THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS WAVE TO EACH OTHER

Van Der Graaf Generator's second album sees the band waving their sixties psych influences goodbye, though one could argue 'Whatever Would Robert Have Said?' and 'Out Of My Book' are still rooted in that musical period. Becoming ever more progressive in this period, the band offers three longer songs with extended song-writing and interesting structures. 'Darkness (11/11) is successful in introducing the audience to that Hammond organ based in-your-face doom only VdGG could cast. The band would combine the abstractness of progressive rock with a very unpolished, personal & direct performance of Peter Hammill - which still splits prog audiences in two. 'Refugees' is a churchy or gothic ballad and arguably one of the most beautiful moments of their career. That 'West is Mike and Suzy' line really hits. The longer tracks 'White Hammer' and 'After the Flood' have some grate memorable lines, but also some over the top avant-garde moments that I dislike. To my tastes, the band would greatly improve on that on the next album. The album has a nice warm sound, but towards the center of the vinyls the 'Famous Charisma Label' records would break up a lot in the high-end, distorting the ending sections of the epics. Perhaps I will buy a reprint these days. An album with both great moments and some 'misses' for me, hence the three star rating.