Audio CD review:
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

Band: Van Der Graaf Generator Title: Pawn Hearts Rating: Release Date: 31 January, 1992 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Lemmings (Including Cog) 2: Man-Erg 3: A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers: A. Eyewitness...

Customer Reviews perfect, but shhh! don't tell anyone... The album is the most original and complex material ever released by any rock band, even when it only has 3 tracks (apart from Theme One), it shows every aspect of mature sounds that could ever be released; it assimilates the greatest content of progressive rock, applying the most changing musical pattern in a cd that I've ever heard, the most stunning musical performance, the best mellodies applied by the band and the most strange and difficult to follow moods in a rock album. Luis Mejia (son) - VDGG is probably one of the most incredibly talented bands of the world, so hard to compare with any other band, but they exploded the sound barrier and extended the limit of the word "perfect" with this record. A MUST for every prog fan and every one who search incredible complexity and rythm combined. The album was released in 1971, but even though the critics were very impressed, the album went largely unnoticed for the charts, which demonstrate that Peter Hammill and his bandmates learned quickly from the big errors made in The Aerosol Gray Machine and the little mistakes made in both clever The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other and H To He, Who Am The Only One. Within the tracks, every song is unique and perfect; they seemed to go from more simple rythms from the first track to completely changing and complex rythms to the last track: 1. Lemmings: a severe introduction to the masterpiece, wich is very mellodic and more comprehensible with a balanced level of complexity; quiet and suddenly hard moods dominate the song. 2. Man Erg: a classic among classics from VDGG, possibly the band's most remembered song, wich suits with majesty in the album and is a fearfully composed track that starts with a calm piano and a simple fragment sang by Hammill, suddenly interrupted by Banton's heavy organ and Jackson's saxophone, and this two moods combine eventually among the song. 3. A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers: perfect, just perfect, the greatest rock song ever composed; its 23 minutes long, so you can enjoy it for a while, and its so complex and difficult, switching from an instruments full performance to a single instrument, changing the mellodies eventually among the track, like if they were many songs together, and Hammill's neurotic voice gives the song the perfect frenetic touch. The artists' performances are in the top of all their other albums. Peter Hammill's voice is neurotic and impressive as always. Banton's organ is played fiercefully and potent, a performance that leaves a trace of great originality. Jackson's saxophones are delicatelly played and gives a smooth sound to the album. Evans' drums are played very hard, for me he is one of the greatest drummers in the world and he shows that not only on this album, in every VDGG album. Pawn Hearts even includes guitar legend King Crimson front man Robert Fripp playing the electric guitar! Well in conclussion Pawn Hearts is among the most exclusive and mature compositions in the world, stays as the best VDGG album ever released and keeps a unique sense of music. As I said before, a MUST. . Best Kept Secret in Prog No, not everyone can get on Van Der Graaf's singular wavelength, but as the prior reviews attest, those of us who can find something in Van Der Graaf, and in Pawn Hearts in particular that no other band can match. It's a huge thrill for an old time fan like me to see so many still discovering and attuning to this absolutely unique and powerful relic of the prog-rock era. I agree that this may not be the best "starter" album for someone new to Van Der Graaf. For that I would recommend "The Least we Can Do. . . " which features (among other things) the beautiful by any standard "Refugees" as well as the opening track, "Darkness 11/11" (Peter Hammill's birthday, by the way), an excellent 6-minute precis of what the band is all about. Even if you find "The Least we Can Do" tantalizing, "Pawn Hearts" may still not work for you. It is indeed jagged, raw, dissonant and jarring. You may not like it at all at first; stick with it--in time it will reveal itself as one of the most profound rock albums EVER--I agree totally with a previous reviewer's ranking in the all-time prog top 10. This is a work of intense depth and perception, and Hamill's lyrics & songwriting are in absolutely top form. I especially want to express my own fierce admiration for "Man-Erg"-musically, lyrically and emotively one of the most powerful cries of existential pondering ever! The stately vocal/piano intro "falls off the cliff" into an inferno of blasting staccato sax, to be overlaid with Hammill's throat-ripping screams, "how can I be free? How can I get help? Am I really me? Am I someone else?" This section yields to a less urgent midsection highlighting Banton's organ, Peter's less frantic but no less intense wordplay, concluding with some beautifully melodious saxaphone flourishes by Dave Jackson (with restrained ornamental riffing by that Fripp guy on electric guitar). All of which eases us back to an even more dignified restatement of the opening verse, this time opened up on the back end to another berserk crescendo of voice and band jacking it up to 11 for a thunderous close. Lyrically, it's all about exploring the nature of the human condition--"A killer lives inside me, I can feel him move. . . " It's all subjective of course, but to my ears no one has ever captured the riddle of living so succinctly as Peter Hammill did in this song. Does it provide answers? No, of course not--but in the act of articulating a sense of humanity I'd never felt captured before, Hammill surely enriched my life in a way that still moves me. This is not just a pop song, it's art. I too lament the absence of "Theme One" from all CD editions of this recording. This was one of the few times the American LP was better than the import--the US version dropped "Theme One" between track 1 (Lemmings) and track 2 (Man-Erg), and gave the whole album a shot in the arm. Yes, it was written by the Beatles' George Martin, but it's a kick-ass instrumental number with sinew & muscle to spare. The band really shows some swagger that very few of Hammill's compositions allowed (well, perhaps until "Godbluff," anyway). I should also briefly mention that another "little" song, the INCREDIBLE song "W" was also recorded at this time, and we can only hope that some future CD reissue will gather all these tracks in one package. "Pawn Hearts" may never find a wide audience, but those of us "on the inside" recognize just what a pinnacle it is. The word "Masterpiece" has been debased badly by overuse, but I can think of no better title to bestow. Five supernova stars. . Teters on the Top of a high mountain, almost falls Some people swear it's their absolute best. This album is Van Der Graaf's Tales From Topographic oceans. Some swear it's their absolute worst. I love it; it is something you have to grow to appreciate though. The catchy themes from past times are gone, and it's almost entirely based on atmosphere and that contrast between beauty and ugliness. I believe that A Plauge is one of the best side longs in all of prog. It flows close to perfectly. The other two tracks have sections that are wonderful, others that are not. If you enjoy this album, you'll enjoy the rest of the band's albums. This is their hardest to get into, but it is worth it, i believe. . You can see a complete list of all Van Der Graaf Generator discography, or go back to the Van Der Graaf Generator tabs