Van Der Graaf Generator [Still Life]

Ah, there's two great records by Van Der Graaf Generator, this one and World Record, this probably isn't quite as good as the other, but they're close, i bought the vinyl LP of World Record first, choosing it completely blind, knowing nothing about VDGG, and i hit the jackpot, and so off i went looking for another gem from them, and here it is, VDGG don't have many tracks on their albums, that's because some of them are so long [in fact most of them!], also you might not agree with the cosmic re-incarnation of Peter Hammill's lyrics [i don't particularly], but they're still meaningful, i must have bought this album when it was quite new and freshly released, now all these years later i find that i've probably listened to it fifty times, and it's still a revelation each time i hear it, it's timeless music, it's racking up quite a 'following' in my Blog [3rd January 2011 / 5th February 2012 / 6th September 2012].

Van Der Graaf Generator are a Prog Rock band, started up in Manchester in 1967, and still going strong today, though they did have an amazing quarter of a century hiatus in the eighties and nineties, they brought this album out in 1976, the front cover is of an electrical discharge, i think it's quite good, the small VDGG logo at the top is excellent, there's a lovely symmetry to it all.

Well in listening to this again, it was actually the first two tracks on the album that i liked the best, i listened to the album in random order [3 / 5 / 2 / 4 / 1], so it ended up being the last track i played that was the best of all, a really strong musical statement, here's a synopsis of the track,
1 Pilgrims [7:07] - If you don't know VDGG, then Peter Hammill takes some explaining, his voice is almost operatic, and yet it's not a melodic singing voice, at times it degenerates to almost wailing, it's something to get used to, this is the shortest track on the album at seven minutes!, the lyrics are a little naive, about everyone on the beach holding hands in brotherhood!, it's quite a slow number in the verses, very much organ led, i like the transition to the chorus [1:29-2:17], and when the chorus hits it goes up several notches [2:17-3:18], there's real passion in his voice, the second verse is stronger than the first, and the second transition has a greater sense of surprise, the second chorus is a gem [4:42-5:42], VDGG build up the song nicely, that it gets better and better, plus there's the most loveliest surprise at the end, a sort of third chorus, except it's only instrumental [5:45-7:07], and without any vocalist, this is where they play their hearts out, and especially David Jackson who hasn't done a lot, comes to the fore with his saxophone, it's a tour de force, it's a wonder why so many other bands don't use this brilliant technique, it's a fantastic opener to the album.

Van Der Graaf Generator [Still Life] 

Now this was a wonderful experience to play this album again, it's only 5 tracks long, and yet 45 minutes in length, the tracks are 7-12 minutes in length, and that's the DNA of VDGG, long tracks that are not hampered around 'charts & singles' lengths, truly what i call an 'album band', there's not a dud on the album, every single one of these tracks had mee thinking 'VDGG are a genius of a band', this is some of the very best off the beaten track Rock your money can buy, reviewd twice in my Blog so far [5th February 2012 & 3rd January 2011]. 

Van Der Graaf Generator are an English Prog Rock band, first formed in Manchester in 1967, they hit their peak in seventies, and then they split up!, but amazingly they reformed again in 2005 [you know i still haven't got round to listening to 'Trisector' yet], this album was recorded in 1976, the front cover is fairly minimal, the band logo at the top is small, in a 3D silver / grey, and yet i like the picture, it really does fit in with what VDGG are about.

All of these tracks were just so fantastic, every one a gem in its own right, on this listen it's tracks 4 & 5 which are the best, but track 4 'My Room, Waiting For wonderland' just pips it, it's actually a very mellow track by VDGG's standards, David Jackson plays sax in the higher registers, possibly soprano sax, such beautiful playing, just floats and floats, and Guy Evans cymbal tap tap tap as a background metronome is fantastic, Peter Hammill's voice is more restrained than usual, sweet if you can call his voice that, two wonderful verses, and then a chorus, followed by a third verse, and then a differently worded chorus, then an instrumental section, where Jackson's sax can get a little angrier, and then a last fourth verse, but then there's still 3 minutes left for a long outro / jam, and it's mainly Jackson who meanders away on the sax, it's a great song, it ebbs away and ends on the trailing organ mist of Hugh Banton.

Here's 'My Room [Waiting For Wonderland'] being played on YouTube.

Yes [Going For The One] 

This is the only Yes album i own, and i'm sure it's the only Yes album i will, i've tried countless other Yes albums, and i've always come away disappointed, i remember listening to 'Wonderous Stories' on the radio at work, the first job i ever had, wow those were the days, i was just getting into LP Vinyl then, this was one of those albums i bought, i got rid of all my Vinyl albums in 1985, and i re-acquired this on disc in 1983, by today's standards 39 minutes is a short album, but then that was a standard full LP then, and certainly this disc is almost over before you know it.

Yes are an English Rock band, formed in 1968, they're still going today over 40 years later, though shorn of some members, they recorded this album in 1977, the album cover art is by Hipgnosis, who did lots of album art during the Seventies, a nice idea i guess, notice the clever Yes logo in the sky.

Well listening to this again today, i was struck by how varied the album is, and apart from 'Parallels', all the songs are great in their own way, the longer songs take more time to learn to love, but it's the shortest song that entranced me this time, and one of their rare outings into the singles market, 'Wonderous Stories' was a top ten hit, but even more surprising was the fact that the album reached No1 in the charts, the song has whiffs of the Harpsichord on it, but in fact the keyboardist Rick Wakeman plays a Polymoog Synthesizer, the Harpsichord effect comes from Steve Howe's Vachalia, a Portuguese type of Lute, but it conjures up a feeling of Bach and the old world, and with Jon Anderson singing ghostly high lyrics, the scene is set for a great song, the ethereal opening words cast a perfect vibe,

I awoke this morning

Love laid me down by the river

Drifting i turned on up stream

Bound for my forgiver

in the chorus Wakeman uses a gorgeous trill, really adds to the piece [0:35-0:39], Wakeman also gets an extended solo after the second chorus [1:29-1:54], and Howe gets to twang his Vachalia [2:09-2:15] just before the third verse, with lots of background vocals ['hearing'...], and some nice guitar by Chris Squire.

Here's Yes playing Wonderous Stories on YouTube.

Focus [Focus 3]

I first heard this album as a vinyl gatefold double album, must have been roughly late Seventies, eventually i sold all my vinyl [1985], and slowly replaced the best stuff with CD's, and this is one i didn't initially replace until 1996, i saw it new in London for a really good price, the double vinyl album has turned into a single disc, now i debated if i should get it, so many Record Company's churn out their back catalogue without any regard to sound quality and remastering, you get discs poorly indexed and full of 'analogue hiss' [think of the Led Zeppelin albums brought out on disc for the very first time], so i wasn't expecting sonic fireworks when i first loaded it into my player, but i was gobsmacked with a sound which was absolutely beyond expectations, even better than the original, the drums especially were terrific, it was good to revisit this album today.

Focus were a Dutch Band, originally formed in 1969, this album [their third, of course!] was released in 1972, with their best line-up, the group broke up in 1978, but have reformed again, though not with all the original members, the front cover shows Thijs Van Leer on flute, and the original gatefold LP had some inner band photos, this release is a wonderful remaster by Mike Vernon, expertly done and lovingly put together, a great big thank you from me.

Almost the only track i ever liked was the huge 26 minute 'Anonymous Two', which on the original discs, was split halfway on disc two i believe, just as the big drum solo comes in, it fades out of side three, and fades in on side four, but... on the disc, there's no fade in or out, and it's a perfect join, it's a wonderful moment, the only other track which i felt had something was 'Answers? Questions!, Questions? Answers!',

Here's Focus playing Anonymous Two on YouTube.

Van Der Graaf Generator [Still Life]

Here's the second VDGG disc in just a short time, i played World Record a couple of days ago [3th February 2012], and it's good to hear its companion disc, these two discs would have made a tremendous double record 'gatefold' vinyl album, both actually came out in the same year, i played / reviewed this in my Blog early in 2011 [3rd January 2011], it was so good to play this again, yes it's over 36 years since it was recorded, but great music is timeless, i fell in love with the original vinyl album. 

Van Der Graaf Generator are a British Prog Rock group, formed in 1967, they broke up in 1978, but surprisingly re-formed again in 2005, i have yet to listen to their latest albums, and i really need to do so, i somehow feel that i will be disappointed, maybe that's why i've put them off, it's nice to remember VDGG in their glory years, at the height of their powers, the front cover is of a Lichtenberg figure, very stark, and the VDGG logo quite small. 

The three tracks that i found especially enlightening were 1 & 4-5, probably the last track 'Childlike Faith In Childhood's End' is my favourite, i have a penchant for long songs, and it lasts for over 12 minutes, but on this listen i really enjoyed the opening track 'Pilgrims', its subject matter is a little naive, about the world joining hands and all being one, but there's a point to it all, the lyrics on the other hand, and even more so the music, is true art, the verses are underpinned by the organ, fairly gentle lyrics, i like the words in the first verse,

Scrabbling through your diary for a lost page

Unsure of the dream

the chorus is more powerful, Peter Hammill's voice works its almost operatic scream, the words are quite religious, and with the organ in the background, he sounds like the equivalent of a singing preacher, there's real conviction there, and then after the two verses / two choruses, comes a moment of magic, a third chorus, but this time without the words, and here's the joy of just laying back and listening to four musicians just go for it [5:45+], at first their playing is just 'choral', but soon it develops a greater euphoria [6:26+], and it climaxes [6:50], the whole thing ends on a high note instead of a fade, really takes your breath away!.

Here's Van Der Graaf Generator singing 'Pilgrims' On YouTube.

Van Der Graaf Generator [World Record]

This disc appeared as only my second entry in my Blog just over two years ago [2nd January 2010], and here it is again, in my mind one of the greatest Rock records ever made, it's 9th in my all time list, i've played it dozens and dozens of times, and i never tire of it, it was so good to listen to it again, the genius of four musicians, creating sounds that are unusual for a Rock Band, mainly because it employs saxophone and organ instead of three guitarists and a drummer, their music is almost operatic, and their penchant for long songs makes them divine to hear, and their lyrics can be fairly off the cosmic wall, it's a wonderful cohesion of revolutionary things. 

Van Der Graaf Generator are an English Band, formed in 1967, they kept breaking up and re-forming, and at this point are active again, but without their Saxophonist David Jackson, the mid Seventies were their golden years, and this album along with Still Life are their greatest albums by far, this one came out in 1976, in the days of Vinyl, i owned the LP of this, the cover shows a picture of our blue planet, with an LP record as the other half, the VDGG logo above is very MC Escher in the way its lines don't work out true, but a great logo. 

I really enjoyed the last two tracks, Wondering is so ethereal, it's very religious and like a cathedral church hymn in a way, strong and powerful, a great ending to the album, its lyrics enshrine belief and conviction with passion, but ultimately it has to give way to what is one of the most tremendous Prog Rock songs ever, a 21 minute masterpiece that has everything, it twists and weaves over different things, but it never sounds like a bunch of smaller songs cobbled together, it has the most phenomenal cohesion, even the 7 minute instrumental jamming session at the end feels like it's just meant to be, here's my own dividing up of the song to make it more bite-sized, 

A - Intro - 0:00

B - First Verse - 1:15

C - First Chorus - 4:27

D - Second Verse - 8:18

E - Musical Interlude - 11:21

F - Second Chorus - 12:44

G - Jamming Session - 13:20

i would be here explaining the highlights of the song forever, because it's so full of good things, but i'll just mention the very best highlights, i like the way David Jackson plays the sax to sound ghostly like a flute [4:57+], and a nice jam session ensues after the lyrics [5:32+], and it all heats up to a boil, and explodes with Peter Hammill's guitar [8:18+], and with Jackson's sax / Banton's organ adding the most delicious reply, this riff just goes on and on for just over 3 minutes [8:18-11:21], great stuff, with Hammill lyrics in the middle, a heady mixture of music and lyrics, and the whole song is rounded out by the most hypnotic jam session by the four musicians, Banton / drums & Evans / organ provide the hypnotic rhythm section, while Hammill / guitar & Jackson / saxophone ad lib their way around like Jazz Fusionists, the whole things develops a tremendous intensity, and eventually fades out in full swing, i wonder how long it went on for?, a nigh perfect Prog track. 

Here's Van Der Graaf Generator playing 'Meurglys 3, The Songwriters Guild' on YouTube.