Original

Another amazing record from Van der Graaf Generator. This is their third from 1970. This is a 1976 reissue with the Mad Hatter Charisma label and is a U.K. import I bought around that time at the record store on the Tri-State Mall. Every bit as good as Pawn Hearts the first song “Killer” is about a shark. It’s a fairly Rock oriented song but with a crazed sax solo by David Jackson. “House With No Door” is a quiet piano based song about loneliness. Some nice flute by Jackson. “The Emperor In His War Room” is in two parts. The second pat “The Room” features some great electric guitar by Robert Fripp a rarity in a V.D.G.G. record. Side two has two epics both over 11 minutes long. “Lost” is a song about lost love. A very emotional song with Peter Hammill’s dramatic vocals. The song goes through many moods powered by Jackson’s sax and Hugh Banton’s organ. “Pioneers Over C” is a science fiction tale about astronauts in a faster than light voyage who become lost in a non-physical universe. The song has a spacey Krautrock sound with fast louder passages abruptly changing to beautiful pastoral sections. Another classic album sounding like no one else. Like all my records by this band it has been played a lot and is pretty scratchy sounding. I should maybe replace all of them.