THE QUIET ZONE / THE PLEASURE DOME

My first encounter with VDGG was a wonderful track "Cats Eye/Yellow Fever" from this album that happened to be a minor hit in the local discoteque where I used to hang around 1980-81. Nobody ever heard of Hammill at the time but a group of young progsters started building a cult of Hammill/VDGG and I shortly joined them. Thereafter they became one of my fav bands ever and only subsequently I had a chance to actually listen to the entire album.

Noticeably, this is quite a different line-up, without Banton and Jaxon (altough the latter appears as guest here) but with new member Graham Smith of STRING DRIVEN THING on violin. Music is totally different from their classic sound (they even dropped Generator from the name!) and often approaches the minimalism of Hammill's solo works (acoustic guitar and piano frequently used). However the strong rhythm section of Evans and the returnee Nic Potter on bass gives a firm "rock" and even a "new-wave" feel. Stand-out tracks are the mentioned "hit" "Cats Eye/Yellow Fever" with furious violin solo, the opening "Lizard Play", introspective musings of "Last Frame" and a sort of title track in two parts called "Sphinx". Often neglected by fans, this LP is worth every attention since it showcases potentials of this band to ever-change and progress beyond what is usually expected in music business.

PERSONAL RATING: 3,5/5