Van der Graaf Generator

pero wrote: Tony Fisher wrote: laplace wrote: I tend to listen to VdGG mixed in with King Crimson, I find them to be mutually complimenting. Interesting! King Crimson are the other major 70s band I don't like much, except for a couple of tracks on the first album. Perhaps it's just the dark, avant-garde style of VDGG that puts me off. In the end, there is no good and bad; it's all just a matter of taste and opinion. If you don't like VDGG and KC what do you like? Genesis are also dark.

Genesis (who are only somewhat dark on Trespass), Camel, Strawbs, Mostly Autumn, Horslips, Gentle Giant, Tull, Floyd (after AHM), Gryphon, Renaissance, Wishbone Ash, BJH, The Enid and many more.

There's far more to prog than VDGG and KC, but I tend to pick up that many fans of these bands think that they are the be all and end all.

Notable recently was a group of raters who gave everything by these 2 bands 5*, then gave 1* to all Camel, Genesis, Tull and Floyd in an attempt to rig the charts. It was SO obvious.

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same topic.

Melody and Van der Graaf Generator are not mutually exclusive.

Indeed Friede, you'll be here hours and hours and hours... reviewing just one album!

I got Pawn Hearts very early in my prog journey and I was amazed from my first play.  I didn't particularly like it at first, however.  It was just amazing how different and complex it was from anything else I had ever heard (until then, I had only been exposed to PF, Yes, Genesis, Rush, and ELP as far as prog goes).  After a couple listens I started to really love it and it was one of the albums that really inspired me to get into Progressive Rock.

Tony Fisher wrote: pero wrote: Tony Fisher wrote: laplace wrote: I tend to listen to VdGG mixed in with King Crimson, I find them to be mutually complimenting. Interesting! King Crimson are the other major 70s band I don't like much, except for a couple of tracks on the first album. Perhaps it's just the dark, avant-garde style of VDGG that puts me off. In the end, there is no good and bad; it's all just a matter of taste and opinion. If you don't like VDGG and KC what do you like? Genesis are also dark. Genesis (who are only somewhat dark on Trespass), Camel, Strawbs, Mostly Autumn, Horslips, Gentle Giant, Tull, Floyd (after AHM), Gryphon, Renaissance, Wishbone Ash, BJH, The Enid and many more. There's far more to prog than VDGG and KC, but I tend to pick up that many fans of these bands think that they are the be all and end all.

That's not fair, or even close to correct. Most fans of KC and VdGG knows that there is far more to prog than just them. You are the one who keeps mentioning the same symphonic prog/prog folk bands again and again. While most other people here likes hundreds of bands (including most of your own favorites) from all the different sub genres.

In my last tranche of CDs wot I bought, I decided to buy stuff from bands I hadn't heard before - to a fair degree influenced by threads, reviews & recommendations from peeps here. So, although I'm no spring chicken, and have been listening to bands like KC, Floyd, Zep, and a few weirdies since the early 70s, it's only in the last few weeks that I bought my first VdGG, Rush, Gnidrolog, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Riverside & RPWL, all basically on spec (I'm a risktakin' kinda guy......)

    I also had trouble with VDGG. I had heard three of their albums, and nothing really grabbed me. As I saw more posts about them, from people with similar tastes, I decided to give it another try. I still didn't see the appeal, but there was something there that gave the impression of a very good band. Then a friend told me to try "H to He Who Am the Only One." That did it. "Killer" grabbed me, and the beauty of the music began to unfold. "The Least We Can Do" immediately became accessible after that. Next was "Godbluff," and now it's "Still Life." I suppose "Pawn Hearts" will be next.
   Hammill's voice can take some getting used to. I wouldn't say he is a great singer in the classic sense, but he is very unique. Sometimes he sounds a bit like Bowie, or Iggy Pop. The next moment he can scream it out like the best rock and rollers. The similarity to KC is obvious with the darkness, and especially in the sax. As I hear more of it, I am also seeing a relationship to Genesis. Now, those are comparisons to two of my top prog bands, and two other great artists. That's got to say something.
   My advise is, don't give up too fast. You could be missing out on something.   

Indeed.  The only KC you'll hear in VdGG are when Fripp guests for them and even then, they sound nothing like KC!  The closest they get to a KC sound is "Meurgly's III (The Songwriter's Guild)" from World Record.

And I find it amusing how people like Killer.  Yet it's a great tune, but it's also not one of their best.  I guess it's easily accessable and more tuneful than most VdGG.  It seems this tune first draws people in.  I think it did with me as well.

Killer now however isn't my favourite tune.

I mean, come on "Fishes can't fly, fishes can't fly, neither can I, neither can I"!  It's Fish, Peter, not Fishes!

Or maybe that was his point...


Edited by Geck0 - July 15 2006 at 12:49

You need to try more, my friend.  You cannot say you dislike all VdGG until you've heard all VdGG!