THE QUIET ZONE / THE PLEASURE DOME

This album resembles a bit Peter Hammill's solo album "Over", which was done during the same time as this album. The saxophone player is credited only as a guest musician, and he has been replaced with a violin player, so the overall sound of this release differs from their classic days. Maybe to underline this change the album was released with a shortened name Van Der Graaf.

The original vinyl division to two separate sides is enhanced by naming the sides as two different entities, and they even have separate pictures as for covers on the album sleeve. The A-side "The Quiet Zone" is more better of them, which opens with "Lizard Play". It has quite peculiar rhythms in it, and it also reveals that Peter's style of singing is now more like narrating some story for the listeners. I must admit that I liked the earlier sound of this band more that this. "The Habit of the Broken Heart" has a nice groove, and is actually quite good track, as is the "The Siren Song". This is a beautiful piano and violin driven minor ballad with an oppressing middle part. "Last Frame" is a bluesy tune full of anxiety. It starts with fine ethereal sounds in the start, and the composition takes some twists to other directions later in the common style of the band.

The B-side of the vinyl, "The Pleasure Dome" opens with "The Wave", being another piano and violin driven very melancholic and beautiful tune, one of the album highlights. "Cat's Eye / Yellow Fever (Running)" is then more dynamic and schizoid tune with violin driving the rhythm. Sadly after this the quality of the record sinks very deep. "The Sphinx in the Face" is some kind of blues rocker. It's middle part with drum bass and piano passages sounds quite painful, as they don't probably play in quite exact same rhythm. A nasty fadeout fulfills the agony with very silly vocals being sung over it. This was a highly irritating song. "Chemical World" is another schizoid tune, being also quite irritating. And about "The Sphinx Returns", I think it would have been a better if it would have not returned. This is a terrible reprisal of the annoying end of the title it refers. Yuck.

As I first listened this album I didn't like it very much, but after some re-listening I found also some positive aspects from it. But I understand why some persons can't stand this music. I would also criticize the heavy using of fade-out endings, found on four tracks out of nine. But anyway, "If I talk to myself, it isn't a crime"!