I just discovered Van Der Graff Generator...


An interesting experimental British band from the 60s and 70s.  Their music is interesting, however they're not for everyone.  Please give them a try and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

PS... you need an open mind for this band.

 

 

128x128mikeydee

Welcome to a different world, VDGG were unique, not sounding like anything else.

Aerosol the grey machine

H to He who am the only one

Godbluff

Still life

World Record

Pawn Hearts (not so accessible)

You can also check Peter Hammill’s solo career, the singer, the poet and the soul of that band.

Fools mate

In camera

The future now

Nadir's big chance

The silent corner and the empty stage.

There are others good ones too but above are for me their/his better works.

... and Peter Hammill and company are still going strong; just recently released a new live album. Totally agree with @petg60 . A couple of very accessible songs are 'Killer' off of 'H to He' and 'Necromancer' from 'Aerosol the Grey Machine'. 

One amusing description of Peter Hammill I once read was 'David Bowie on bad acid'....

Big fan here, got H to He when it first came out. Find similarities  between Peter Gabrial's vocal style and Peter Hamill's.

A more recent and simila americanr band - Discipline 'unfolded like staircase.

Discipline band Canto IV (Limbo) - YouTube

My first VDGG album was Pawn Hearts in the $1.99 budget bin at Cheap Thrills Records in NJ circa 1978. It was way out there even for the college crowd. Man Erg is awesome. Lighthouse Keepers is a fun trip.

VDGG and Peter Hamill was largely ignored back then but are considered very influential pioneers these days by many. 

For me Peter Hammill - Over is the one I go back to mostly. Acoustic and quite different from usual VDGG. Great compositions and lyrics. Maybe because it was my first.

@mikeydee 

I grew up with VDGG. IMO their best album by far is Pawn Hearts, all others take a lot more effort to dive into. After that check out Peter Hammill going solo, his best albums are Nadir's big chance, Patience and Enter K. Enjoy!

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They’ve been around for years and have always had an eclectic following. I haven’t listened to them in years, my have to put an album or two on my playlist. 😁

....I took a pause when I read the comment about Hammill once being compared to "David Bowie on bad acid..."

OhhhK....that'll work for a 'heads' up'...if you drift my catch.....

(....had a pleasant surprise the other, literally at hand for a year +, unrecognized...)

It ought to smoooth out razor blase' moozik..... 😬😂😏🤨🤪😐 ;)

I not skeerd...

@mapman - I get the feeling that almost every copy of 'Pawn Hearts' ended up in the cut-out bins (the first couple of Soft Machines, too); few were the bins I perused that didn't have at least one in there. I wonder who at the record company thought this would sell well enough to order so many records pressed? 

.....sounds normal 'enough', a bit different for the era...

We had Zappa and co., so....  'BritProgRock' would be fairly called 'eclectic' for even SoCA, but seems familiar to some of what drifted south from the Bay area...

There's a mention of Atomic Rooster.....that I recognize.

Strange even to acidheads.....blissed or bolted, horizontal or abscent if only in 'gone blank, end of broadcast day screen static.... 😏

 

 

(...leans forward, heavily on the cane that wobbles...)

"....I watched some of the better minds of my generation, ’m talkin’ ’bout, my....

Their brains slowly turnd’ thu’ Soup...ones’ that ’scapth are like Us...I hope....

Th’ ones’ that Stayed....in the guv now...harder t’ tell ’m apart...but..."

*G* Gee, I be woke..... time to go back to sleep...Yeah, that would be found in the MISC slots at the retrorec stores.....

I've got mine from the time, try this.... ;)

 

Check out House with no door, on the H to He album.

Great, spooky, as fresh as it was at the time.

Big VDGG fan here!

Dark, brooding, intense, excellent musicianship, complex, thoughtful lyrics. All brought together by Hammill’s ’pour you emotional guts out’ style of singing.

As far as I'm concerned, they stand up to the quality of most other prog bands of the time. 

Not always an easy listen, but certainly worth the effort.

Also check out most of Peter Hammill’s solo releases. The early ones were not too far from VDGG in quality. These especially:

The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage
In Camera
Nadir’s Big Chance
Over