Audio CD review:
Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life

Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life

Band: Van Der Graaf Generator Title: Still Life Rating: Release Date: 23 September, 1992 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Pilgrims 2: Still Life 3: La Rossa 4: My Room (Waiting for Wonderland) 5: Childlike Faith Childchood's End

Customer Reviews The Finest In Digital Remastering finally have been given the support to restore & enhance their catalog. I am very pleased that Hammill & Co. It was well overdue for such a unique & sorely overlooked band. I found this particular disc to really sound ballsy with the new treatment. Those who may feel this CD lacks bottom end must be referring to the Caroline print, because this new reissue is all bottom end (if you don't believe me, crank "La Rossa" to the high heavens). My Caroline prints of the VDGG catalog are pitiful. This new release has no analog hiss and the mix is powerful & wonderfully seperated. Hammill's voice cuts through the din like butter, Evan's snare drum is crisp and exact, while Banton & Jackson never sounded fuller. Obviously, my review is more concentrated on the massive improvement of sound quality over previous releases from this band's catalog. It is, in fact, the greatest improvement I've ever heard from a band, and a stunning display of how powerful & age-defying VDGG's music is and continues to be. When I finally saw their catalog on the shelves again, I just had to find out - and I found out! Still Life as an album is a masterful recording with a marked contrast in dynamics. "Pilgrims" is a solid opener & works at a steady pace. The track easily succeeds in setting the mood & is superbly executed. "Still Life" is a wonderful song begging the question of validity & meaning in an eternal life. Hammill's lyrics are, as always, way above par. It should be noted that Hammill doesn't sing but PERFORMS his lyrics, which I believe confounds the unsuspecting listener. This albums has a million lyrics & it amazes me that Hammill can even remember them all. "La Rossa" is the album's centerpiece, and rocks like a bastard. I truly love this track and often loop it on the way to work. With this newly remastered version, I find it essential to play it (and all the others in the VDGG catalog) as loud as my car stereo can go, because the overall dynamics of this album are all the more stunning at excessive volumes. "My Room (Waiting For Wonderland)" is proof that Hammill is indeed a great & passionate singer, who can even nail the tune's harmonic minor scale. Jackson plays with exceptional beauty and the song has a nice peaceful drift to it. The final track "Childlike Faith In Childhood's End" embodies the traits of the whole album and is like a compact version of the whole collection of songs. This song has more lyrics than Milton's "Paradise Lost" and could be considered self-indulgent, but does nothing to diminish the song's impact. It is highly dramatic and wonderfully performed. Even though VDGG may be an aquired taste, if you like 'em, you'll love 'em. To me, they are the cream of the progressive crop. Of course, you should go buy this with the rest of their catalog. Be sure, however, that it is the newly remastered versions from 2005, or you might be disappointed. Some great songs Almost too laid back; this album screams for more layers of instruments to compensate for the laid back, pretty nature of hte music. This is Van Der Graaf's most laid back album. However, it's still strong. The songs are still good, Childlike Faith being one of their best songs. Definitely a late night album, I believe. . Reality Check I have loved VdGG for 25 years and Still Life is a LP I will take with me to my grave. Let me be up front. But reading all the positive reviews, and the negative one name dropping Davis and Coltrane, I thought an honest reality check is called for. Few people like VdGG much. Most people don't get it. I have never met a woman that likes them, except for a couple of the sickly sweet anthems such as Refugees. At their worst they are overdulgent and cringe-making. At their best they are in a parallel universe unmatched by any other band. The band-comparision thing is very dangerous. Personally I love Miles Davis up to about 1972, Coltrane (the Free Jazz excepted), and Hendix, but have never much enjoyed ELP, Yes, Bowie, Genesis or most Prog Rock bands. Certainly if you want your production squeaky clean like Steely Dan, forget it. Most VdGG albums have a wonderful sound, some quite velvety like a Pre Raphaelite painting, but there is also a rough this-was-recorded-in-week feel, and defiant 'our way' attitude. Some of the lyrics are fab, some aren't. Most of the vocals are just something else. Most people say to me "Hammill can't sing". He sometimes operates near to Tom Waits, but sometimes he has a strange falsetto that Waits-fans will definitely not like. It always sounds like he's never seen a vocal coach in his life, in fact I can imagine him sticking to fingers up at the thought. The band / vocal balance works for me like Elvis Costello and the Attractions, or Ian Dury and the Blockheads. A sweet, dense instrumental sound balances the sour vocal sound, but it is not something that appeals to most people. It doesn't rock, and there aren't guitars to speak of, and there isn't a simple melody or chorus structure. In fact, most VdGG intros are longer than most great songs. It's all a bit self-indulgent frankly. Maybe you need a little bit of excessive 'adolescent male' attitude to understand albums like Still Life? It seems to appeal to nerdy types who like it laid on a bit thick. So be warned - the average person would give Still Life 1 out 5 at most. Us fans would give them 5 stars out of love, and 4 stars if we were honest. . You can see a complete list of all Van Der Graaf Generator discography, or go back to the Van Der Graaf Generator tabs