Monday, October 18, 2010

Van Der Graaf Generator - Trisector (2008)



The great comeback of Van der Graaf Generator (i believe it's the 11th studio album). A simple line-up (organ-guitar-bass-drums) but nevertheless quite good. Don't miss it!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts (1971)



Peter Hammill (guitar and vocals), Nick Pearne (organ) and Chris Judge Smith (drums and wind instruments) formed Van der Graaf Generator in 1967 when they were students at Manchester University. SInce then they have released 11 albums including "Trisector" (2008).
Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971. It is hailed as one of the masterpieces of progressive rock by many fans of the genre
It contains just three tracks, "Lemmings", "Man-Erg" and the 23 minute concept piece "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". Fripp again provided a cameo appearance on guitar. The album proved highly successful in Italy, topping the chart there for 12 weeks[5]. The single "Theme One" was number one of the charts in Italy, too. "Theme One" was an instrumental piece, originally written by Beatles producer George Martin as a fanfare for the BBC radio station Radio 1, later to appear on US pressings of Pawn Hearts.



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Psychedelic Diamonds (psych-krautrock compilation)





This is a compilation that I made some years ago. Here you will find some of the best krautrock bands of the 70s. Most of the songs are difficult to find.




Disk One here!
Disk Two here!

Monday, October 11, 2010

The West Coast Pop Art Exp Band - Vol.3 (1968)


The next album, "Volume III - A Child's Guide To Good And Evil" is generally regarded as the group's high point. However, again the naive peace-and-love message of some of the songs sat uneasily beside the ironic cynicism of tracks like "A Child Of A Few Hours Is Burning To Death", and the songs showed a tension between the Harris brothers’ melodies, Morgan’s strident lead guitar and effects, and Markley’s sometimes bizarre declamations. By this time, the band effectively consisted of Markley, Morgan and Shaun Harris, with Danny Harris having withdrawn through illness.

The West Coast Pop Art Exp Band - Vol.2


Recorded and released in 1967, "Volume Two – Breaking Through" was a more ambitious and coherent album, with all of the tracks credited either in whole or in part to members of the band. It featured Markley’s anti-war rant "Suppose They Give A War And No One Comes?" – partly based on a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt and later covered by Punk band T.S.O.L. – and the song "Smell of Incense", featuring Morgan’s guitar work and later covered by Southwest F.O.B. The album also started to demonstrate Markley’s lyrical obsession with young girls.