Not a HUGE VDGG head like a lot of many people here but there's something about this record that captures me
like no other Hammill album. Maybe its the Fripp factor. Maybe its the tasty flute. Maybe its the the opener that has soo much
energy that rips your head off. It was my first exploration into these guys. I'm sure there is lots of love for this record.
Sure there is a lot of love for this album. All early VDGG is great, although Pawn hearts and Godbluff stand out for me. This one together with The least... come very close though. Vocally this album seems to be the pinnacle of hammills carreer. Production is great too.
How long ago is it since I played this? much too long! The wife is in trouble this evening.
One of the best! My favorite tracks are Killer, House With No Door, Pioneers Over c
"The world will soon be right again,
Innocence and undying love will reign." - Transatlantic
This one and Pawn Hearts are the ones that held up for me. I can listen to Godbluff and Still Life once in awhile, but there's too much Peter Hammill over-emoting on those, IMO.
A little Hammill goes a long way for me.Originally Posted by Facelift
One of the things that stops otherwise-prog-lovin'-folks from getting into VdGG is The Voice. But if I were to try turning a 'classic prog' (Yes, Genesis, ELP) fan onto VdGG, this is the album I would use. Hammill's vocals are smooth and almost pretty at times, the music has a rich, thick texture that is miles away from the abrasive sound of the Godbluff and thereafter period ('75 - onward), and the production by John Anthony is very rich and warm as well... miles away from Godbluff, World Record, Vital, etc ('75 - '78) where it's more of a raw, brutal, organic vibe. Same four musicians on H to He as World Record, but it sounds like a completely different band. H to He is much more palatable to the classic prog fan and where I can understand people covering their ears for Godbluff or World Record (my personal fave era of the band's), I can also understand those same people liking this album and being surprised that VdGG actually sounded like this if all they've heard is the later harsh stuff.
This album is a gem from start to finish, I think it was my first intro to Hammill and the boys. Holds a very special place in my heart. Truly brilliant.
H to He is the first album I picked up, and I was very impressed. House With No Door is a favorite. The other album I've listened to the most is Still Life.
I'm a HUGE pH fan, and this is a recording I tried decades to get but never did....until two years ago. I was on a long bike ride and was getting tired. "A House" came up on my MP3 player and I wasn't focused on it. I later realized I liked it. I returned to the recording at home and for some reason it made sense finally.
I still prefer every other VDGG recording to it, but at least I can enjoy it now.
"The woods would be very silent if the only birds that sang were those who sang best..." - Henry David Thoreau
I need to get this album. I have several VDGG albums but I just haven't gotten around to getting it.
I liked his voice immediately. He's at least 30-40 percent of the VDGG sound. I even like his abrasive, screaming rants.One of the things that stops otherwise-prog-lovin'-folks from getting into VdGG is The Voice.
Last edited by Vic2012; 09-02-2014 at 11:42 AM.
House with no door is my favorite track here. Lost is also very good. Pioneers I like the least of all.
I really like this album. I think this is the third one I bought after Pawn Hearts and Godbluff, and I was really pleased with this one. In some ways, I actually like it better than Pawn Hearts. It's an "easier" listen for me, but still has plenty of VDGG intensity. Pawn Hearts is still great, but it requires more attention, and I'm not always up for that.
There really isn't a song on this one I don't like. Particular favorites are Killer, Emperor, Pioneers in C, but it's all good here to me. I am not a fan of The Least We Ca Do... so for me, this is where VDGG begins.
Bill
A friend made me a sampler tape back in the late 70's and included Emporer. Between PH's voice, the Fripp factor, and the dark lyrics I was immediately hooked. Within a couple months I'd bought the whole VDGG back catalog. Then I moved on to the PH best of album "Vision" and started on his catalog as well. I still regularly listen to Aerosol, The Least, H to He, and Pawn Hearts...the albums after they reformed for Godbluff occasionally get a spin too, though not nearly as frequent as the first group which I consider prog masterpieces. I know PH's voice is a no-go for many, but I think he's the greatest prog vocalist of all time
Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/
Check out my solo project progressive doom metal band, WytchCrypt at https://wytchcrypt.bandcamp.com/
The group has always sounded like Jack Black doing a parody of what a prog band is supposed to sound like lol---I have tried to listen to them but it's hopeless--but I love KC and hear the similarities.
Still Life
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
What the hell is a "prog" band "supposed to sound like" then - for real, I mean?
Jack Black vs. the usual Spinal Tap sounds just about even, I'd say.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
My local library had this on LP back in the 70s and 80s. You gotta love it!
I used to play the hell out of this.
The lyrics to Killer can get kinda goofy. The rest of it is pretty damn good.
House With No Door is an incredible song any way you slice it.
Huge VDGG/PH fan, and I absolutely love the album, although as a young man it took me a long time to get into side two. The addition of "Squid One/Squid Two/Octopus" makes it a true classic to me.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Bought it when it first came out and still absolutely dig it! Great songcraft that I feel increasingly diminished beginning with Godbluff. I rank it second after the monumental and eternally wacked Pawn Hearts.
Fripp's "solo" on "The Emperor..." is my favorite by him.
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
What the HELL is going on with the cover of this album? Every time I look at it, I see a pair of dissected testicles, although I know that's not what it is.
Scrotum Scissors, anyone? I seem to remember someone here saying the cover makes perfect sense - I'd like to hear someone's explanation of it.
My interview with Paul Whitehead... He talks about it toward the beginning of the interview.
http://www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk/paulw.htm
Thanks. I guess the two balances are sideways because it's outer space and they're floating around? Anyway, I'm a Libra too so I guess I like it better now.
This is my fave VDGG album before they broke up. Godbluff, Quiet zone, World record are also strong albums
Well that's what u would say---a good prog is like art --I know it when I hear it or see it. A cliche prog band is a melodramatic in a bad way and over the top in a bad way and weird in a bad way for the sake of being weird---I know it when I hear it.
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