Audio CD review:
Van Der Graaf Generator - Aerosol Grey Machine

Van Der Graaf Generator - Aerosol Grey Machine

Band: Van Der Graaf Generator Title: Aerosol Grey Machine Rating: Release Date: 10 June, 1997 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Afterwards 2: Orthenthian St. - Part 1 & 2 3: Running Back 4: Into A Game 5: Aerosol Grey Machine 6: Black Smoke Yen 7: Aguarian 8: Necromancer 9: Octopus 10: People You Were Going To 11: Firebrand

Customer Reviews Good Start, Not like later Graaf, but Solo hammill Quite a good album though. Peter wasn't quite on the top of his game here. Sounds a lot more like his later solo stuff than anything Graaf did later. Necromancer is a highlight. I do agree that the lyrics are wonky, but I also believe that Peter Hammil has a sense of humor. ummmmmm . 1000 words is a lot. . ummm. . . . "I am the Necromancer" rules. . . i thought only Natz and I liked this band. . . . i found aerosal gray machine by chance and immediately loved it. . . . that was long ago. . . . i only went to this site cause i was looking up Robert Wyatt and found out that the same people who love him love Van Der Graf (and Can. . . yeah) so i wanted to hear this again. . . . this goes back 20 years. . . . ummm. . . . too much aerosol??? i love this band. xxxrib. Faltering 1st steps As has already been pointed out this was originally intended as a Peter Hammill solo album, and it shows. The first VDGGLP was barely ever released in Britain. "Orthentian Street", "Running Back" and "Into the Game" are all longish acoustic guitar-based songs with fairly minimal musical accompaniment. On these songs Hugh Banton is hardly present, which can only be a bad thing, while throughout the album the rhythm section of Keith Ellis and Guy Evans sound strangely tentative (thank God for Nic Potter, another album of Ellis' irritatingly wayward rubber band bass playing would have been to much to bear!) Not that these are bad songs, far from it, the roots of Hammill's future mature style are already in place. The opener "Afterwards" is an excellent Hammill ballad, displaying all of his melodic strengths, and (thank the Lord!) with Banton dominant on organ - still, it does has a definite late-60's feel about it, did someone mention Procol Harum? The more obviously "prog rock" tracks occur on what was originally Side 2 of the album. "Aquarian" (why is it called "Aguarian" on the CD?) gropes towards the later VDGG sound and thankfully has more of Banton's distinctive organ playing but not nearly enough. "Necromancer" is rousing, if a little silly but is recognizably "prog", the subject matter was handled better on "White Hammer" on "The Least We Can Do. . . ". "Octopus" is even more recognizable as VDGG, again Banton's organ is to the fore, though do I hear echoes (no pun intended) of Pink Floyd on the spacier sections of this track? I'm glad to say that the CD includes both sides of the band's debut single, which I'd never actually heard until now. "People You Were Going To" was later re-done on Hammill's "Nadir's Last Chance" album, and while I prefer the later version, it remains a good song, but a hit single? Hardly! "Firebrand" on the other hand is quite a different matter, put it down to the folly of youth but Hammill's vocals on the chorus are frankly laughable - if indeed it is Hammill? And who's playing the strangulated psychedelic lead guitar on the track?. . You can see a complete list of all Van Der Graaf Generator discography, or go back to the Van Der Graaf Generator tabs