H TO HE, WHO AM THE ONLY ONE

"H To He, Who Am The Only One" is the third full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Van der Graaf Generator. The album was released through Charisma Records in December 1970. It´s the successor to "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other" from February 1970 and features one lineup change as bassist Nic Potter left during the recording sessions. He did however record the bass parts for "Killer", "The Emperor In His War-Room", and "Lost", before finally quitting, citing artistic differences as the main reason. Keyboard player Hugh Banton recorded the bass parts for the remaining tracks on the album ("House With No Door" and "Pioneers Over C."). The 2005 remaster of "H To He, Who Am The Only One" features two additional tracks in "Squid 1 / Squid 2 / Octopus" and the first recorded version of "The Emperor In His War-Room". The former was recorded during the sessions for the band´s fourth full-length studio album "Pawn Hearts (1971)", but not included on that album. It was a track the band regularly played at their live shows.

"The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (1970)" was a giant leap forward in quality from the rather rough around the edges debut album "The Aerosol Grey Machine (1969)", and Van der Graaf Generator continue to evolve and develop their sound and the quality of their music on "H To He, Who Am The Only One". The band´s music is always a bit hard to describe as they sound quite different from most other progressive rock artists of the 70s, but it´s predominantly organ/piano, saxophone/flute, drums, and vocal driven music, and the bass and the sporadic guitar playing are secondary in the soundscape. Quite unusual for a rock band and Van der Graaf Generator definitely fall under the catagory or unusual, but they also fall under the catagories of exciting, powerful, and adventurous and the music on "H To He, Who Am The Only One" is filled to the brim with creative compositional ideas/lyrics and unique ways of expression.

Lead vocalist Peter Hammill is a both skilled and distinct sounding vocalist who can express both deep longing melancholy and anger with equal amounts of emotion and passion, and his performance here is further enhanced by the poetic and rather interesting lyrics. "Killer" opens the album in a hard rocking and jagged heavy style and featuring sharp use of saxophone, while "House With No Door" is in the completely other end of the scale being a piano/vocal driven slow, atmospheric, and deeply melancholic track. "The Emperor In His War-Room" is a varied track showcasing all the different elements of the band´s sound. The lyrics are strong on this track too, as they function as a warning to the leaders of the world, that if you live by the sword, you´ll die by the sword. With great power comes great responsibility (said in the great wisdom of Pippi Longstocking). The last lyric line of the song says it all: "Live in peace or die forever in your war-room.". Hammill conjures up some pretty disturbing imagery of death and destruction during the song, and proves what a great lyricist he is.

"Lost" and "Pioneers Over C." are both long and progressive tracks, featuring intriguing structures, changes in pace and atmosphere, and both great instrumental work and even more paatos filled vocals and lyrics from Hammill. Both tracks are pure class and feature intricate unique approaches to performing and writing music. Van der Graaf Generator were arguably one of the most original sounding progressive rock acts of the era. "H To He, Who Am The Only One" also features an organic, detailed, and powerful sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. It´s definitely an upgrade from the sound productions of the first two albums. So upon conclusion it´s a high quality progressive rock album and one of the seminal releases in the genre. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.