Prog Magazine Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time Challenge. Album #73, Godbluff by Van Der Graaf Generator

 Originally posted December 11, 2023

Link to post:

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Prog Magazine Top 100 Prog Albums of All Time Challenge. Album #73, Godbluff by Van Der Graaf Generator .

For info about the Challenge see this post: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=6684569734933012&id=100001401549636&mibextid=Nif5oz

When sharing your thoughts about this album, use the following scale to indicate how familiar you are with the album:

0- Never heard anything from this album, totally new to my ears.

1- I might have heard a song on occasion, or I know a big hit from the album but not the full album.

2- I've listened to the full album a few times, but it's been a while. Slightly familiar with it.

3- I listen to this album periodically, fairly familiar with it.

4- I have listened to this album many times. I know it inside out. Very familiar with it/expert level

I will post links for anyone who needs them to be able to stream it in the comments below. Remember, no matter what your experience level with the album going in, please listen to the album before commenting. I will post album #72 on Thursday. (You can participate, even if you haven't done all or any of the previous rounds.)

Enjoy! (And be nice!)

#100greatestprogrockchallenge

From Comments:

So here we are with another relatively short album….4 tracks…just under 36 minutes. I’ll say I am a level 1 here. I may have heard some of the tracks before, but not the whole thing straight through.

Track 1 - The Undercover Man

Flute with delays and stereo panning starts us off. A high-hat & tamborine establishes the rhythm and a subtle organ joins the flute. Hammill, as I mentioned in the review of “Still Life” always sounds more German than English to me in his singing style. He is in a low register at the start of this song.In the second verse, the instrumentation begins to build and Hammill goes to a higher register. The drumbeat becomes more steady as we reach the bridge. There is a slow climb of intensity as the song progresses.At around 3:30 things come back down and there is what sounds like a timpani roll behind the voice. There is a short instrumental section, then the vocals return, and become more intense. (intense is a word I often use when discussing VDGG.) We close with a sustained organ chord, but then there are a few subtle electric piano chords, which lead us into…

Track 2 - Scorched Earth

We carry over from the previous track, but things build up fairly quickly. Hammill’s vocals are as urgent as ever. Lots of odd meters in this one. The instrumentation thins briefly before building to a bit of a cacophony around 3:20. An instrumental section follows , with lots of rhythmic twists & turns. A huge crescendo happens around 4:40 before a very complex scalar type of run.The meter turns to a steady rocking 4-4 at around 6 minutes. Every time I think it gets as intense as it can, it gets moreso! Tempos and dynamic levels keep increasing. Things back off around 8:30 but then build again. A bit of guitar feedback closes us out. Wow, what a ride!

Track 3 - Arrow

A drumbeat fades in with some additional sounds, Bass guitar joins in and a rhythm is established. Free blowin’ jazzy sax joins in, then wild keyboard sounds follow. Things settle down for a moment and a new musical theme is established. The rhythm slightly reminds me of the opening guitar chords on the theme from MASH. Then Hammill’s intense vocals join in. There is nothing easy going about Mr. Peter Hamill when it comes to his singing! Of course, Jackson, Banton & Evans’ instrumental contributions cannot be discounted (as well as Hammill’s guitar and keyboard playing). A powerful minor key instrumental section closes out the song with a major chord (known as a Picardy third for my music theory inclined friends). Another heart pumping, exciting, musical track.

Track 4 - The Sleepwalkers

A nice proggy odd meter intro ushers in the vocals. Instead of more cowbell, we get woodblock as a turnaround between verses.The woodwind parts are more “composed” sounding and less improvised on this song. Even when Hammill sings quietly it is still “intense” (lol). Then we get a bit of a drunk-merry-go-round part! The rhythm changes so frequently ist sometimes hard to find the downbeat, but I believe it's intentional as the band is very tight. At around 4:35, we get an organ-led dreamy/floaty feel. The rhythm gets rock-steady at around 5 minutes for an instrumental segment. A sax solo takes over at around 6:40. The sound is very full and rich, as Hamill scream-sings over the top of it all. VDGG music is always theatrical in its approach. Swirling-panning sounds bring us into the fade out.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I would never recommend VDGG as chill-out get ready for bed music. I’m not always great at interpreting lyrics on a first listen, as I am a more music oriented listener than a lyric listener, so I’m not always sure what Pete is going on about, but he always sings it with conviction. I have been moderately familiar with VDGG’s sound for awhile, but this & Still Life are the first two VDGG albums I’ve listened to start-to-finish. They are not for the faint of heart. The album may only be about 36 minutes long (not including bonus tracks), but that’s all they need to take you on a powerful journey. I’m putting VDGG close to King Crimson on the prog-style spectrum, but not quite as gymnastic musically. They really carve out their own niche. I’m giving this a 4 out of 5 stars, as it is quite good, but not something I could listen to frequently.