WORLD RECORD

Only six months after Still Life, the band put out their next album, World Record. "When She Comes" opens with light and jazzy drums and weird flutes flitting about. Hammill's guitar is more prominent here (and throughout the album as a whole), and it adds some nice textural contrast. Despite some good compositional ideas, the vocal melody feels awkward, and this eight-minute song probably could have been trimmed down a bit.

"A Place to Survive" features some of the same melodic awkwardness as the preceding song, and that's an issue that runs through a lot of World Record. The songs on the whole are still pretty enjoyable, but a lot of this album just feels like a step down from their previous output. I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly, though. Despite being ten minutes long, I don't have much to say about this song. I do like Jackson's saxophone arrangements, Banton deploys some fun tones on his organ, and it ends on a strong note.

"Masks" kicks things off with gentle, flowing saxophone and soulful organ. This slow-moving cut is probably my favorite song on the album, and it features some of Hammill's best use of guitar. Slow, distorted chords add some nice grit. In the song's second half, things pick up, and Hammill's guitar playing is noticeably shakier. It still works quite well, though.

Side two opens with the twenty-minute "Meurglys III (The Songwriters' Guild)". Meurglys is the name of one of Hammill's guitars, with that name being derived from a 12th Century French poem. It's the name of a sword belonging to Ganelon, a knight who betrays Charlemagne in the story. That's a very prog-rock way of going about naming your guitar.

Unusual name aside, this is definitely my least favorite of Van der Graaf's longer pieces. That's not to say it doesn't have its moments. The main riff to the verse is classic Van der Graaf Generator. The quiet passages are effective and play to Hammill's strengths as a vocalist. The heavy passage around the song's midpoint is an exceptional moment as well.

However, this song's main drawback is its interminable length. It probably could have been halved without losing a lot of the effect. Much of this song is instrumental, and it prominently features Peter Hammill's eponymous guitar. He's a decent, idiosyncratic rhythm player, but he's not a particularly strong soloist. He reminds me a lot of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, if Omar slowed things down. His guitar always sounds slightly out-of-tune, and his attempts to be flashy are usually unsteady.

The most egregious sin of "Meurglys III" is its seven-minute reggae-influenced jam session at the end. This all could have been lopped off, as it's all just Hammill soloing over Banton's bouncing organ, with the occasional honk from Jackson.

World Record ends on a good song, though. "Wondering" is a sweet, quiet piece for much of its runtime, and Jackson's flutes and Banton's organ give this song a hopeful, victorious feel.

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