Godbluff

Artist: Van Der Graaf Generator
Label: Caroline
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 017046163729
EAN: 0017046163729
ASIN: B000000HTK

Release Date: 1992-09-23

Godbluff

Related Categories:

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music

| Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Progressive

| Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Tracks:

The Undercover Man
Scorched Earth
Arrow
The Sleepwalkers

Similar Items:

Still Life
H to He, Who Am the Only One
Pawn Hearts
The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome
Aerosol Grey Machine

Customer Reviews:

The Finest In Digital Remastering.......2007-02-19

With the newly digitally remastered reissues of the VDGG catalog, you cannot possibly go wrong. I believe Hammill & Co. have done THE best remastering job I have ever heard. The volume, bottom end, seperation & meticulous details are all there in stunning display. The first thing I noticed was how bright & crisp Evans' snare drum is compared to the dull thud of the previous release. The new treatment really brought out the intricacies of his playing. If you needed proof that VDGG had some major balls (and I myself needed this proof previously), look no further than the new Godbluff reissue - all dressed up and ready to devastate the universe.

If you are already familiar with this album, it need not be said. Godbluff was VDGG's first comeback that shook the world during a period when Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd and the like were all but sleepwalking. Had Godbluff been released a year or 2 later, it simply would've grabbed the threat of Punk by its ear and sent it home crying to mommy. This album had the balls no other prog band ever had, and it is my personal favorite.

"The Undercover Man" reminds me of "Pilgrims" from Still Life, with a similar pace and sets the mood for the album. With a dramatic fade-in, "Scorched Earth" all but incinerates the place. The aforementioned snare drum of Guy's sounding tight & crisp. Hammill puts on an absolute demonic performance and is more than convincing. Both Banton & Jackson sound so full on this album (and Still Life) that you wouldn't really have much room for a guitar, although Hammill's Strat is mixed very carefully in "Scorched Earth" and raises Holy Hell at the end. "Arrow" offers a harrowing performance by Hammill, who is putting his vocal cords to the absolute test. Finally, the trigonometry of "The Sleepwalkers" closes the album and builds to up to a climax that is to die for. In this reissue, you can clearly hear Hammill going into a frenzy before he screams "Tonight before you lay down...". It makes my hair stand on end everytime I hear it. I love how Hammill refuses to play it safe, squeezing in syllables where they may or may not belong, and just completely going insane.

To me, it is important to note that Hammill doesn't sing but PERFORMS his lyrics, which I think confounds the unsuspecting listener. It sounds lame to me to hear people [...] about his vocals, but yet offer other vocalists their highest regards for phoned-in performances of technical mastery & sterility. BORING!! That's like bitching about Hendrix being too loud & using feedback during his solos. Stay home & knit a quilt!!

I could go on & on about this album and this band, but I have no time. Of course, I highly recommend this one and any from the newly remastered VDGG catalog. I also recommend you play it to maximum volume, because you can finally hear what VDGG was supposed to truly sound like all along. They are the Godzilla of Progressive Rock. VDGG never was for the faint of heart.

Pulling back, changing slightly.......2005-05-07

The band pulls back from their epic sound on the last album, and strip the soundback a little. Much less intensity, much easier to lisetn to. These songs are still brilliant; the lyric focus has changed from cosmic to much more personal. After doing his solo career, Hammil no doubt shifted to the much more personal themes of his solo albums. Sleepwalkers is one of the best tracks the band ever did. Not a huge change in sound, but enough of a change to be interesting. The band always had a very focused, very individual song, but they found lots of interesting ways to change it up.

My personal favorite - - - =- - - =- - - = - - -=.......2004-03-04

Easiest to listen to of all VDGG albums (in my humble opinion) and the one I use to introduce people to the horrors of Peter Hammill and friends.
Reformed for the second (or third) time, this was the best VDGG ever. "Still LIfe" is considered as Peters masterpiece and most think "World Record" was a dud. But I like them all!

The Prog Album That Put the Prog Giants To Bed.......2004-03-02

The 1975 comeback album "Godbluff" is the album that puts the other prog giants (Pink Floyd, ELP, Yes, etc.) to bed, and that's no bluff. This album is absolutely relentless in its emotional intensity and lyrical profundity. It must be noted that Hammill isn't merely a singer, but a PERFORMER of lyrics, which is what lines like "If all is lost none is known/and how can we lose what we've never owned?" demand. Being a long-time hardcore Pink Floyd fan, it really means something when I say Peter Hammill really makes a dwarf of Roger Waters on this album (particularly in execution). While the other big names were running on autopilot by this time, "Godbluff" really makes the others pale in comparison. VDGG arrived to kick major ass on all fronts with a vengeance.

The opener "The Undercover Man" creeps along with Hammill whispering in the shadows, building suspense before the song opens up with a reflective & confessional soliloquy. The band always supplying the perfect canvas for Hammill to paint his lyrics to profound effect, which become universally addressed by the end of the piece.

Like a restless ocean wave comes "Scorched Earth", beautifully segued from the opening track. The song builds with Evans' drumming really punctuating the intensity that soon reaches its tantric release. Banton's modified Hammond sounds downright frightful during the heavy angular riffs (this music would've scare the crap out of me as a child), which again help convey Hammill's wrath with lines like "It's far too late to turn, unless it's to stone". The band then goes into an absolutely frenzy, demanding that the listener turn his stereo up well into the red (and well past 11). Hammill's guitar abuse at the end is absolutely perfect.

"Arrow" begins with a jazzy schizophrenic vibe (with wah-wah sax) before easing into the opening chords. Hammill is absolutely manic on this track (which I have blaring as I write), with lyrics full of helplessness & wrath. Jackson's sax sounds great & easily replaces the electric guitar. Actually, I couldn't even imagine a guitar on this album - too much intensity.

Finally, we meet "The Sleepwalkers" with a very mathmatical interplay between Banton & Evans. The song has many incredible movements & a great build with Jackson really coming to the fore. The song grows to orgasmic proportions with Jackson really taking the song to new heights. It's really something to hear Hammill lose his mind in the background just before he explodes into "Tonight, before you lay down to the sweetness of your sleep...". Of course, this part should be cranked up to infinity to feel the full effects (or affects) of his wrath.

I obviously have profound feelings for this album and recommend that when you buy (and yes you WILL buy it) this one, it must be played at full volume everyday. We should get a petition going to have this & other VDGG albums digitally remastered (any feedback on this?). This band really makes the other prog giants appear as SLEEPWALKERS.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Back to Mono (1958-1969) ~ Phil Spector

Roots ~ Stablemates

Jumpin' In ~ Dave Holland Quintet

The Roots of Swing N Jive ~ Various Artists

Seara de Jazz Cu Aura ~ Aura Urziceanu

My Fair Lady

Kiseki No Naru Ki ~ Flower Submarine

Catherine Durand ~ Catherine Durand

Songs of Sunlife: Inside the Didgeridu ~ Douglas Ewart

After New Wave: Cover Hits ~ Various Artists