Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Van Der Graaf Generator
Label: Esoteric Recordings
Release: 2011
Length: 48:50
Rating: 5/5
Here’s the grand-prize question at the music quiz: name the only prog rock pioneers of the sixties who are still a working studio band, keep putting out excellent albums with seemingly effortless ease, records right up there with their best years, and still hit the road for concert tours almost every year. The answer, which isn’t remotely tricky if the contestant happens to be a prog rock fan, is loud and clear: Van Der Graaf Generator!
Genesis, Pink Floyd and ELP haven’t existed for a while now, even though they never officially broke up, King Crimson have been “vegetating” for eight years and going nowhere, Jethro Tull are just a live act these days, while Yes without Jon Anderson have become a parody of themselves. Unlike those other prog rock pioneers, who lost their motivation and creative spark ages ago or simply couldn’t bury the hatchet between band members, the heralds of the post-apocalyptic plains Van Der Graaf Generator, who have operated as a trio of inseparable comrades since the album “Trisector” (2008), have been positively bursting with work ethic, innovation and freshness in recent years. Their latest effort proves it too, and it was without a doubt the most eagerly awaited prog rock album of 2011.
The vocal chameleon Peter Hammill, the all-round organist Hugh Banton and the drum maestro Guy Evans are long past being the long-haired youngsters who wowed audiences in the seventies with a string of idiosyncratic, utterly unique and highly experimental masterpieces that left an indelible mark on the prog rock map. Yet despite the weight of the years, they remain a model of perfect chemistry, stunning instrumental cohesion and lyrical intellectualism, which has always been the product of Hammill’s genius, recognizable from a mile away.
“A Grounding in Numbers” is the third album since the band’s reunion in 2005 and their second studio outing after the departure of longtime woodwind player David Jackson, who decided to devote his golden years to an academic career. Right off the bat, it has to be said that “A Grounding in Numbers” is stylistically a completely different beast from its excellent predecessor “Trisector”, which is hardly a big surprise with VDGG, and yet it’s a very welcome turn toward a nearly completely different atmosphere and fresh proof that the band can still reinvent itself with every new album while keeping its recognizable core sound intact. The mood this time is noticeably less gloomy than what we’re used to from these post-apocalyptic frontliners; quite the opposite, in fact, as the energy, message and atmosphere of most of the compositions recall a long-gone era when the world was still simpler and less corrupt. You could say the album is pervaded, ambience-wise, by a kindred energy from the time when the trio began their musical journey in the late sixties, and the superb production helps that along a bit. The legendary producer Hugh Padgham proved himself in the role of sound mixer.
Interesting, jazz-tinged improvisations abound once again, and on that front too the trio is still in great shape. Both of Hammill’s bandmates, who are grandmasters of their own instruments (organ and drums), have also tried their hand at guitar for the first time: Banton on “Smoke” and Evans on “553”. Hammill’s lyrics are, as usual, a set of biting wordplay at the expense of the total social breakdown of the turbo-capitalist system, plus allusions to various mathematical puzzles, which have always been a favorite pastime of all three VDGG intellectuals/would-be scientists. As the album title and the cover, which hold a metaphor and symbol for the electrical engineering term of grounding, suggest, the emphasis this time is on unusual, mysterious numbers and what they signify. “A Grounding in Numbers” contains the most tracks (13) on any single album in the band’s entire studio history. Although most of the compositions are shorter than six minutes, which is putting it mildly for this band, they are completely different from one another in their high experimentalism, while a close connection can be felt between them all the time.
“Your Time Starts Now” is an unexpectedly serene album opener, set in motion by the recognizable, solemn sound of Banton’s organs. Hammill’s vocal cords are still in great shape, while his chameleonic theatricality is, as usual, dripping with cynicism. With the help of Banton’s backing vocals, the doctor of language easily conjures up a truly epic mood. The lyrics of “Mathematics” refer to Euler’s identity, which is regarded in scientific circles as mathematical poetry. The growing paranoia is heightened by a tasteful fusion of massive organ curtains and vocal acrobatics, while the jazz-leaning rhythm sections nicely sustain the composition’s generous complexity.
The chaotic “Highly Strung” is one of the most experimental creations on the album, equipped with an ominous motif made up of a detuned guitar phrase and some truly wild organ trickery, the kind that could only have grown out of Banton’s direction. Evans’s unpredictable drum fills and his trademark blend of rock heft and jazz finesse as he mercilessly mines his drum kit are pure balm for all prog rock and jazz fusion maniacs. The short instrumental “Red Baron” is marked by echoing cymbals, piercing drum fills and a resonant organ sound, which brings about a dominant, authentically oriental mood.
“Bunsho”, whose lyrics refer to a specific ruling period in Japanese history, is a mid-tempo track interrupted by witty guitar phrases, piercing organ passages, furious drum rolls and spirited vocal outbursts. Master Hammill, if he feels like it, can still whip up a veritable hell on earth with a sudden vocal roughness. “Snake Oil” is crowned with a playful organ melody over which Hammill’s poetic vocal is laid, and this time it positively melts with cynicism, since the lyrics deal with the turbo-capitalist hunger for oil. The highly experimental composition is repeatedly cut through by devastating drum strikes, an ominous guitar effect, melodramatic organ textures and the escalating anger of the doctor of language.
“Splink”, another shorter instrumental, is pervaded by a nostalgic atmosphere built from a drum-and-organ improvisation, after which a rather bizarre harpsichord motif takes over the initiative. The punchy “Embarrassing Kid”, bursting with adolescent energy, is seasoned with chaotic, bouncing rhythmic shifts and a snarling guitar line, while maestro Hammill is once again in one of his more temperamental vocal moods. On the melancholic “Medusa”, a repeating motif ushers in a somewhat more conciliatory mood again, though it still reeks heavily of post-apocalypse. The lyrics are relatively unusual by classic VDGG standards, as they tell of a fickle woman. It would be hard to pick the album’s highlights, since it works best as a whole, but if we absolutely had to, they would undoubtedly include the epic “Mr. Sands”, distinguished by a dramatic organ melody, jerky drum fills that are unpredictable as ever, and a phenomenal vocal performance with the obligatory gallon of biting humor, stirring memories of the golden seventies, when VDGG co-created prog rock’s finest moments.
“Smoke” is another exceptionally interesting creation. It features an innovative guitar motif, scattered rhythmic combinatorics, wild organ passages and Hammill’s remarkable sense of vocal theatricality, in which genius and madness mix at the same time. The avant-garde, paranoid “5533” contains authentic fusion improvisations from the deepest pit of hell and yet another of Hammill’s lyrical algorithms, in which he hopefully solves one of his favorite mathematical puzzles. The closing “All Over The Place”, which is also the longest composition on the album, is adorned with a sacral organ motif. Through the doctor of language’s astonishing chameleon act, it gradually tips over into a playful and ominous fusion of classic, thoroughly thrilling VDGG sonic hallmarks. This composition, too, is pervaded by the malevolent, melodramatic atmosphere that has become so characteristic of this legendary band over the decades.
Even after more than four decades, Van Der Graaf Generator are still the guarantee of prog rock innovation to the nth power, and the trio keeps building on the sonic direction it has been charting over the past three years. “A Grounding in Numbers” is a new masterpiece that will thrill and stun both longtime devotees and those who have only recently begun warming up to their rich legacy. With their astonishing capacity for sonic regeneration, and above all their heart, the inseparable trio have proven once again that the old cats who helped put the genre on its feet still carry out their mission more convincingly than anyone, leaving most modern so-called prog rock bands unable to reach even their waistline.
Line-up
Peter Hammill – vocals, piano, electric guitar (and Ashbory bass on “Splink”
Hugh Banton – organ (including bass pedals), bass guitar, harpsichord, piano, 10-string bass, glockenspiel, guitar on “Smoke”
Guy Evans – drums, percussion, guitar on 5533
Production
Van Der Graaf Generator
Track list
1. Your Time Starts Now
2. Mathematics
3. Highly Strung
4. Red Baron (instrumental)
5. Bunsho
6. Snake Oil
7. Splink (instrumental)
8. Embarrassing Kid
9. Medusa
10. Mr. Sands
11. Smoke
12. 5533
13. All Over the Place
