A show of hands, please. Who digs ' em? Hammill and VDGG have been a fav of mine for years now. The " Oldies" thread put me in a mood, and I just put disc one of the VDGG boxed set on.

Ultimate favs would have to be:

A Louse is not a home - astonishing and eerie as hell. Scary, even. Hammill seems to have an affinity for Edgar Allen Poe imagery.

Still Life - the album, in its entirety. Probably the best album VDGG made.

Sleepwalkers - from Godbluff, I just LOVE this song.

Over - the album, once again, in its entirety. My fav Hammill solo album.

Fireships - most of this album. My fav of the more recent, softer Hammill. From ' 92, I think.

Pawn Hearts - What can I say? An absolute classic. Vintage. To think that they were playing this live, while Genesis was playing Nursery Cryme, on the SAME BILL on the SAME TOUR! Wow.

Darkness (11/11) - The very first song I heard from them, I sat listening to it, hating his voice. But as soon as it was over, I rewound it and listened again, I was hooked just like that. There was something about the " They shine in my .... eyes, and touch my face...." section that I couldn' t get enough of. I still love this song, and in fact the whole album. White Hammer, After the Flood, Refugees... brilliant.

In Camera - a 9/10 album, with the loss of one point for the awful noise that is " Magog (in bromine chambers)" . But the first 90% of the album is just EXCEllent.

God, why did I even start listing these? It would be quicker and easier, and you would be less bored, if I just listed the ones I didn' t like. Here they are:

.

I couldn' t get into their albums... I' ve only started getting into prog very recently and I still have to do my homework on tons of bands... the Van der Graaf albums I listened to were just too much for me, and I' ll admit they' re waay over my head )(for now anyways).

I get a kick outta " Imperial Zeppelin" from Hammill' s " Fool' s Mate" lp. Fripp plays on it, and the song comes across in a very Crim manner. But in a tongue-in-cheek kinda way if that makes sense.

I always dug the way Hammill delivered every lyric as though he were dispensing Act III of Henry the Fifth, but in some dingy dinner theatre in Tunbridge Wells. YEAH!

And the music was HEAVY! Damn they were as close to \m/ as you could get for early 70' s brit-prog. Over the top.

But that' s just MHO.

EDIT: thank you Salmacis- I was having trouble remembering the exact title of that Hammill rekkid!

Baldrick, what begins with "Come here" and ends with "Ow"?

Well, they certainly are intense. But once they suck you in, forGET about it. The most criminally underrated band in progressive rock. Give them another shot, PincheJoto.

I get a kick outta " Imperial Zeppelin" from Hammill' s " Fool' s Game" lp. Fripp plays on it, and the song comes across in a very Crim manner. But in a tongue-in-cheek kinda way if that makes sense.

Ah yes, and Fripp also played on H to He Who Am The Only One, and Pawn Hearts. Marillion fans take note: Hammill' s " Fool' s Mate" and " Over" can be seen on the floor on the back cover of Fugazi. Or is it Script? Can' t remember now, I think they both have albums on the floor.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis
A show of hands, please. Who digs ' em? Hammill and VDGG have been a fav of mine for years now. The " Oldies" thread put me in a mood, and I just put disc one of the VDGG boxed set on.

Right here. I love VDGG and PH. PH has one of the most unique vocal styles in all of music. Some people hate it, I personally rank PH right up there with my favorite vocalists.

Godbluff is my fav of there' s and one of my favorite albums of all time. When I saw PH in NYC a few years back, I asked him if he' d ever play Godbluff songs at his solo concerts. He said he' d love to (as he was signing my CD sleeve of Godbluff) but couldn' t do it with just a piano and a violinist.

TKH

Sal, are you familiar with Hammill' s spooky treatment of the Edgar Allen Poe story " Fall of the House of Usher" , with Lene Lovich and the guy from Erasure? I play it every Halloween and it absolutely RULES.

Gorgeous!

I sure am! He really did a bang-up job of that one! The reworked edition that he released a year or two ago remains the only Hammill-related item I do not own. I do have the original ' 92/' 93/whatever release, of course.

I read recently that PH has remastered Enter K, and is releasing it this year through Sofasound. Strange that some titles get re-released, and others, like In A Foreign Town, are deleted.

Still Life and Over... masterpieces!!!
H to He Who Am the Only One, that rocks too.

" You wake up, look to your left but you see
no reassuring head.
You stay in bed all day;
at six o´clock you realise you´re dead"

I picked up the boxed set and was blown away by the power and intensity the band possessed, as well as their unique style. Peter Hammill is one of the most extraordinary vocalists and lyricists of all time, and his influence upon later progressive rock icons such as Fish and the late Geoff Mann of Twelfth Night is very obvious.

GREAT stuff.


-- Jeff

For a nameless dreamer - One thought can change it all To fly and not to fall - Unlimited And for the restless sleeper - There's still one reason why Far beyond impossible - Limitless

Yeah, I have pretty much all the VCGG and Hammill stuff - I had the pleasure of seeing Peter live (with Stuart Gordon) two years back in 013 Club Tilbutg, Holland and he was awesome. He played ' Still Life' as the encore.

I also rate Still Life as their best, but I also have a lot of time for World Record. Over helped me vry my way through my painful teenage years 20+ years ago.

Peter Hammill should be knighted, he is a national treasure but people in England don' t realise it...

Love in the past is a memory and in the future a fantasy. Only here and now can you truly love.

Yeah, I have pretty much all the VCGG and Hammill stuff - I had the pleasure of seeing Peter live (with Stuart Gordon) two years back in 013 Club Tilbutg, Holland and he was awesome. He played ' Still Life' as the encore.

Man, I' d love to see Hammill. He hasn' t been to Toronto lately, to my knowledge. I' ve always missed him, and he remains one of only 2 people (Steve Hackett being the other) that I need to see in my lifetime. A buddy of mine caught him in Ottawa a couple of years ago, and made mp3s of the show.

What do you think of his latest disc, Clutch? I think its quite good.

I also rate Still Life as their best, but I also have a lot of time for World Record. Over helped me vry my way through my painful teenage years 20+ years ago.

Yeah, World Record is fantastic. Have you heard the BBC sessions, on several different releases? The version of " When She Comes" is just KILLER. (No pun intended) And of course, Meurglys III is classic.

" These days, I mainly just talk to plants and dogs... all human contact seems painful, risky, odd..." - Couldn' t be more Hammillesque.

" Over" remains an unparalleled emotional musical journey for me, I love it from beginning to end, SO sorrowful...

Again, though, I could go on all day about all the great VDGG and Hammill releases.

About the Oldies. For all you drummers out there, get Deep Purple' s :Burn. Its the album David Coverdale made his debut and Ian Paice, OMG, he owns this album.

someone say something funny, i need a sig

Well, I just ordered my first VDGG album (Still Life) from Amazon (along with an insane number of other CDs). I'm a bit skeptical about them, based on some reviews I've read, but I'll give 'em a shot...Sal, it's all your fault if I've wasted my money.

"Budweiser is like pop music. Read through this thread and learn about some great PROG beers. Once you've been converted there's no looking back."
- dkepner

THE man. Saw him in Philadelphia last time he was over here, and will be at the VDGG show in May.

My theory (and it's a stretch) is that 2005 is the year that PH/VDGG get their just due from the rock press. With the VDGG remasters on the way, as well as the reunion, I can see a situation much like the recent "re-discoveries" of the likes of Nick Cave, Can, Arthur Lee/Love, etc. Someone like Pitchfork or Alternative Press will sneak it in here soon, and make those who haven't heard them seem in the dark and extremely unhip. Besides, who's got more indie cred than Hammill??

Well, I just ordered my first VDGG album (Still Life) from Amazon (along with an insane number of other CDs). I'm a bit skeptical about them, based on some reviews I've read, but I'll give 'em a shot...Sal, it's all your fault if I've wasted my money.

It is an excellent album, with "La Rossa" as the centerpiece. What kind of stuff are you normally into?

With the VDGG remasters on the way

Ohhh, I can't WAIT for those! It's been discussed for years but now Hammill has said they will be out this year!!

I'm really starting to dig them a lot, but I can only stomach so much of their music in a given amount of time. I'm currently listening to Still Life exclusively to really digest everything that's in there and I like it very much.

I haven't even started on the Hammill stuff!

Thanks Sal!

I haven't even started on the Hammill stuff!

Allow me to take this opportunity to reiterate:

Those of you who have some VDGG albums and like them: GET the following Peter Hammill solo albums (mostly played with all the VDG guys anyway!)

- Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night
- The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage
- In Camera
- Over

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

Well, I just ordered my first VDGG album (Still Life) from Amazon (along with an insane number of other CDs). I'm a bit skeptical about them, based on some reviews I've read, but I'll give 'em a shot...Sal, it's all your fault if I've wasted my money.

It is an excellent album, with "La Rossa" as the centerpiece. What kind of stuff are you normally into?

Well, in terms of prog, my favorites are Gentle Giant, Yes, DT, and Spock's. I'm guessing that VDGG is more in the "quirky" GG vein...?

"Budweiser is like pop music. Read through this thread and learn about some great PROG beers. Once you've been converted there's no looking back."
- dkepner

Well, in terms of prog, my favorites are Gentle Giant, Yes, DT, and Spock's. I'm guessing that VDGG is more in the "quirky" GG vein...?

Well, they fall somewhere between early King Crimson, early Genesis and early Gentle Giant, IMO. But any comparisons are limiting, because they were just SO unique. For one thing, they had a SICK sax player who often played two saxophones - alto and tenor (is that right?) at the same time!... not to mention the one-of-a-kind vocals (and lyrics) from Peter Hammill. Guy Evans did some absolutely mind-blowing things on the kit, that I have never heard duplicated.

Hammill was once asked the difference between some of the early 70's English prog bands and he said something like "VDGG and King Crimson were the 'scarier' sounding bands, and Genesis and Yes were a little 'lighter' in nature...." - I tend to agree with that.

Still Life is an album from the second period of the band: they broke up in 1971 after four albums: The Aerosol Grey Machine, The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other, H To He Who Am The Only One, and Pawn Hearts. In 1975, after playing on Hammill's solo albums anyway, they reformed with an edgier sound, a little more abrasive perhaps, and released: Godbluff, Still Life, and World Record. In 1977, some personnel changes were made, and a violinist brought in to the band to play on The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, and 1978's double-live Vital.

So the album you are getting is from a very prolific period in Hammill's recorded output: in 1975/1976, he did Nadir's Big Chance, Godbluff, Still Life and Over. In fact, a missing verse from "La Rossa" from Still Life is on the track "Lost And Found" on Over.

There is a good chance you will like these guys, I hope anyway! For me, they are one of the all time greats. I rank them just as high as Genesis, Yes and KC.

they had a SICK sax player who often played two saxophones - alto and tenor (is that right?) at the same time!...

That's just not possible. Unless you mean in studio he did two different tracks of sax.

I basically listen to Pawn Hearts.
The problem is that I came to know them on my way out of "classic" prog.

That's just not possible. Unless you mean in studio he did two different tracks of sax.

No, I mean he did it live. A huge part of the VDGG sound. The guy was a madman!






Sherbrooke, October 6th 1976 review (translated from french):

Then it's Van der Graaf Generator, the legend, the myth, the monster. Here they are, this famous quartet whose own support act was for quite a time their erstwhile obscure friends, Genesis, and about whom Fripp of King Crimson has touted his real admiration and occasional collaboration. So we finally get to see David Jackson, as often as not blowing two saxophones at once, his feet deliriously moving across pedals and effects boxes to warp and metamorphose the sound. He's versatile and utterly unique. Guy Evans, rail thin and nervously drumming a style which runs the boundary where the avant-garde becomes classical, and where the classical becomes heavy, in this spectacular, superb "Gog" where everything breaks apart and flies off into space. Hugh Banton, ever-present, phlegmatic and almost spectral, hunched over the six generator organ he designed himself. Peter Hammill, manic, maniac, his voice and lyrics harrowing, his Guild guitar mordant; himself, a mime of a cursed mutant.

ORIGINAL: Lukes Wall

I basically listen to Pawn Hearts.

Same here. I've listend to a couple of their earlier releases with lukewarm interest i.e.

H To He Who Am The Only One (1970)
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (1970).

Rhapsody.com has The Quiet Zone/the Pelasure Dome (1977), so I'll listen to that one next.

In the future though I will explore Lorne's recommendations.

Same here. I've listend to a couple of their earlier releases with lukewarm interest i.e.

H To He Who Am The Only One (1970)
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (1970).

That's surprising to me that you wouldn't find those albums to your liking. Both are firmly in the mold of early prog with even some psych influence. They are not the best albums they did but they are great in their own right. Consider them the "Trespass" of their career, with "Pawn Hearts" and "Godbluff" being the "Selling England" and "Trick". If that makes sense. Oh, and Least We Can Do is '69.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis
Oh, and Least We Can Do is '69.

You may want to throw an e-mail to CDuniverse to correct their listing for the CD. I can't start going to 2 separate sources to prove dates.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?style=music&pid=1020341&cart=223795334

Been on a really VDGG kick lately, and I just had to bump this one

Picked up the Godbluff Live DVD today.  I was a little hesitant at first, considering it's a "Classic Rock Productions" release, but I couldn't pass up the chance seeing Godbluff live and A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers.  The video quality is pretty good for a 1975 show, although I'm pretty disappointed in the audio quality for the Godbluff set.  It seems like it's mixed in 5.1, although I don't have a 5.1 system.....I wish there was an option to listen in stereo.  It's sometimes hard to hear Hammill's vocals and keyboard playing.  The other half sounds a lot better to my ears, and I like the different staging effects they used on APOLK.  Love the part at the end when Hammill brings out a glass of wine....talk about unexpected!  Too cool.

Also, Guy Evans....great drummer, I love his playing.  But I have absolutely no idea how he can play hunched over like that?  It looks pretty damn uncomfortable.  But hey, whatever works for him....as long as he keeps playing like he does.

Ordered a couple of the remastered discs the other day, hopefully they'll be here soon.  I'm itching to dig into some of the bonus tracks.  The first four I've heard before, but World Record will be new to me.

Pawn Hearts
H To He, Who Am The Only One
Still Life
Godbluff
World Record

Along with those, I've also ordered Hammill's Over.  Really looking forward to hearing this one.  I let you guys know what I think after it arrives and I've had a chance to listen a few times.

Question for you guys as well.  How are "Vital" and "The Quiet Zone, The Pleasure Dome?"  The local record shop has the remastered copies of these two....are they any good?

ORIGINAL: XeRocks81

they had a SICK sax player who often played two saxophones - alto and tenor (is that right?) at the same time!...

That's just not possible. Unless you mean in studio he did two different tracks of sax.

Oh believe me man, he does play 2 saxes live.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the German TV broadcast from last year for the first time


NP: Childlike Faith In Childhood's End

Saw VDGG in Manchester last year. They were amazing. Pawn hearts, Still life and Godbluff are my favourites.

ORIGINAL: drumline
Oh believe me man, he does play 2 saxes live.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the German TV broadcast from last year for the first time

 
Yeah I can confirm this as I saw it in real life! Crazy stuff.

Man, I' d love to see Hammill. He hasn' t been to Toronto lately, to my knowledge. I' ve always missed him, and he remains one of only 2 people (Steve Hackett being the other) that I need to see in my lifetime.

 
Well it's been a couple of years since I wrote that and I am happy to say that now Hammill is the only one left I need to see in my lifetime.
 
drumline, great thread to bump!  World Record is great, from beginning to end. You will like it if you like Godbluff and Still Life. Quiet Zone is a lesser album in many ways but does have a few killer (no pun) tracks. But the real key here is Over. Let me know what you think of that one!! Did you get Silent Corner or In Camera yet? Remember, those two rank right up there with the best VDGG albums. They are intense.
 
Speaking of VDGG, how much am I DYING to buy this book?!

I finally picked up the remaster of Pawn Hearts last week...between vinyl and CD, I have all the core material (don't have The Box, nor do I have Maida Vale) from Least we Can Do through World Record.  Granted that's not much, but you know how it is 

I have yet to pick up a copy of Present...my budget has been dismal at best, but likely I'll grab it at or before NEARfest this year.  This leaves me with Vital/Live and Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome, and while I know I'll end up getting them to complete the set, they're not as high on the wish list for me.

I have been playing the heck out of Pawn Hearts again now that I have a copy I can play (no turntable currently), and am once again blown away by Plague of Lighthouse Keepers.  I wish I knew why so many people feel VdGG is so tough to get into...I find their material to be very accessable and tuneful.  Then again, I dig stuff like Thinking Plague and Miriodor and Magma and Univers Zero, so I suppose compared to those groups, VdGG is quite accessable

Current favourite track is probably After the Flood on Least We Can Do, if for nothing else than the end bit...

And then he said:
'Every step appears to be
the unavoidable consequence of the preceding one,
and in the end there beckons more and more clearly
total annihilation'

With 'annihlation' run through a ring modulator, Peter Hammill screaming his lungs out (in a tuneful way), and sounding like an insane Dalek.

Good stuff.

And I'm turning my wife onto them slowly but surely...she responds with enthusiasm to PH's extremely literary lyrics, which I have to admit I admire greatly too.

Bill K
@>}-`-`----------------------
'in death's garden all the roses are blue...'

As much as I thought I knew about music I'd never heard of them before this forum. I went out and picked up
H to He remaster at Borders about 3-4 months ago. I've listened to it maybe 8 times and the problem I have with it
is the sound. It's just not quality. As far as the music itself I'm warming up very slow. Thats not necessarily a bad
thing though because I owned Clutching At Straws for 4 years before it finally sunk in and became a fav.

Wait, so there's only 4 of us who have ever seen PH/VDGG in person? 

ORIGINAL: Noware

Wait, so there's only 4 of us who have ever seen PH/VDGG in person? 

The closest I have come is the 1970 Belgium video footage, the 2005 Rockpalast boradcast, and a dear friend of mine who went to London for the first show in May 05.

Bill K
@>}-`-`----------------------
'in death's garden all the roses are blue...'

ORIGINAL: Project2501

I have yet to pick up a copy of Present...my budget has been dismal at best, but likely I'll grab it at or before NEARfest this year.  This leaves me with Vital/Live and Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome, and while I know I'll end up getting them to complete the set, they're not as high on the wish list for me.

I still don't have Present either.....how does it compare to the other albums?

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

drumline, great thread to bump!  World Record is great, from beginning to end. You will like it if you like Godbluff and Still Life. Quiet Zone is a lesser album in many ways but does have a few killer (no pun) tracks. But the real key here is Over. Let me know what you think of that one!! Did you get Silent Corner or In Camera yet? Remember, those two rank right up there with the best VDGG albums. They are intense.

Thanks, I'll probably hold off on Quiet Zone for a while then.  Don't have Silent Corner or In Camera yet either, but those are on my list of things to buy next.  I'll probably stop in a few record shops up in NYC this weekend, maybe I can find them up there.

ORIGINAL: Noware

Wait, so there's only 4 of us who have ever seen PH/VDGG in person? 

I wish I could've.....I was so bummed when Hammill announced that the reunion is over.  I was hoping maybe they could've came over here and play a few of the festivals (NEARfest, Progday, etc.....).

ORIGINAL: drumline

ORIGINAL: Project2501

I have yet to pick up a copy of Present...my budget has been dismal at best, but likely I'll grab it at or before NEARfest this year.  This leaves me with Vital/Live and Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome, and while I know I'll end up getting them to complete the set, they're not as high on the wish list for me.

I still don't have Present either.....how does it compare to the other albums?

It's VdGG.  It's the same but different.  I've heard the material, and some of it is excellent.  Most of it is very good.  But I haven't yet heard a VdGG song I haven't at least liked.

VdGG/US festivals.  Despite PH playing the Gouveria (sp?) festival in Portugal, he did not/does not want to play one of the 'prog rock' festivals, because he feels pigeonholing VdGG as a prog band isn't fair to the band.  We all know it's art rock/progressive music (and often progressive in the verb/action sense of the word, not the descriptive/adjective sense of the word when it comes to music), but it's his choice.  I too would have loved to have them play a few select US dates, but it wasn't in the cards at all.  A shame.

Bill K
@>}-`-`----------------------
'in death's garden all the roses are blue...'

ORIGINAL: Project2501
I too would have loved to have them play a few select US dates, but it wasn't in the cards at all.  A shame.

 
Yeah, I hear that. It's the sole reason why I immediately told my friend that it wasn't a big deal that we never got to London, and sold our tickets (long story with sort of a sad ending for my friend, but I digress...).
 
I was completely convinced that they would come to Toronto, NYC, Montreal, etc., for at least one.
 
Guys like PH frequently use the excuse "economics of touring" or something like it when discussing why they don't get out more. I can see how it would hinder his touring North America solo...but in the case of VDGG, I'd have to disagree. If they did one show in any of the aforementioned large markets, they could reasonably expect 1500 or so people (maybe more, but not THAT much more). They could get away with charging $40 and up for tickets...sell a couple grand in merchandise...after costs are covered and everyone else is paid, they're STILL clearing anywhere between $30-$50k just to hang out for a couple hours.
 
 
 

ORIGINAL: Noware

Guys like PH frequently use the excuse "economics of touring" or something like it when discussing why they don't get out more. I can see how it would hinder his touring North America solo...but in the case of VDGG, I'd have to disagree. If they did one show in any of the aforementioned large markets, they could reasonably expect 1500 or so people (maybe more, but not THAT much more). They could get away with charging $40 and up for tickets...sell a couple grand in merchandise...after costs are covered and everyone else is paid, they're STILL clearing anywhere between $30-$50k just to hang out for a couple hours.

I would willingly pay $125.00 US a ticket to see VdGG play a 1500 seat theatre in the NY/NJ/PA metro area.  Without a question.  Without a thought.  Just tell me where and I'll have my cash in hand.

ANd if the show was as long as the ones in Europe this year (2 hours give or take), I'll have gotten more than my money's worth.

NP: Man-Erg (going into Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers now), VdGG

Bill K
@>}-`-`----------------------
'in death's garden all the roses are blue...'

I would willingly pay $125.00 US a ticket to see VdGG play a 1500 seat theatre

 
So would I!!!  Without any question.
 
Present is very very good, better than I even expected - I was wary after all that time, and the very different nature of PH's voice as the years went on... but he sounds almost the same on this! Hugh Banton is a tremendously talented guy as well. Well, the whole band is.
 
drumline, good to know you'll grab those albums because when you hear tracks like "The Lie", "A Louse Is Not A Home", "Modern", "Gog", "The Comet The Course The Tail", "Faint-Heart And The Sermon"... oh man, all just incredible effin' tracks! Save albums like Quiet Zone and Aerosol Grey Machine for when you get back into VDGG the next time 'round... you know how it goes with bands. I find it is always fun to rediscover a band and still know that there are albums I don't have yet. The problem with a band like Genesis, for example, is that I know I have heard everything I'm going to hear from them as a recording band. Sure, there's the prospect of the Jackson Tapes being released (1969 performance with all kinds of bits that appeared later in other songs)... but for the most part, I've heard it all. Holy crap I am really getting off track here.
 

Current favourite track is probably After the Flood on Least We Can Do, if for nothing else than the end bit...

 
Yeah I love that bit too. Least We Can Do was the first album I got by them (I know I've said this a million times probably) but it was the second time I listened to "Darkness" that I became totally into them. Especially PH's "I truly did not... choooooose itttt......!" towards the end... I was thinking "Wow, this guy is awesome"... 
 
I've never heard MP comment on VDGG, I wonder if he digs 'em?
 
The faceless watcher, he makes me uneasy
I can feel him through the floorboards and his presence is creepy...
he informs me that I shall be EXPELLED!