Best Van der Graaf Generator Album

Tough poll. Godbluff gets my vote though.
Btw the 1st album is underrated. 1st song on it is awesome.

Strictly speaking Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome is just Van der Graaf but I doubt it'll get any votes anyway. It's good and all, but no Jaxon = :(

Still Life is the most powerful one, for me.

NV, I've worked out how to get zip files working. Any chance you could chuck me a couple of the VdGG records? Preferably Still Life + H to the He or Pawn Hearts or whatever.

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other

Louis, I'm sure I gave you some zips of VDGG before.

guys he just worked out how to get zip files working!

i knew how to download them but they kept on deleting themselves from my itunes!

CLEARLY IT WOULD BE WRONG TO TRADE ZIP FILES ON ILM AMIRITE?

it's precisely the sort of anti-authoritarian stand that would delight peter h

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the first one I bought and the ending of "White Hammer" is easily as heavy as Sabbath.

I honestly own and love them all though. Thanks to Away from Voivod for getting me into VDGG.

And an additional big thanks to my bizarre personal filters that allow me to like Peter Hammill's voice!

(The studio jams on disc 2 of their latest album are really cool too)

I hope "Godbluff" wins but it'll prob'ly be "Pawn Hearts"

Yeah I went for Pawn Hearts over Godbluff, but only just. Peter Hammill's vocals and lyrics : C/D? I can just about stand him these days, but only just.

Well, I tried that "Nadir's last chance" or whatever it's called. "Ooh, you'll like that" they said.

Naah.

It's not *terrible*, it's more the mediocre that suggests taking it off and putting something else on.

Nadir's Last Chance I like a lot. I think Pawn Hearts probably will win this though, but who can tell with ILM these days.

I don't think Pawn Hearts is all that. The 75-76 incarnation are better and wilder musicians all at once. PH has great moments but flatter stretches than Godbluff or Still Life.

A Hammill poll wd be a much more unpredictable and uncomfortable proposition, but I'd have to confront my guilt at not knowing many of his post-85 records very well.

srsly, listening to H to He at the moment, can there be much of a more awesome song than Killer? this album is very, very good. not going to vote for it yet though.

"Killer" is almost slightly silly, and the fact that it's still great is testament to VdGG's ability to rock the fuck out.

It's very silly. It always reminded me of The Stranglers for some reason.

Louis, just wait until you hear Arrow

xpost The keyboard riffing and the vocal's got a bit of "Peaches" about it, maybe? Mentalist lovelorn giant killer squid Peaches, obv.

Godbluff. A no-brainer choice, even though I <3 them all. It's unfuckable with from beginning to end

The other tracks (I'm just finishing 'Lost') are also wonderful! There's actually a good deal of space on this record (even though it does 'rock the fuck out' on occasion), which I like.

OMG "LA ROSSA"

Hehehehehe. Yes. That is definitely an emotionally turbulent young man's song.

Even without taking the lyrics into account it's a fucking storm of a song.

Yes, that song is great. Don't like the second side of "Still Life" however or the latter tracks on "H to He" and "The Least We Can Do". Don't like the last track on "Godbluff". First album = MEH. "World Record" = not bad but for that one criminally boring track that goes on forever. "Pawn Hearts" is the most consistent album.

Oh wow seeing them play "Childlike Faith in Childhood's End" was some kind of system restore point in my life. For a long time that was a song I wanted played at my funeral until it dawned on me that that'd be a bit maudlin for the poor sods that had to be there. But it isn't maudlin. Sombre maybe.

Haha, you're timing these comments now. That song is currently being awesome in my earspace. The album isn't dropping off in the second half at all!

1st side of Pawn Hearts + 1st side of Godbluff = their best album

But since that doesn't exist, Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is their most consistently enjoyable for me

Tom D - go re-listen to the end few minutes of side 2 of "Least We Can Do..."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i love every second of still life

Yay team. That's a good order, although I think H to He... could have ranked a bit higher. It's so good.

But I even like Present and that go 0 votes (for obvious reasons).

i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life
i love every second of still life

still need to get the others mind

Yes you do. If you like Still Life, you'll probably like them all.

time for a re-run jim!

"the price of admission" on present. holy shit

it's *okay* i guess...not really focused enough to completely win me over

drugs help

no argument there.

the early stuff is underrated imho. "running back" sounds like a presentiment of current 93

weird, I was listening to + liking Afterwards the other day but I quickly averted the next track

maybe that album deserves a relisten - after all its follow-up is jawdropping so it must have SOMETHING more to recommend it

the debut's more mellow and subdued than what's to come. it's almost like they did a conventional brooding psych so well right out of the gate, hammill felt a license to unleash himself subsequently. give it a listen and see what you think

I just did! All the way through! I guess Aquarian, Octopus and Into A Game are all pretty neat, maybe Octopus the neatest - some lovely chord progressions. IAG was awesomely clusterfucked and doomy (by the standards of this album). Will relisten.

Yeah, Afterwards and Octopus are stunning, Running Back really not bad either - the whole first side would be amazing sans Orthentian St - fortunately the boys learned to edit later on

organ chords in Octopus from like 3.20 onwards are just heart-stoppingly beautiful

Oh also can we discuss World Record here? Because it's like 60% brilliant, 40% wtf.

When She Comes - this is VdGG's shittest song and a completely abysmal rehash of past glories that goes on for 8 minutes too long

A Place To Survive - this is *fucking awesome*, like, really intense and gleaming, right up until the point, about 7 and a half minutes in, when you realise it is going to dissipate all of that tension in a really lame jam-out finale. With some focus this really could have been something.

Masks - absolutely goddamn brilliant, as good as any VdGG song.

Meurglys III - the opening 3.40 are quite honestly some of the best music this band ever did - simply fucking staggering. Then it turns out the band is in expansive mood. This doesn't REALLY matter so much in this song - there's quite a bit of down-time in the first half, until it all kicks off again just after 8 minutes - and even then this bit, while cool, still takes a teeny bit too long to make its admittedly neat point (guitar separating from sax, descending riff atop ascending, dischord etc - could have been done in 8 bars, not 892840) and then there's a cool chaotic bit that also jams for too long and then there's 7 minutes of reggae, which is actually more acceptable than the above flaws because it's done as a backdrop to quite a cool solo-off between Hammill and Jackson. Anyway, this song could have been 9 minutes long and truly fucking great. I know it's intended as a jammy sorta thing about alienation and being lost in a vast and uncaring universe but seriously guys.

Wondering - slays me with love. Should by rights be installed in the New English Hymnal on page fucking one.

Couldn't disagree more on "When She Comes", the way it erupts into the last few lines of each verse is epic. Also it probably contains the only reference to Edward Burne-Jones in popular song and should be treasured for that reason alone.

The bit where the organ bursts in is cool, but it's kind of a melodic rehash of Scorched Earth without that song's inspired intensity - plus the middle really drags and when the cool bit comes back it hasn't changed or gotten more fiery