THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS WAVE TO EACH OTHER

In late 1969, VdGG's manager formed Charisma Records and signed the band as the label's first act. They immediately set about recording their second album, The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other. 

The Least We Can Do solidified Van der Graaf Generator's signature sound, and the album cover itself featured a Van de Graaff generator on it. "Darkness (11/11)" opens the album on a grim note. Banton's organ and Potter's bass push Hammill's vocals forward. The organ solo in the song's midpoint demonstrated Banton's willingness to work with sonic effects, and Jackson's closing sax solo is a showcase for his distinctive style of playing two saxophones at once. 

"Refugees" goes the complete opposite direction as the preceding song. After the grim pounding of "Darkness", this is a sweet, gentle song where Hammill's vocals are more traditional, and the lyrics are uncharacteristically hopeful. Banton's organ is reminiscent of Procol Harum, and the inclusion of cello was a brilliant move. "White Hammer" opens with a sound palette similar to "Refugees". The organ is docile, and Hammill sings cleanly. But this is a song about the Malleus Maleficarum and persecution of witchcraft in the Middle Ages, and the music does shift in tone to match the subject matter. The song's last two minutes, in particular, are quite ominous. The organ has a thick layer of distortion, and Jackson's saxes squeal and twist, fittingly evoking images of torture. 

Side two starts with "Whatever Would Robert Have Said?", referencing the then-recently-deceased Robert Van de Graaff. Electric guitar is a lead instrument on this cut, provided by bassist Nic Potter. It's a weird song, and it often feels like it's about to go completely off the rails, but the constant structural churn keeps the music moving forward. "Out of My Book" is a gentle little number that provides a nice, folky interlude.

The closing "After the Flood", a song about cataclysmic floods triggered by a sudden inversion of Earth's magnetic polarity, is pure gold. Hammill's lyrics are fantastically grim, and his vocal tone matches. The chorus is huge and foreboding, and the ragged acoustic guitar, paired with Banton's wall of organ, evokes mental images of the destructive waves described in the lyrics. Jazz influences are prominent on this track, as overdubs of flute and sax battle it out with one another in moments between the big vocal lines. As the song nears its outro, Peter Hammill quotes Albert Einstein discussing his worries over the Cold War arms race. The closing organ and guitar solos are powerful and majestic, with minor-key undercurrents reminding the listener of the song's unhappy subject matter.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/07/10/deep-dive-van-der-graaf-generator/