Van Der Graaf Generator

Ladies and Gentlemen...may I introduce to you one of the greatest progressive rock bands to lace a pair of boots.Sadly, Van Der Graaf Generator is horribly overlooked and unfairly overshadowed by bands such as YES, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, and even Rush or goodness sakes. However, I would just like to point out that the fact that this marvellous band is overshadowed, is by no means a reflection or representation of the band, but rather in my humble opinion the backwards and sometimes closed minded thinking which occurs in the prog rock fan base.

It is certainly clear to me, that Van Der Graaf Generator could go toe toe with ANY of the bands mentioned above. The skills of these men are vast indeed.

When I first listened to VDGG, my initial reaction was..........."so what's the big deal?'...........however after some time had passed, I revisited my good ol' friends the VDGG........and my reaction was ..."My God, what did I not hear before, and how could I be so dense as to not see it on the first hearing"........

From a compositional standpoint it is quite obvious that these man knew what they were doing. Not only is it complex from a musical standpoint, but it's philosophical, intelligent, soo cerebral, impassioned, and at times dark....frighteningly DARK.....

If you do not know the band..I would certainly advise you to start listening to them. They are amazing, and Peter Hammill is one of the most gifted songwriters I have ever had the good fortune to experience. He is truly one of the most passionate lead singers that I've heard.

In a past post I raved about PFM....but truth be told VDGG blows Premiata Forneria Marconi away!! Don't get me wrong, I love PFM, but where they fail in my mind is in their form, and song structure. VDGG has solid and concrete form structure. That added to incredible musicianship, beautiful composition , an intelligent and cerebral approach to music, a deep philosophical understanding, and a tight band makes for a formidable force indeed. Truth be told they are a force to reckoned with.

Someone has to answer for their neglect. It is a crime. .......well not so much their neglect, but rather their subjugation to second rate status......which is absolutely absurd. VDGG is NO SECOND RATE BAND...........

my english is no good as yours, neither my knowledge, but i have to say that:

- hammill is the best sonwriter i've ever heard;

- david jackson - divine;

- banton and evans - can't describe.

i don't know much about music, melody and harmony as many others here, i don't know how to play any instrument, but i agree - if vdgg is not the one, it's one of the ones... 

Proglover wrote: Van Der Graaf Generator is horribly overlooked and unfairly overshadowed by bands such as YES, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, and even Rush or goodness sakes.

I wouldn't say that VdGG is overlooked and overshadowed by Gentle Giant. These bands are pretty much in the same boat. Incidentally, I find these two also the best of the ones you listed.

Proglover wrote: <> In a past post I raved about PFM....but truth be told VDGG blows Premiata Forneria Marconi away!!

i have recently bought  "godbluff" as my first vdgg cd...

I was a bit disapointed at first hearing , but  i do really find this GREAT now..

deep music ...

Prodigal wrote: I'm planning on buying "Pawn Hearts" soon. I'm not into VDGG yet...

Hi Prodigal,

If its of any encouragement, most of my collection is Neo-Prog, Prog Metal & Symphonic Prog, but I recently bought a 3CD introductory collection of Prog stuff, which had 'A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers' on, which I listened to 4 times.

On the first occasion, I said 'what on earth is this?'...by the fourth, I decided to get a copy of Pawn Hearts, which arrived this morning...and I must say, its rather good...

geezer wrote: Proglover wrote: Van Der Graaf Generator is horribly overlooked and unfairly overshadowed by bands such as YES, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, and even Rush or goodness sakes.  I wouldn't say that VdGG is overlooked and overshadowed by Gentle Giant. These bands are pretty much in the same boat. Incidentally, I find these two also the best of the ones you listed. Proglover wrote: <> In a past post I raved about PFM....but truth be told VDGG blows Premiata Forneria Marconi away!!  I don't agree with this. Absolutely not so!

I would just like to clarify my statement, since you decided to paste and copy only a portion of what I wrote. I made it abundantly clear that I do indeed LOVE PFM....I think they are a great band. However the area inwhich I feet they fall short was in the formal structure of their compositions. Now as compared to VDGG, whose form is indeed solid from the first note to its very end...PFM's compositional form is not as adequate.

The music of VDGG makes sense....everything is in it's place, there is no wasted or frivolous activity. Sometimes the music of PFM is scattered and not well put together. It's wonderful music......it's absolutely beautiful music, but lacking in form.

PFM and VDGG are somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum. Both are beautiful....but they are beautiful in different ways. There is a dark, mysterious beauty, a scary, frightful beauty, a sophisticated and philosophical beauty about the music of VDGG............on the other hand, with PFM, they show what we generally consider as being beautiful, more of the accepted view of what beauty is. Beautiful lush harmonies, exquisite melodies which warm our hearts, beautiful instrumentation, a bright, hopeful, colorful array of sounds.

As far as Gentle Giant is concerned..........ON THIS SITE, they certainly get more attention (well deserved attention I might add), than VDGG. Gentle Giant is an AMAZING band, who musical form IS SPECTACULAR!!!......I am quickly falling in love with the dark, contemplation, the almost morbid, meditative, indeed pensive music of VDGG! Genlte Giant still remaning one of my favorite bands with their sheer technical ability and compositional brilliance, may soon have to share the sacred ground with Van Der Graaf Generator!

Yeah, Peter Hammill's solo work was much better than the old VDGG stuff.  I just could never enjoy listening to them, the music got on my nerves or something.

SORRY!!!