Van Der Graaf Generator

‘Still Life’ was released in 1976, at the height of the “Punk versus Prog etc.” revolution. The reaction from the band’s many fans was strong but it left the critics completely split with NME slating it as “…smart ass existentialist one-liners like that, accompanied by furtive, lurching manic melodies that emphasise the personality disorientation of the whole thing”, while Sounds said “…'Still Life' is an essential album. If you think you have problems, listen to Hammill's and you'll probably never be able to worry about anything insignificant ever again."
The band that recorded ‘Still Life’ consisted of:
Peter Hammill – vocals, guitar, piano
David Jackson – tenor and soprano saxophones, flute
Hugh Banton – Hammond organ, bass, Mellotron, piano
Guy Evans – drums, percussion

The band were at a musical peak and producing themselves. This brought a tighter sound with incredible varieties of tone and breadth in the music. They had always been capable of alarmingly aggressive, almost violent, music but ‘My Room (Waiting For Wonderland)’ showed the most subtle and pacific side of the band, a real beauty with a slight, pensive, presentation.
Add to that the grandiose and massive opus ‘Childlike Faith In Childhoods End’. I contains all that is best about VDGG. Hammill’s voice ranges from pure, sweet, innocence to angry and questioning, spoken, shouted and even screamed. He has a remarkable range and employs everything in the one track. The band behind him are following every change huge organ coupled with explosive saxophone as well as beautiful flute passages. A masterpiece of a number.

As to the vinyl, it is a superb pressing. I assume a fresh cut from the master tapes, it has all the dynamic range you could wish for and a totally silent background. Definitely doing the best for the material.