STILL LIFE

Van Der Graaf Generator

Eclectic Prog

4.30 | 1706 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

infandous

What can I say? The second masterpiece.

This second era of VDGG took longer for me to get into than the first. Probably because it is far more subtle (by VDGG standards anyway) than the first era. And compared to Pawn Hearts and H to HE these albums seemed almost tame to me. But what the first era had in flamboyance and experimentation, the second makes up for with depth and style. While certainly not a band that will ever be accused of subtlety, these second phase albums are more subtle than the first era albums, certainly.

Pilgrims and La Rossa are my favorites, displaying Hammill's way of giving everything he possibly can to the vocal delivery and then some (a fact that probably turns many people off this band). He can never be accused of not being emotional enough that is for certain. He feels every note and syllable with every fiber of his being. And these two songs demonstrate that more than any other VDGG song I can think of. Still Life is a great song as well, just more somber than those two. My Room is the only weak track, and it is still pretty good. Just not up to the standards of the rest, but not bad by any means and not enough to downgrade the rating. Childlike Faith in Childhood's End is the album's somewhat epic track, though it is really just a long song unlike Lighthouse Keepers which is a multi part epic. This is similar in style to the music of Pawn Hearts, though certainly not as experimental and complex. A great dramatic ending finishes the album in style.

This is essential for VDGG, and might even be a decent place to start for the curious. My only qualm on that score is that while the music might be less over the top and experimental than the first era of the band, the vocals are even more an acquired taste in the second era (at least to my ears). But if you already like their stuff, you must have this album.

infandous | 5/5 | 2011-7-6

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Share this VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR review

Social review comments () BETA

Review related links

Send comments to infandous
Report this review (#477510)
Buy VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR music online with PA partners
Show all VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR MP3/Stream
Go to VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
Go to Still Life page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
Search the Forum for VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR related discussions