CD-Charts Position 1
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Trisector

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date March 17, 2008
I believed that, without saxman David Jackson, VDGG in this trio format would be below their standards, but i was wrong. Most of the songs are great, really. Banton`s organ sounds incredible, Hammill still sings devastatingly deep and guy evan`s drums are as intelligent and as ever. Really one of the most underrated drummers in rock.
Not to mention Banton, absolutely original organist. If you like his style, listen to classical composer Olivier Messiaen organ works, obscure and magnificent too. Not rock at all but spine chilling.

Most of The compositions are very well constructed with intricate tempos and deep moods.This cd is full of energy and VDGG fans will be delighted. I consider it way better than Presence. You will ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Godbluff: Remastered

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date June 27, 2005
I had listened Van Der Graaf and Hammill's solo material before hearing this but none of that material prepared me for the musical and lyrical attack that is contained in this record. It starts with a whisper on Undercover Man, and ends with a screamed warning to be wary of the contents of your sleep when you lay down at night. The lyrics on this album are to me typical Hammill, always clever, often affecting, and the process always seems to be take two metaphors with existential overtones to them and extend/push them to their limits then introduce a third metaphor which fits in with the previous stretched metaphors. There is a huge energy with this record, particularly when the band get hold of a riff and squeeze the life out of it, inbetween ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Pawn Hearts: Remastered

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date May 30, 2005
1971. Charisma Records. Tony Stratton-Smith took a chance.
A heady year for those of us who remember.
The Wolf for his part was a fairly undiscerning
musical whippersnapper of a pup; equally happy listening
to The Sweet and Mud as he was exploring the more arcane
avenues provided by the likes of Matching Mole and Henry Cow.

What I loved most perhaps about Mr Hammill and his cohorts
was their unrelenting seriousness; their commitment to a dark,
almost Nietzschean, muse. Man both proud yet torn apart
with doubt and self-loathing.

'Pawn Hearts' was an extraordinary achievement. Challenging,
musically coherant, prodigiously performed and intellectually satisfying.

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CD-Charts Position 4
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Real Time

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date March 05, 2007
I looked for a release of this show after we went all the way down to London to see VDGG perform this reunion concert but had given up until this recommendation came up. As far as I can see, it is the whole concert. Side one of Godbluff was incredibly well performed, possibly the best version of it ever. But, as everyone else says, the whole performance was excellent. They might be getting older but they can still dish out some raw power!!! There are one or two classics missing but then there always are on live albums. A personal favourite of mine is 'Arrow' but I seem to be in the minority here and it is always the track excluded from collections with all the other tracks from Godbluff making it on instead. I saw VDGG way back in the early 70s at the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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H to He Who Am the Only One: Remastered

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date May 30, 2005
I have recently got a copy of this remastered version of this classic and mighty pleased i am too. Often Re Mastered versions of 70"s albums particularly can actually make them sound worse. To echo sentiments already expressed here this is a fine job. Killer is still spine tinglingly exellent and the whole album is of the highest standard musically. Its a pity young musicians these days do not push the envalope as much the bands of this era. Sounds like an old geezers nostalgia? Not a bit of it Im only 12!.....and a bit.

CD-Charts Position 6
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The Box from 1968-1978

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date November 13, 2000
I guess I am, or was, a fan; I got most of the band's and Peter's stuff in the seventies during my tortured adolescence, (when it was already hard to get), and spent hours in my room thinking it was all about me, and now occasionally I'll buy a new release by Peter, (the last one was Roaring Forties), play it on a night when my wife's out, and then file it away. But I haven't by any means got or heard everything they did as a band, so, some months after it came out, on a night when Angela's working, I sheepishly buy & unwrap...The Box!

The booklet is terrific, couldn't be improved, tho it wets the appetite for music I never knew existed and which isn't here: the bootleg Ian Laycock is apparantly listening to as he writes his piece, a John Peel session in which ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Still Life: Remastered

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date June 27, 2005
Dare I use the word 'mellow' here? Perhaps not. But, in relative terms, 'Still Life' is softer than VDGG's early material, especially 'Pawn Hearts'. By comparison with other established rock bands circa 1976, however, VDGG were still mining a deep seam. 'Pilgrims' is a fine opening track, lengthy and deftly-structured, like all the tracks here. From the beginning, though, the melodies and textures are noticeably gentler than on their uncompromising early work. It's the same story right across the album, though 'La Rossa' makes you sit up a bit more. The simple opening repeated sax riff on 'My Room' is, however, the kind of hook they didn't used to trade in. Even Peter Hammill's man-in-a-crisis vocal tone seems lighter. The inclusion of the live 'Gog' only highlights the change. 'Still ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other: Remastered

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date May 30, 2005
What an exellent debut from Van der Graff, and the remastered version is done really well (not always the case). I would recommend this to anyone wishing to explore more thoughtful and satisfying music. sadly there are not that many bands these days that sound this original. It is in parts the most melodic of all their output but all their albums from this period are right up there with the best progressive rock ever made.

CD-Charts Position 9
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The Aerosol Grey Machine

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date July 04, 2005
Considering that this record was made in a single day, it shows that Peter Hammill was already a very competent composer. It is not like any other record in the VDGG catalogue other than Peter's "fools Mate" which is a real classic. There are moments that hint at the greatness that is to come most especially "Afterwords" and "Necromancer" which are both excellent single tracks. "Aquarian" Is a good example of the optimistic hippy inspiration of the time. "Octopus" would later evolve into an epic live track. A great live in the studio version of this recently surfaced, on the expanded H. to He. "Orthenthian streets, running back and into a game" all hint of the later VDGG with its darker themes but for the time being VDGG are not as gloomy as all that. "Black smoke yen" shows that this was already a band ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Time Vaults

by: Van Der Graaf Generator

Release Date June 09, 2008
I am not a die hard van der graaf generator fan and I feel that this is easily their best album particularly from Roncevaux onwards (which is the b side on vinyl). The poor quality of the recording has its advantages in that it gives it a kind of 'punk' rawness (one can see why John Lydon was a fan of Peter Hammil at the time) and it also obscures the majority of vdgg's ridiculous lyrics which are difficult to stomach at the best of times (see 'Godbluff'). The track 'Faint and Forsaken' shows the musicians demonstrating a visceral intensity which I haven't experienced with any noise band since. It's like dying and being reborn - the build up of the screaming hammond organ to an unbearable degree and then the release. Unfortunately, it's a bit short. In the 'Black Room', Peter Hammil sounds like how you would ... Read More: