Let’s travel through the Five Decades of Prog again, and go all the way back to the seventies.
Album title: Still Life
Artist: Van der Graaf Generator
Nationality: English
Year: 1976
Chronology: 6
The Trollheart Factor: 3
Track Listing: Pilgrims/Still Life/La Rossa/My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)/Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End
Comments: Well as ever you could be listening to
Trespass - though of course VDGG were the originals - with a pastoral, soft tune until it breaks out and shows it certainly is not Genesis, Hammill performing those vocal acrobatics he’s so famous for. Track gets pretty intense and powerful, a good bit of brass but not too overpowering, quite effective in fact. The title track starts off with what I think is acapella vocal though it’s so low it’s hard to hear it; think there’s an organ or something running very quietly underneath it. Now it picks up and actually has a kind of funk feel to it. As always, Hammill holds the attention with his spectacular, at times disturbing singing. “La Rossa” is a pretty long song, nearly ten minutes, and for what’s in it I kind of don’t see the need. Good sort of medieval atmosphere in parts, carnival organ, gets quite frenetic. Good sax solo.
The problem here is nothing is really sticking. I’ve heard a few of their songs that I really like and can remember, but nothing on this album, at least so far, is making that sort of impression on me, and it’s a common failing for me with VDGG. Just two tracks left, and “My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)” has an almost blues feel to it, slow and measured, but again it goes by without making any sort of impression, and again the closer begins with that intolerably low, almost muttered vocal, which makes it hard to hear what he’s singing. Yeah I’m just bored with this now.
Track(s) I liked: Not really anything stood out
Track(s) I didn't like: didn’t NOT like anything, but all kind of passed in a blur
One standout: n/a
One rotten apple: n/a
Overall impression:
Rating: 5/10
Future Plan: This has actually made me LESS likely to listen to VDGG again... sigh.
Still Life? Still bored...