Van Der Graaf Generator
Seventies albums by English prog ensemble, now with bonus tracks, stereo mixes and DVD editions.
Led by Peter Hammill, a constant in an ever shifting line-up, Van Der Graaf Generator initially seemed to operate in the (. They were indisputably, unashamedly prog – byzantine, close-knit arrangements of brass, woodwind, organ and guitar, with Hammill given to grand statements about the folly of humanity. This was where English rock took its leave of the blues to enter the realms of purple flights. However, there was little pastoral escapism about VDGG and certain recurring themes; r, on , tells the story of a shark driven to loneliness having consumed all his ocean companions, of a lonely tyrant racked with remorse.
