The foreboding crawl of the Hammond organ is what made Van Der Graaf Generator one of the darkest and most engrossing of all the early progressive bands. On H to He Who Am the Only One, the brooding tones of synthesizer and oscillator along with Peter Hammil's distinct and overly ominous voice make it one of this British band's best efforts…
Beginning as a Peter Hammill solo effort following the dissolution of the first Van Der Graaf Generator, this quickly recorded album brought Hammill together with producer John Anthony and caused the reformation of the band (which immediately thereafter shifted personnel once again). A raw, energetic effort that sometimes did little to show off the young Hammill's talents, the album nevertheless has some fine moments that hint at the possibilities for future releases…
The brand new live album by the legendary Van der Graaf Generator. Recorded in 2013 featuring the first ever full live performances of "Flight” & "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers”. ESOTERIC ANTENNA, are pleased to announce the release of the marvellous new live album by VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, "Merlin Atmos”. In June 2013, Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and Guy Evans took to the road in Europe to present a series of live concerts that featured a set list that excited devotees of Van Der Graaf Generator like no other for many years. The band had decided the time was right to present their epic classic piece "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers” in its entirety on stage for the first time, along with Peter Hammill’s equally epic "Flight”.
Beginning as a Peter Hammill solo effort following the dissolution of the first Van Der Graaf Generator, this quickly recorded album brought Hammill together with producer John Anthony and caused the reformation of the band (which immediately thereafter shifted personnel once again). A raw, energetic effort that sometimes did little to show off the young Hammill's talents, the album nevertheless has some fine moments that hint at the possibilities for future releases…
The sad fact about box sets is that there's always a fan out there who thinks they could have compiled a better one. An even sadder fact is that they're often correct, and the very notion of anthologizing Van Der Graaf Generator was a fraught one for that very reason. More, perhaps, than any other band of the early-'70s prog era, VDGG polarized their fans as much as the band's blatantly inhospitable sound outraged outsiders. They cut just eight studio albums, and all eight possess a wholly different character, all the more so since the band actually broke up midway through the sequence…