THE AEROSOL GREY MACHINE

If you are a fan of the true 60's psych-rock, this album offers some kind of "high", with unique rich orchestration, and musicality- which are not specific by the average psychedelic bands. This stuff sounds as if have been released in 1967, and not that so close in the timeline to the VdGG's second album! I think it's hard to make up from prog-context, but this album is enjoyable on magic mushroom, while Pawn Hearts, for instance less. There are many similarities by some new, or prominent bands of this era- thus The Nice, the first Jethro, the early Floyd, and The Doors. But Banton was simple better qualified keyboardist, than Manzarek or Richard Wright. And there are the constantly presence of Hammill's genius, with amazing gloomy and sentimental vocal and acoustic guitar harmonies, and there plays the classic Rickenbacker bass sound, which are no longer works in the 70's lineup. "Afterwards" is a typical LSD propelled melody and "Black Smoke Yen" is a kind of "In" music as well. Some tracks sounds, something like Beat, or Mod influenced stuff ("Into a game, People You Were Going To"). "Running back" in all respects evoke the flower power era- on its meditative mood, with its sitar and flute harmonies, but Peter's painful vocal gives something strange and bizarre overtone on it. "Orthenthian street" shows the deepest similarities of the later VdGG sound, but even more Hammill's solo works. This is not a typical Van der Graaf track, all the more a typical Hammill self-expression. The eponymous song is like a silly MOI nothings, reflects some Zappa-like anti-consumerism. And I think the "Necromancer" is one of the early progrock songs, with its Holst adaptation. This piece was processed on the Crimson's Poseidon album, but VdGG was the first adaptator. "Firebrand" sounds like a fierce Ian Anderson-VdGG joint work. And my personal favorite is the "Octopus", which has very airy combo-organ sound. It's evoke the later work "Pioneers", feeling like a space, or undersea travel, but this song is more hot and raw, than whichever later VdGG song.