Classic Rock

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 slipstream of King (. 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.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Classic Rock

Classic Rock2 min read
Silveroller
Silveroller aren’t here to start a revolution. The UK-based Gen-Z blues rockers are a proudly traditional band, with a bone-deep appreciation for “rock’n’roll in its purest form”. At the heart of their sound is a need for simplicity; a back-to-basics
Classic Rock1 min read
News
Glenn Hughes has completed the writing of a new solo album, which will be his first since Resonate in 2016. Although currently busy with Black Country Communion and his ongoing 50th-anniversary tour for Deep Purple’s Burn album, the bassist/ vocalist
Classic Rock54 min read
The Hard Stuff Albums
Let the subtly melodic, sporadically explosive and pleasingly edgy times roll. Fun, you say? In these times of war, famine, economic strife and queues in pubs for seven-quid pints, Nashville’s space-country glowerers Kings Of Leon make for unlikely M

Related Books & Audiobooks