The Beginning of Van der Graaf Generator Decline?
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Forum Name: Prog Polls
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=91199
Printed Date: April 24 2024 at 02:26
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Topic: The Beginning of Van der Graaf Generator Decline?
Posted By: Gandalff
Subject: The Beginning of Van der Graaf Generator Decline?
Date Posted: December 25 2012 at 18:14
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Oh... dark, obscure, strange, too complex band for me. Very unique, but often monotonous and repetitive sound, unfortunately. I like actually only several albums from their beginnings with the climax in the album Pawn Hearts, but I know that their generally acclaimed peak is the following album Godbluff. ------------- A Elbereth Gilthoniel silivren penna míriel o menel aglar elenath! Na-chaered palan-díriel o galadhremmin ennorath, Fanuilos, le linnathon nef aear, sí nef aearon! |
Replies:
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: December 25 2012 at 18:15
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I've listened and thoroughly enjoyed their albums up to Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome. Haven't heard anything else. ------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: Sumdeus
Date Posted: December 25 2012 at 18:33
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Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome I guess since that was their last album before the big split but I enjoy their new albums they've made as well. I guess the last choice fits better for me since I don't think they necessarily got 'bad' also lol another case of the poll question being different from the topic, voted for Quiet Zone and immediately saw the actual poll quesiton, i should've definitely voted for "none". I don't think there is any VDGG record that is "unacceptable". They got a bit less exciting and more restrained, but they never pulled a Genesis or anything. ------------- http://sumdeus.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - Sumdeus - surreal space/psych/prog journeys |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: December 25 2012 at 21:18
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A grounding in numbers. (Though I quite like ALT) ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Eria Tarka
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 00:31
| I'm afraid Still Life gets my vote. I really want to like that album, but I always end up listening to Godbluff instead. |
Posted By: dr prog
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 01:40
| Present was the first one I didn't like really |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 03:50
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One of two well known 70s bands I just cannot get into at all (the other is King Crimson). I quite like some of the music but, like Dream Theater, it's the vocals that kill it for me.------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: Sumdeus
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 05:09
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really? I guess I can see how Hammill could be hit or miss but the vocals have always been one of the reasons I love VDGG, he performs them so well
------------- http://sumdeus.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - Sumdeus - surreal space/psych/prog journeys |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 05:38
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World Record. Still pretty good though. The only album I've not heard in full is Trisector. That didn't really inspire me. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 05:50
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Never ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 06:08
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I'd say World Record because it follows immediately after two masterpiece albums. But this decline is less obvious than that of Genesis from And Then There Were Three. VdGG has had their ups and downs (A Grounding in Numbers is ranked #8 in my top 10 of 2011) where Genesis has not made an album that I would rate 4 stars. ------------- 
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Posted By: Wanorak
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 14:42
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I think all of them have something to offer; none really suffer from lack of quality. ------------- A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!! |
Posted By: dr prog
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 16:15
| I like World record and Quiet zone more than Still life and Pawn hearts |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 22:05
The Beginning of Van der Graaf Generator Decline?Most likely when Peter Hammill first started singing. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 22:48
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I think the only vocalist of the classic period that really did that was Ian Anderson. ------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: December 26 2012 at 23:39
| I'll go with the masses on this one. World Record - even though it has some great moments. |
Posted By: HarbouringTheSoul
Date Posted: December 28 2012 at 11:07
| I only know the albums from H to He to World Record, and all of them are perfectly acceptable, with no pattern of decline. I would say the weakest is Pawn Hearts and the strongest Godbluff. |
Posted By: Kirillov
Date Posted: January 03 2013 at 08:52
| I'd say that VdGG were at their best in their '75-'76 period. Still Life pips it for me, although Godbluff and World Record are both very strong. |
Posted By: QuestionableScum
Date Posted: January 03 2013 at 18:54
| Still Life for me. |
Posted By: Varon
Date Posted: January 09 2013 at 11:22
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I listen all this albums for 6 years and still I like all of them. Of course they are not all of equal quality but every album is interesting in its own way.
------------- Would you catch the final words of mine? Would you catch my words??? |
Posted By: Fox On The Rocks
Date Posted: January 09 2013 at 21:16
All in all, these guys have really had a consistent output throughout the years, even now - Grounding In Numbers was enjoyable to me at least.  When the music stopped sounding classic VDGG, and the classic era ended, I'd say World Record hits the spot. Haven't listened to them in a while, should get on that.  ------------- 
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Posted By: ProgMetaller2112
Date Posted: January 09 2013 at 22:12
Of course Pink Floyd, Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator have to go into decline , what a positive discussion
------------- “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” ― George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four "Ignorance and Prejudice and Fear walk Hand in Hand"- Neil Peart |
Posted By: Snoopy
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 08:26
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no decline, all are good, but someones are better than others |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 10:29
| Don't agree with the poor (or strong) showing for World Record. I got into it immediately when first heard and still think it moves. The strong stuff is bookended by weak material in the first two albums and the reunion albums. It didn't help that David Jackson got the boot during the latter. |
Posted By: Walton Street
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 12:21
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World Record was the first thing I heard from this band and the reason I got into them in the first place. It's an incredible album ------------- "I know one thing: that I know nothing" - SpongeBob Socrates |
Posted By: Xonty
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 12:48
| None of them are unacceptable, but there's definitely a downhill slope in those first 4 records, then everything's just pretty mediocre afterwards. |
Posted By: 'PiphanyRambler
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 13:08
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I voted for World Record, but I want to say that it's still an amazing album. It's just the first album of theirs that doesn't impress me in its entirety (Wondering and Masks). And I sincerely thought Godbluff and Still Life were generally regarded as their peak. Didn't expect Still Life to get so many votes. |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 13:37
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What is Time Vaults doing here? Its just a collection of outtakes and stuff recorded 1972-1975 and not a real album. Nothing here is unacceptable of course, but I don't care as much for any of their recordings post The Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome (which I consider a New-Wave masterpiece) as I do for their nearly flawless 70's discography. No vote I guess. ------------- 
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Posted By: dr prog
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 16:20
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Pleasure dome is great. Their decline was when they got back together in the 90s ------------- All I like is prog related bands beginning late 60's/early 70's. Their music from 1968 - 83 has the composition and sound which will never be beaten. Perfect blend of jazz, classical, folk and rock. |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 18:05
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A band that I have heard from their very beginnings and have never liked at all. The reasons are simple: Hamill's vocals and their dark compositions. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: The.Crimson.King
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 18:37
No decline...love them all  ------------- https://wytchcrypt.wixsite.com/mutiny-in-jonestown" rel="nofollow - Mutiny in Jonestown : Progressive Rock Since 1987 |
Posted By: ole-the-first
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 19:09
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World Record was much weaker than all the previous pH/VdGG releases from 1970 onwards. ------------- This night wounds time. |
Posted By: Friday13th
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 19:28
| Don't really like Still Life...it's okay but compared to the 3 prior masterpieces it's pretty weak. |
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: January 16 2015 at 22:58
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Real Time/Present The ending of VdGG decline. ------------- |
Posted By: Dayvenkirq
Date Posted: January 17 2015 at 02:04
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The Beginning of Van der Graaf Generator Decline? Two different questions. Plus, to answer the first one: depends on whom you ask. The beginning of the decline for me: Godbluff. And I find more than one album on the list unacceptable.
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: January 17 2015 at 03:17
You feel strongly about not liking them. Just curious: Is darkness/dark compositions in music something you choose to avoid? - If you do is it because darkness doesn't anything for you or because it has an emotional effect that you don't enjoy (drags you down... changes your mood...)? -------------
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Hercules wrote:Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: January 17 2015 at 08:21
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A Grounding In Numbers is such a great album - full of complex little details and above all, a lot of it is great fun. I don't understand the dislike of the album. 'Alt' is a weird one. Listenable, interesting in parts, some potential there, had they developed and worked on certain pieces. |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: December 15 2016 at 23:35
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sorry, but I hear no decline. "Present" is often not liked because of the second disc, but I just love those improvisations. and the first disc should be absolutely on par for every friend of VdGG. they even throw in some humor (oh the self-irony of "Abandon Ship!"), which is quite unusual for them. of course "ALT" is a very different album by Van der Graaf Generator. VdGG without vocals! but it just shows how experimental the band still is. some people may not like this kind of experiments though, but you can definitely not speak of a decline. "World Record" is one of my favorite albums by them; the only song I'm not so fond of is "Wondering" (though on the live album "Real Time" it is the perfect closer). "Trisector" is severely underrated, maybe because of the shorter songs. but these shorter songs are nevertheless very complex (just listen to "Interference Patterns"). their latest album "Do Not Disturb" is a five-star album in my book. everyone should have it. again some humor here; "Alfa Berlina" is perhaps even more self-ironic than "Abandon Ship!". this so-called "decline" is only in the ears of those who want them to repeat themselves, which they firmly reject. those with open ears will welcome their later oeuvre. so once again: decline? what decline? -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: December 16 2016 at 02:20
^  Eloquently said, Jean.No decline. Alt is fine, reminds of the 70's for some reason. Do Not Disturb - indeed, 5 star. Magnificent !! |
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: December 16 2016 at 07:45
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This band is a monumental waste of time and an insult to life itself. ------------- |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: December 16 2016 at 08:30
+1 |
Posted By: Upbeat Tango Monday
Date Posted: December 16 2016 at 12:01
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World Record????? Really? That's their best album! ------------- Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: December 17 2016 at 08:03
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after H to He which was their last, well...only 5 star classic album so it would be....Pawn Hearts... specifically...2nd side.. 2nd half they never recovered from that... when they discovered 'prog for prog's sake'. Unlistenable sh*t!!! One of the greatest sins of prog. tsk tsk.... and thus they became the fathers (beating Dull by a few years) of 'Mediocre prog' where the imagery and complexity and all that prog jive cease to augment creative music.. but serve as a replacement for it. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: December 17 2016 at 11:20
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That's deep. Get outa' here! ------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: charles_ryder
Date Posted: December 21 2016 at 12:53
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I don't believe in VDGG decline. All they albums are fine - everyone of them has it's own taste. |
Posted By: Scorpius
Date Posted: December 23 2016 at 18:26
| What is this "decline" you speak of? The very feeling of that word coming out of my mouth in the same sentence as VDGG makes me want to defecate. |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: December 26 2016 at 08:21
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It's hard to talk about "decline" when discussing a band which released far less albums than their contemporaries: they released 13 albums in a time span of 47 years, with an interruption of 28 years between The Quiet Zone... and Present. It's not exactly like they overdid themselves and repeated the same album for 15 years or started making radio-friendly stuff in the 80's... |