is where it all started. They hadn't yet found their sound but they certainly hint at it throughout the album. I do enjoy most if not all of the tracks on this album.

 

One thing I like about VdGG is how varied their music is, so I can appreciate albums as diverse as Pawn Hearts, The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome, World Record, A Grounding in Numbers, and The Aerosol Grey Machine. I've never been one who wanted a Pawn Hearts II, with Pawn Hearts, H to He, Who Am the Only One, The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other, and the second half of Time Vaults providing that early-period VdGG sound that I love so very much. I should remark that between 08: Godbluff and 09: Still Life in my list is the boundary between VdGG albums I like and VdGG albums I never really got into. So I do like Godbluff, it just happens to be my least favourite of the albums I like.