My own experience with Van Der Graaf Generator is a very good one. There is no band that touches me like VDGG, especcially Pawn Hearts does. That album to me is more than perfect; the powerful and dark Lemmings, the calmth and at the same time haunting rawness of Man-Erg, and of course Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers, probably the most emotional song that I know. At this moment I'm listening to the album once again, and so many different moments make me shiver, it's fantastic. 

 

This is so strange for me ... I came from a highly educated literary family, and ... to me there is not a single album of music that I have ever heard, or bought, or takled about ... that is a "band" ... it is either a work of art, and what it means and entails ... or it's just pop music ... and that is the end of the conversation, isn't it?

 

PH/VDGG has never been about ... "a band" ... to my ear, it has been one long continuous expression in an emotional style that is a lot closer to literature and poetry, than it EVER will be to a "band" or "rock'n'roll", or "prog", or any other deviate or bizarre definition that anyone can give it.

 

For any of these works, including the ones by the so many "prog" artists that we love ... to progress and get better known, we have to elevate our respect for their art form ... and I am not sure that "band" defines the art form ... or is the actual work ... I suppose that the combination of the people can create something special, but if the work was that important to the musicians at hand, it would not be an issue ... the art is more important than the band.

 

What scares me, is that there are times when I think that we are lowering the standards, and I dare any musico, for example, to talk to me about some element in music ... that is not being done with rock instruments by someone ... and even better and on a stronger context.

 

When it comes to lyricos (what I call poets and writers), it is a different ball game ... they are not always great singers, but the honesty of the expressions ... is hard to discuss, they come off strong, and powerful and with Peter Hammill even the screaming at times will scare listeners off ... but that means they really missed the point ... sure they did, they were looking for a sexy fantasy instead with sweet lipsticked eyes?  ... not music or poetry ... see the difference?

 

It's a tough, weird ... place ... just like my post the other day when someone was surprised about Leonard Cohen ... and he's been doing it for 50 years, and he is not the only one ... Peter for 40 ... and there are many others out there ... and it is a matter of us "finding them" and "connecting" to their expression ... that's what an artist does ....  and you know why? ... because that person could only conceive of a "band" ... not an "artist", or have any conceptual thought or understanding of what that meant ...  and that is sad ... there is a lot of "literature" out there ... a hell of a lot!

 

To me the Beatles are not a "band" ... they are an artistic institution that deserve the literary credit for their work ... and the same goes for PH/VDGG and Amon Duul 2 and Tangerine Dream, and Klaus Schulze and Vangelis and Mike Oldfield ...  ... and so many others ... if all they were was a band ... I doubt that many people would give a bother ... and that is why a lot of higher educated institutions are not giving a hoot about a lot of music ... because we are not helping elevate the art form ...

 

It's not a band ... never was!

That sounds great. I'd love to see VDGG or Peter Hammill live. I haven't been into them long enough to witness a live performance though. If I'll ever get the oppertunity to see them live, I won't miss it. 

My favourite album of them is either Pawn Hearts or Godbluff.

By the way, you said that you can't think of a single band that sounds like them; I think you might be interested in another great band: Gnidrolog. They sound a bit like VDGG, I think.

I have recently discovered Gnidrolog, actually. So far I've only listened to some of their songs on Youtube (my way to find out what's the sound of bands), but I really like it and I'll definitely will check out more of them. There might be some similairities between the two, but PH's vocals can't be compared with anything I think. Also, their music seems to be a bit more "clean" than VDGG's music. Excuse me if I'm wrong about that. 

 

I'd say they're definitely an acquired taste.  The music doesn't really offer any overt displays of showmanship or grandstanding, and Hammill's voice is a turn-off for many (I don't understand that; it was always and still is my favorite part).  But their pieces work excellently as mini-epic snapshots of madness and confusion, where the lyrics and music complement each other.

 

I actually only became a convert when I decided to get acquainted with the Hammill solo stuff first.  There I "got to know him" a little better, and it allowed me to appreciate the VdGG stuff better.

I agree, the intro of Scorched Earth really is extremely bombastic and powerful, it would be a whole different thing if the clavinet was replaced by the organ for example. It is really powerful this way. I believe Godbluff is more bombastic than any other VDGG album, not just because the use of clavinet, that's relatively  of small importance IMO. What really makes Godbluff so powerful is that all the band members seem to make more "raw" sounds than ever before. For example Hammill's vocals, they are very rough, take for example Arrow... Hammill really sounds incredibly frightening at some moments. 

 

Yeah you're probably right...

BUT, I forgot to mention Discipline; it is REALLY influenced by VDGG, and there AND similarities between Hammill and Parmenter's voices. That might interest you (again).

 

KingCrimson250 wrote: Funny this should come up, I just posted a review of Still Life on the site. Pawn Hearts is an incredible album and is probably among my top 10 of all time. Not necessarily the first thing I would show to a prog newbie though Still Life I'm not as big on, it was good but nowhere near the same level. I confess, however, to not owning Godbluff yet. I know, I know, take me out and stone me, but I've been meaning to ask: Given that I enjoy Pawn Hearts far more than I enjoy Still Life, which VDGG album should I pick up next, H to He or Godbluff?

 

GODBLUFF!

I reckon H to He would be more to your liking. The albums after Pawn Hearts are really good albums but they don't have the sense of controlled chaos I get from the earlier ones.

I agree with H to He being more like Pawn Hearts than Godbluff is, but I think Godbluff also is full of controlled chaos. Peter's vocals on The Undercover Man, the lunacy of Sleepwalkers and much more. I'd say, get both! If you don't have enough money or for whatever reason that won't be an option I recommend H to He.

Another suggestion, if you haven't heard them already, you could also try Peter Hammill's Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night, The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage and In Camera. Those albums are more like Pawn Hearts than H to He or any other VDGG album is IMO. The controlled chaos of Pawn Hearts is also very present here, Gog from In Camera is one of the most disturbing and haunting pieces of music I've ever heard. 

There's chaos in Godbluff but the band is tightly in control of where they want that chaos to go. In the earlier albums there are places where they're holding on for dear life and only just keeping hold of their sanity. That's what I prefer!

In fact it was my first VDGG purchase, and also my favourite; now I also own Godbluff and Still Life, I find them both amazing. I'll try to buy H to He in the next months, but damn, I have to much albums to buy for now.

All of VDGG's albums take a while to fully appreciate / understand. I also didn't really enjoy H to He in the beginning, Pioneers over C. was too experimental, Killer too cheesy etc. But after listening to it more and more I began to appreciate and uinderstand the songs and now I absolutely love them. You should really try Still Life, it's absolutely fantastic. It was really hard to get into though, at the first couple of listens it sounded like a less raw and much less powerful version of Godbluff, but the opposite is what I think now. Apart from Plague of Lighthouse Keepers, Still Life contains some of VDGG's most emotional songs, and that's where the true power of the album lies. Definitely La Rossa and Childlike Faith in Childhoods End are absolutely stunning pieces. I'm sure if you like VDGG already after two weeks listening to them, you will like them much more when knowing them better, it took me months to fully understand their music!

Also definitely seconding that H to He is worth getting into. It began with me just liking "Killer", but then I managed to 'get' each song one by one, which is the way it seems to work with a lot of VdGG.

And, for another bit of VdGG fun, does anyone else interpret Godbluff as being about one gigantic war that continues to escalate to ridiculous levels as it goes on? I'll admit that I don't think it was the original intention necessarily, but it adds a little relish to each of my listens to it.

 

However, to the faithful, all of these things are exciting. I dig them and have quite a few Hammill albums, though I'll never them all. No Thanks.

 

I disagree, there are many examples of this. I would describe Afterwards, Refugees, House With No Door, and W as carefully written pop songs.

 

But they aren't my favourite VDGG songs, I prefer the sturm und drang.

A very interesting interview. 

I think VDGG has done a pretty good job with Trisector. Davic Jackson's sax has always been a very important part of Van Der Graaf's music, and I think it's pretty hard to keep an interesting sound when such an important aspect of the music is gone. They've done a very nice job keeping their music interesting and preventing it from heavy suffering from the absence of the sax. It still is a huge difference compared to earlier VDGG albums though, David's sax does add that emotional and striking touch to the music. 

 

It is DEFINITELY a pop song

I tought it was written by Britney Spears....

As for Thin Air, I don't like it much. Well, I don't like it at all.

From his solo albums, I like Silent Stage and In Camera more than every others.

In order of preference (except Pawn Hearts):

- Godbluff

- Still Life

- H to He

- World Record

- The Least

- Quiet Zone

 

Have you ever heard Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks, a number 1 in 1974?

 

Here is one of my favorite lines from the album:  "But stalking in my cloisters hang the acolytes of gloom."  This line is both poetic and relatable.

 

My life feels much more interesting now that Van der Graaf Generator is a part of it.  I look forward to getting more VDGG albums.

I almost got to see them at NEARFest. I had tickets and we  were coming down from Connecticut but my friend's car died in the middle of New York City.

 

If I listen to one VDGG album I listen to them all in rapid succession. It's weird.

 

I was in awe when i hear Pioneers over C., i thought this is one of the hardest live prog albums of all time!

 

Then i start to collect any info about the band, but eventually did caught TLWCDIWTEO. and  hear that they sound is far ahead of the Vital album, so when i star to read the info recolected, i realize that they was a missing period (1972-1974).

 

Then i make my walk to obtain the remaining albums of VDGG and then i saw that PH have a huge discography and that time was in 1990.

 

Now after 23 years i have almost all their discography and i praise much the 70's albums, in fact they do not have any weak album.

 

I have to listen very much the PH first LP Fool's Mate.

 

 

 

Great tracks the interaction and the developement of those tracks are among finest Van Der Graaf!!

 

I love the athmosphere created in this album (Godbluff) it's incredible the main riff of Undercover Man and Scorched Earth, they trasmit to me a sense of nostagic desesperation.

 

Also i like to hear that album in a big open garden with the sky grey.

 

Humm... i prefer my version.

 

and imagine riding a bicycle and hearing Godbluff at evening