VDGG, why the world loves them or hates them?

Quite unique as a band. I love them, if only for Hamill's voice and tyhe wonderful weirdness and off the wall approach to music which certainly jars sometimes, and makes it understandable why people won't go near them.

I still regularly play The Wave during one of my Saturday night drinking/music sessions. I love that track and the intensity of Hamill sets him apart from a lot of other vocalists.

HolyMoly wrote: It took me three tries to appreciate them.  At first, I found them a bit slow and lugubrious (Godbluff was my first listen).  Then a while later, I tried out "H to He...", and was bored by the lack of guitar, and again the slowness of the material.   Then I decided to investigate Peter Hammill himself.  All at once, I bought a few classic Hammill albums, along with a few early VdGG albums.  My verdict is that in order to appreciate VdGG, you have to accept and understand Hammill.  He'll make or break it for you.  His delivery, his lyrics, and his dark outlook are a huge part of what makes them tick.  Once I became a Hammill fan, then I was easily able to digest the VdGG stuff.  Even now, though, I prefer the solo albums to the band albums, for the most part.  Although Pawn Hearts blows my mind.

I am a bit amazed that you speak about the "slowness of material" on "Godbluff"".unless you come from Speed Metal: what is slow about songs like "Sleepwalkers" or "Scorched Earth"? and I would not call "Undercover Man" or "Arrow" exactly slow either. Van der Graaf Generator certainly don't try to impress the listener with flashy runs on their instruments, but to call the songs "slow" is a bit off the mark. and if you listen to the nuances of the instrumental play you will notice that the lack of flashy runs is definitely not due to the lack of skills on their instruments. being a keyboarder myself I certainly can detect what a fine player Hugh Banton is. and Friede, who is a drummer, says the same about Evans


Edited by BaldJean - July 16 2009 at 18:49

All this talk about of lack of guitar , but , for me I find it hard to get enthusiastic about any band that does not have a dedicated rhythm section of at least bass guitar and drums, and by dedicated, I don't mean a multi-instrumentalist who might pick up a bass some of the time - that's not a dedicated rhythm section.

So without a permanent and specialist bass player, you have an incomplete rhythm section and , dare I say it, an incomplete sound.

I'm a little surprised that some of our existing or past band members out there have not mentioned - what I might call an inadequacy in the bands complement.

I looked at the bands latest live release in this regard and remain dismayed . Call me old fashioned........

Depends on the album, Nic Potter was around up until The Least...

I've tried very hard, because there is definitely some magic that they capture that I wish I could really just appreciate. But it's hard. Hammill's voice is not pleasant, and the instrumentation is not either. I'm open to alot of music, but they just don't quite work for me. Yet.

My comments above are made in the full knowledge of the roles played by Hugh Banton and , for instance, Nic Potter , in the bands history esp. in the recording studio.

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong , but Hugh Banton seems to me to be an organist/kbd player first and foremost, and without wanting to sound too flippant people, last time I looked it was pretty difficult to play a keyboard instrument and a bass guitar at the same time and do justice to either.

Regarding the use of pedals, as atmospheric and mellow bottom-endy as pedals may be, they don't cut the mustard in ' rhythm section ' terms imo. It was one of the disappointments for me of THE DOORS, esp. in live performance [ yes, i'm aware they used session players on some albums e.g. ' The Soft Parade '. They must have realised something ] ! In this regard, most drummers I know prefer to drive the rhythm with the augmentation or assistance of a bass.

Perhaps then, the many VdGG enthusiasts out there could be asked whether they consider the band has a complete rhythm section and if so , what it is comprised of. If not, what do they consider is missing . They could be asked, but will they respond ?

Negoba wrote: I've tried very hard, because there is definitely some magic that they capture that I wish I could really just appreciate. But it's hard. Hammill's voice is not pleasant, and the instrumentation is not either. I'm open to alot of music, but they just don't quite work for me. Yet.   The best reasons I can come up with are when I listen to Discipline's Unfolded Like Staircase. Everything VdGG does, they do, but on pitch, and with a more sonic awareness. It's like VdGG are poets trying to be musicians and Discipline is the reincarnation with musicians trying to be poets. And that doesn't quite capture it, but it points in the right direction.

they are mostly not supposed to be pleasant. I would rather have a singer who is able to capture what the lyrics are about than a singer who sings everything pleasantly. Hammill's voice can be very pleasant, I assure you of that, but only when the topic is right for it.. have a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHP_tZHyFAg
still not convinced of his voice? then nothing ever will convince you


Edited by BaldJean - July 17 2009 at 03:40

For the sake of the Peace and good will, ill put Pawn Hart on when i get home  

I love VDGG, but I guess many people will dislike it because of arrangements and the sound.

They sound raw. They sound sharp. They're nowhere near smooth symphonic layers of mellotron melted with guitar solo. They sound like forcing to put bones of a dinosaur, a pig, a human and a rhino into a unique skeleton. But I like it.

BaldFriede wrote:   If you want voices to be pleasant VdGG is the wrong address for you. Hammill wants you to feel the feelings the songs are about, and those are rarely pleasant feelings. The right attitude to listen to Hammill's singing is to let him take you on a ride on the emotional rollercoaster called life. And there are a lot of unpleasant feelings on that ride. If you are not ready for that, beware of VdGG.