CD - Virgin Records, CDVM 9026 (UK, 93) |
Van der Graaf Generator:
I Prophesy Disaster (compilation and rare tracks)
1. Afterwards [4:57]
All songs written by Peter Hammill |
| Musicians: |
Peter Hammill - vocals, guitars, keyboards Guy Evans - drums Hugh Banton - organ, bass pedals and guitar (tracks 1-8) David Jackson - saxes, flutes (tracks 1-8, 10) Keith Ellis - bass (tracks 1, 2) Nic Poter - bass (tracks 3, 4) Graham Smith - violin (tracks 9, 10) Charles Dickie - cello, keyboards (track 10) |
| Other credits: |
Recorded at Rockfield (tr. 1, 3), Ross-on-Wye (tr. 6, 10), Norton Canon (2, 4, 9) and Crowborough (tr. 8) between 1971 and 1975. © 1993 Virgin Records Ltd |
R e l e a s e N o t e s
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Conceiving in an age when every second social science student aspired to become a poet and young classically-trained musicians wanted to be rock artists, Van der Graaf Generator's mission was certainly of its time. The order of the day to be progressive pop was simply no longer adequate to describe the aspirations of a generation reared on a heady cocktail of the Beatles, Karl Marx and Coca-Cola.
Nothing was simple any more. Even the career of Van der Graaf Generator was marked by so many intricate twists and turns that it defies summary within the space of a few brief paragraphs. The group once described as "an incredible combination of rock, poetry and jazz " (Charisma advertising slogan, 1970) are now rightly regarded as perhaps the ultimate progressive rock experience, albeit one that, both musically and conceptually, remain far more than a pleasing anachronism.
The existential tightropes walked by singer/lyricist Peter Hammill still find resonance in the work many rock artists who've drawn inspiration from him, Johnny Rotten (Lydon), Marc Almond and Nick Cave in particular. And newcomers to Hammill are usually struck by similarities with a style touted by David Bowie - certainly vocally, and occasionally in the writing too. Hammill has pursued a solo career since Van der Graaf finally parted the ways in 1978, with a series of fascinating, and richly varied solo albums. Musically, he's strayed far from the manic maelstrom of sound conjured up during VDGG days, although few would argue that his talent with the pen has diminished in any way. But it is to the Van der Graaf Generator years that we turn to for this CD collection of classics and rarities. The nucleus of Hammill, Hugh Banton (keyboards), David Jackson (saxes) and Guy Evans (drums) presided over the group's most active period, which lasted roughly from 1970's "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other", through to 1976's "World Record". A rejigged version of the band soldiered on using the abbreviated name Van der Graaf for another couple of years, but the arrival of punk rock, coupled with a sense of creative exhaustion prompted one final split - they already been wrested apart in 1969 and 1972, on the latter occasion, for three years. This set is designed to complement Virgin's previous two CD collections, "First Generation" and "Second Generation", which documented the group's career from either side of the 1972-75 watershed. "I Prophesy Disaster", which takes its title from what's the group's finest moment, "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" suite on "Pawn Hearts", has the good fortune of drawing from both periods. While providing an alternative introduction to the group's music, we've also managed to unearth a few rarities which, until now have yet to make it onto the CD format. Whether you're a recent converter or a confirmed completist, this set should provide what every VDGG album sought to do: combine moments of hair-tearing panic with touching displays of lyrical and musical splendour. Van der Graaf Generator always courted the outermost limits both in terms of emotional intensity and musical experimentation. This didn't always translate into commercial success - their biggest audiences were always the student circuit and on continent - but their cult following remains fiercely loyal and insistent that in Peter Hammill, VDGG had one of the leading songwriters of their generation. 1. Afterwards (1969, from "The Aerosol Grey Machine"). This track appeared on the group's U.S.-only debut album, which took six years before securing a British release. Its acoustic guitar and understated organ give it a Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd feel. The song was originally written in 1967. 2. Necromancer (1969, from "The Aerosol Grey Machine"). Although rumour has it that more one version of this has appeared over the years (on the album, the U.S.-only coupling with "Afterwards", and on the "68-71" compilation), the vaults indicate otherwise. We've performed our own act of necromancy in conjuring up this vintage recording in tip-top sound quality. 3. Refugees (1970, single version). An undisputed Hammill classic composed in the aftermath of the political upheavals of 1968. A longer version of the song appears on the group's second album, "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other" 4. The Boat of Millions of Years (1970, B-side). This backed the "Refugees" 45, and subsequently appeared on the "68-71" compilation, since when it's lain dormant on scratchy vinyl. Here it is for the first time on CD. 5. Lemmings (1971, from "Pawn Hearts"). With "Man-Erg" and "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers", this makes up the trilogy on what's probably the band's finest album. Fuelled by an insistent, undulating riff, it was always a live favourite. 6. W (1972, B-side). If George Martin's "Theme One" instrumental was a somewhat out-of-character diversion, Hammill used the flip to revisit one of his favourite themes, estrangement. 7. Arrow (1975, from "Godbluff"). Comeback albums are often fraught with difficulty but VDGG passed the admirably with "Godbluff". Although hints of more conventional jazz-rock playing were in evidence, "Arrow", when it got going, provided an album highlight. 8. La Rossa (1976, from "Still Life"). "I've been hiding behind words", sings Hammill on this, one of several classic songs on "Still Life", probably the groups's most satisfying 'comeback' release. "La Rossa" provides plenty more camouflage, though it sounds more like ten minutes of no-hold-barred purification! 9. Ship of Fools (non-U.K. B-side). This appeared in live form on 1978's "Vital" though the studio version, once slated for "The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome" ended up on an obscure overseas single release of "Cat's Eye". 10. Medley (Parts of "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers and "The Sleepwalkers") (1978, from "Vital"). The "Vital" double album live set wasn't perhaps the perfect ending to Van der Graaf's ten-years career, but this medley coupling excerpts from "Lighthouse Keepers" (from "Pawn Hearts") and "The Sleepwalkers" (from "Godbluff") found the newly-reconstituted group performing two classics from the VDGG repertoire.
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