Van Der Graaf – "The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome" (Charisma – CAS 1131) 1977

It seemed in 1977, that older groups,such as The Broughtons(previous post)being tarnished with the skidmark left behind by Emerson Lake and Palmer,seemed to think that if they truncated their band moniker,they would be both recognised by their former audience,yet accepted as a new band by punters of the new wave.

What usually happened was they found themselves rejected by both,leaving a bargain bucket filler and having to pay back a massive record company investment.Charisma's confidence was fueled by John Lydon singing Van der Graaf Generators praises on Capital Radio.Which i hear he has recently back-tracked from after reading that certain Van Der Graaf personnel have lain claim for 'inventing Punk Rock'?? Er....No. Making supremely Dark Progressive Rock, yes,but Punk Rock,perhaps...er...Not! 

Despite Peter Hammill's noble attempts to look a bit new wavey,the rest of the band gave it away by looking unapologetically 'PROG'! Alongside the guy from String Driven Thing on violin,looking like Captain Ahab as re-imagined by the London Philharmonic,after backing Deep poop-ple and Prick Wankman (nah, hes a good bloke really),was not a help either.

Of course ,this album bombed,even in Italy where they are Gods.

Having not heard any VDGG before, I found this in a pop-up scond-hand record shop in the brutalist concete underpass near my dreadful school in 1982-ish. Quid-fifty(?),can't be that bad. Played it while doing an analytical synopsis on Gustavus Adolphous and the Swedish empire (yes they had an empire???) for my History A-level,which is the kind of stuff that most Prog Rock bohemoths sing about in their songs,that usually come in sections so that they can get more royaties by having more tracks on an LP....technically. This behaviour was ruthlessly frowned upon by the Punks,so no sections on this LP,just nine shortish,for VDGG, tracks.

But all things Gustavus could not obscure the fact that I hated this terrible album.Sounding like some horrible proggy musical,with lyrics written by a morose Tim Rice,who may or may not have been an old boy from one of Van Der Graafs public (or private if american)  schools.

The Public school problem in Prog would not have helped my opinion none,as we Grammar School types despise Posh kids,as well as working class kids....so That's Genesis fucked then? We poor streamed scummers grew up ostricised by our working class scum peers, and ignored by our upper class bastard superiors.

Talking'bout Royalties,I'm not really a republican, but watching the 10 mile long queue in London to view the Queen's coffin today,as saw on the BBC news live feed, I wondered where was the queue in the liberated parts of Ukraine for the newly exhumed mass graves?...which was on the brief 'other' news section after the overwhelming weight of the Royal Family in Mourning propaganda/advertisement that is dominating the airwaves of the world......the Russian Delegation have not been invited apparently,even after Putin sent his heartfelt condolences.A joke that definitely isn't funny anymore.

It took me a few years to force myself to get into VDGG,and when I did,that obsession gene that we on the autistic spectrum,took over.Couldn't listen to anything else for six months or so,loved it all,and Hammill's Solo work up to the Post-Punk Enter K,Black Box and PH7 etc era's.So deliciously dark and doom laden,and one of the few lyric writers to encapsulate my Depression in the medium of popular music...I wanted to say 'Dance (Dahnce)' because it's funnier......OMFG I have to embed that video of Jimmy Pursey expressing himself through the medium of Dahnce again....its worth it:

I may be depressed but i'm Happy,especially after that ,James?

However,still didn't garner much fondness for this punk-prog straddling abortion......bit harsh there but i liked the sound of it....yeah it's alright,just not very good 'tis all.

Haven't put you off have I?

Tracklist:

The Quiet Zone:
A1 Lizard Play 4:28
A2 The Habit Of The Broken Heart 4:34
A3 The Siren Song 6:01
A4 Last Frame 6:12

The Pleasure Dome:
B1 The Wave 3:12
B2 Cat's Eye / Yellow Fever (Running) 5:20
B3 The Sphinx In The Face 5:58
B4 Chemical World 6:10
B5 The Sphinx Returns 1:12

DOWNLOAD quietly for your pleasure HERE!

Peter Hammill ‎– "Nadir's Big Chance" (Charisma ‎– CAS 1099) 1975

1975 is often cited as the Nadir of popular music,but it contained quite a few overlooked influential classics.An often cited influence on the punk rock explosion is Hammill's "Nadir's Big Chance" album.For its anger, short aggressive tunes, and lack of showy musicianship. Also as John Lydon played a track from it on his infamous Capital radio show. That says less about this record than it does about Mr. Rotten's musical roots. He liked Folk,Prog,and Captain Beefheart, much more to do with the music after punk than during. Which explains the music he got involved with immediately after the Pistols, who really were the 'Last' rock band...time to move on. 
This is one of Peter Hammills top three albums in my opinion, alonside "Over", and "The Silent Cornser and the Empty Stage".......again he's back by his old mates from Van Der Graaf Generator, so it can sound at times like a basic version of his more celebrated group persona rather than a purely 'solo' record.

Tracklist:

Nadir's Big Chance 3:27
The Institute Of Mental Health is Burning 3:50
Open Your Eyes 5:10
Nobody's Business 4:15
Been Alone So Long 4:20
Pompeii 4:50
Shingle Song 4:10
Airport 3:02
People You Were Going To 5:10
Birthday Special 3:40
Two Or Three Spectres 6:20

DOWNLOAD from rock's nadir year HERE!

Peter Hammill ‎– "pH7" (Charisma ‎– CAS 1146) 1979

PH7 is a good litmus test for the way I feel about a lot of Hammill solo works.Lyrically, of course, they are brilliant;But he struggles to get away from that Bad experimental Musical comparison.

The cover looks like this record must be part of a dystopian future of pop, but it could as easily have come from the dystopian past of pop too. There are a fair number of concept album filler ballads littered among a few tunes that post-punk kids might like;"Porton Down" for instance.And "Careering" may well have had its title lifted by John. Q Rotten for his "Metal Box" concept album later that same year.

One of his better albums, but ultimately his wordy lyrics, and stagy delivery tend to reduce the opportunity for the music to breath.Sometimes while listening to this LP, you just want ex-choirboy Peter to just SHUT UP! Maybe even Neutralised,like the backing has been?

Tracklist:

My Favourite 2:50
Careering (Don't Ask Me) 4:00
Porton Down 3:35
Mirror Images 3:50
Handicap And Equality 4:00
Not For Keith 2:25
The Old School Tie 4:50
Time For A Change
Imperial Walls 5:00
Mr X (Gets Tense) 4:45
Faculty X 4:10

DOWNLOAD from a point of neutrality HERE!

Peter Hammill ‎– "Patience" - (Naive Records ‎– NAVL 3) 1983

Surprise surprise, here's a few Peter Hammill solo albums from his vast canon.This one, Patience, is the one I like the best from his post-punk period.
It still sounds like VDGG with different drumming, keyboards and less Saxes;all replaced by a minimal rock group backing in a prog/post punk stylee.....which is surprising,or not, as everyone from VDGG are in the backing band.Oh, they're sooooo versatile those progressive rockers aren't they? 
The lack of mournful ballads like refugees from a Steven Sondheim  off-broadway musical is a major plus.

Tracklist:

Labour Of Love 5:50
Film Noir 4:13
Just Good Friends 4:20
Jeunesse d'Orée 4:45
Traintime 4:23
Now More Than Ever 5:36
Comfortable? 4:52
Patient 6:11

DOWNLOAD with patience HERE!

Van Der Graaf Generator - "BBC Sessions (1968-1977)"

Ok, you've all obviously got every one of VDGG's brilliant albums?....yes?.... so here's their peel sessions for the BBC.
Apart from a couple of psych tinged tracks from a 1968 'Top Gear' session, there's plenty of sublimely dark prog on offer here.....all without a single electric guitar to be heard.It's also genuinely progressive music, rather than the 'regressive' rock of Yes and ELP,who looked back to classical music rather than try to move to the future. This is what I hope the young Lydon heard in this fantastic group.

Tracklist:

1. People You Were Going To (Top Gear)
2. Afterwards (Top Gear)
3. Necromancer (Top Gear)
4. Darkness (Top Gear)
5. After The Flood (Top Gear)
6. Refugees (Peel Session)
7. Darkness (Peel session)
8. Scorched Earth (Peel session)
9. Sleepwalkers (Peel session)
10. Still Life (Peel Session)
11. La Rossa (Peel Session)
12. When She Comes (Peel Session
13. Masks (Peel Session)
14. Theme 1 (BBC Session)
15. Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Peel Session)
16. The Sphinx In The Face (Peel Session)

DOWNLOAD vdgg at the bbc HERE!

Van Der Graaf ‎– "The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome (Charisma ‎– CAS 1131) 1977

Another Prog combo who had a large influence on the Post-Punk era were dark-proggers Van Der Graaf Generator. Having been name-checked by Johnny Rotten on his shockingly 'hippie' stained Capital radio Show with Tommy Vance in 1977, "Johnny Rotten,The Punk and His Music', were imeadiately labeled as acceptable by the more intelligent 'punks'; as was Peter Hammill, of whom Lydon admitted to Vance that...' (he) stole a lot from dat geezer,yeah'. 
Possibly, some of the Lyrical ideas were appropriated for 'Metal Box', but beyond that I can't see anything else in common; especially not in his terrible lyrics for the Sex Pistols .
That radio show was a key moment for the next wave to move away from the tired Ramones format with shouty tunes about dole queues and boredom.
Arguably the earliest 'punk' to jump ship was Howard Devoto, who basically formed a more sneery version of Van Der Graaf Generator, called Magazine, who were prog in drainpipes with short haircuts.
Always open to moving forward, Van Der Graaf Generator, unlike most of Prog's leading lights, chose to absorb the message from the 'Punk' phenomenon, and made a more straight forward record in 1977. Shorter songs, no long suites, less showing off, and they shortened their name to just 'Van der Graaf'.
This album is still undoubtedly a 'Prog' record in its concept, but also an attempt to distance themselves from the previous musical epoch of wizards, symphony orchestras, and classical pretensions. This could easily have been a 'Magazine' album if Devoto was the singer,and Hammill could have comfortably slotted in on Magazine's "Real Life"........even if his vocal style does remind one of some singer in a bad rock opera like 'Godspell'......I suppose VDGG did do their own answer to that particular atrocity with the excellent "Godbluff" album back in '75.

Tracklist
The Quiet Zone:

A1 Lizard Play 4:28
A2 The Habit Of The Broken Heart 4:34
A3 The Siren Song 6:01
A4 Last Frame 6:12

The Pleasure Dome:

B1 The Wave 3:12
B2 Cat's Eye / Yellow Fever (Running) 5:20
B3 The Sphinx In The Face 5:58
B4 Chemical World 6:10
B5 The Sphinx Returns 1:12

DOWNLOAD van der graaf generator X HERE!