CD - Eagle Records, EAB CD 085 (UK, 98)
+ It appears on "Time Vaults" as "It All Went Up" |
Van der Graaf Generator:
The Masters
1. Saigon Roulette* [4:43] |
| Musicians: |
Guy Evans - drums, percussion, baliphones Hugh Banton - keyboards, drum programmes David Jackson - saxes, flutes, keyboards Peter Hammill - vocals, piano |
| Other credits: |
Recorded between 1972 and 1985 © 1998 Eagle Records |
R e l e a s e N o t e s
|
Formed in 1967, the ornately Gothic and extremely original Van der Graaf Generator (named after a laboratory apparatus) didn't help themselves by splitting and re-forming all the way through their career. The nearest they came to a hit album was 1970's 'The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other', which pictured the Generator itself on its sleeve, but the music they made was in all cases excellent. More than this, it would prove enormously influential on the post-punk wave of bands that flourished in their wake. Singer and main songwriter Peter Hammill fronted Vand der Graaf on and off from 1967, having formed the band while a student at Manchester University. Hugh Banton (keyboards) and Guy Evans (drums) were his main collaborators: David Jackson (sax, flute) arrived later as, for a brief spell, did bassist Nic Porter, who'd earlier played with Evans in the Misunderstood. Most Van der Graaf's albums contain at least one set-piece: 1971's 'Pawn Hearts', for instance, yielded the magnificient 20-minute 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers' while the previous year's 'H to He' contained a perennial encore favourite in 'Killers'. The music here post-dates those classics, however. Barring the first three tracks, this album covers the period between ' Pawn Hearts' and 1975's 'Godbluff' when Hammill was ostensibly pursuing a solo career but using a number of VdGG musicians to assit him. The result is a selection of songs from archives that are band versions of solo compositions, plus others that were, for one reason or another, never officialy released under Van der Graaf banner. 'Ronceveaux' and 'It All Went Red', the earliest, date from 1972, while 'Rift Valley' and 'Faint and Forsaken' were cut in 1975 and immediately the band's official (and ultimately short-lived) reunion. The three tracks that open our selection were recorded in 1984-85 at Foel Studios in Wales and showcase the instrumental axis of Jackson, Banton and Evans alone. All exhibit the almost telepathic understanding that remained between the musicians, indeed the improvised 'Gentleman Prefer Blues' was their first piece of ensemble playing since 1976, captured by chance when an astute engineer pushed the 'record' button. As can be heard, the trio's unique rapport make this a highly compatible companion to the Hammill-fronted selections. Van der Graaf Generator was summed up by 'psychedelic bible' A Tapestry of Delights as 'An interesting progressive band who were in many respects unique." On this evidence, that's something of an understatement. Michael Heatley |
