Van Der Graaf Generator

[@The-Autistocrat-]

I found VDGG a year ago through "Lemmings" being played on a weird local radio station at midnight on a Saturday. As a young metalhead, I was blown away, especially by the middle section ("greasy machinery slides on the rails, young minds and bodies on steel spokes im-PALED"). They didn't tell the song or the artist but I recorded it on my phone and typed in the lyrics. They're my favorite band after I went down the rabbithole; Peter Hammill's lyrics and songwriting, being brought to life through his band, is art of the highest degree.

[@lastfairdeal2]

....and 'In Camera'! HAVE been a Fan since 1972 of VDGG and PH since 1972!!!!

[@courtlakezephyr425]

Excellent! Your description of VDGG as 'something of substance' and needing to learn how to 'get to it' is exactly the experience I had when I first heard their material. Same with early Genesis, Yes and King Crimson, for me. Complex and intricate music (which Peter Gabriel calls 'journey music') can be hard work at first but then takes you places in your mind. That's the reward. Keep the videos coming.

[@ThefightingCelt]

I could listen to you all day . You have exquisite taste in music that matches my own . Incidentally , Peter Hammill also thinks that Pawn Hearts is Van Dee Graaf's finest album , with Godbluff not far behind . Again , keep the videos coming - like all of your albums , everyone a gem .

[@keithchiv6166]

as one who played football with the group and saw them a lot, id say that to me as good as pawn hearts is,i think he to he is more complex and fullfills his existential angst,etc, still life is the best of the 3 second incarnation of the group.ie 75 to78

[@chrisshill5044]

Still waiting for my savior..storms tear me limb from limb.. love Plague of the lighthouse keepers! I found this at a headshop in the early seventies in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia..About the same time I started getting into Pfm,Hawkwind, and Gong..

[@angelpuente4021]

Vdgg is theeeee best band ever.

[@greyhoundude6112]

I remember Dereck & I driving to Kansas City and the Uptown Theater to see Peter Hammill. Terrific show. Hammill autographed Dereck's "Pawn Hearts" LP and he autographed my copy of "The Silent Corner & The Empty Stage." He autographed it right below his "signature" on the cover of the LP, adding "to Barry." It's still one of my most treasured possessions. Nice to see you remember that trip, Dereck. Kansas City story begins at 18:29.

[@tomt5745]

Been listening so much to A Plague of Lighthouse Keepsrs that i had buy a new Pawn Hearts. It has blown my mind every time since i first heard it in the early bronze age :) Helped me not go insane as going through graduate school in the 90s. Now my students looks at me as i am a serial killer when they enter my room and im listening to VDGG while grading essays..

[@POLSET2]

WOW! It was so great to see on my own eyes those rare things :)

[@atilasoliveira1839]

Van der graaf generator. Palm Hearts. Maravilhoso

[@newforestpixie5297]

Hey Derek - I enjoyed your The Chameleons review a few years back and somehow you’ve popped up today feat VDGG. At 16 in 1980 my heavy metal / rock mate found his elder sisters’ ‘ The least we can do is wave to eachother ‘ saying “ this is too weird for me “ . As soon as ‘ Darkness 11/11 ‘ took to the room , I was hooked. I was amazed & pleased to read John Lydons’ appreciation of them which no doubt opened them up to my ‘ half generation ‘ of cats ( ) . Glad you’re well and keeping the Faith fella. Love from wessexshire in england

[@Boxcutterfacelift]

i bought The Aerosol Grey Machine when i was ~15 and it really changed my music taste for the better

[@MrFartboy79]

Awesome... Pawn Heart is masterpiece! I really gotta get more Van Der Graaf Generator. I'm always eyeing The Least We Can Do... like you said, because of that cover. I really like Aerosol Grey Machine too. Loved your story about meeting Peter Hammill! lol That's too funny. I get the feeling things like that happen to you lot. Thumbs up!

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Thanks for recommending the David Jackson album, I’m digging it now.

[@Univernia]

Thanks for showing this! I am a huge Peter Hammill/VdGG fan, and to see this kind of legitimate appreciation and discussion is wonderful! You are a true music fan, good sir!

[@ThefightingCelt]

I'm a huge Peter Hammill fan His early solo albums , Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night , The Silent Corner and The Empty Stage and In Camera are all excellent

[@diegoojeda749]

Absolute masterpieces.

[@chrisshill1252]

Thanks for pawn hearts. It really is something...

[@ImprobableTodd]

Hammill’s vocals on those three push greatly conceived songs and orchestrations into the realm of spectacular prog that every fan of the genre should have. Songs like Modern, The Black Room, Wilhelmina, The Comet, the Course and the Tail, and a Louse is Not a Home represent a unique direction that explores the limits of angst and passion displayed in soul-bearing vocals..

[@TheMigoli]

Thank you so much for showing this! killer music killer artwork, a fantastic use of words in their music!every time i hear pilgrims from still life i almost cry..thank you again! love from Portugal

[@Radiokot42]

I agree, VdGG and Peter Hammill are forever

[@teddydog6229]

Dereck, I’m a big fan of both Van Der Graaf and Peter Hammill as well. I think my initial encounter with VDG was a bit less rocky than yours, because I got into Peter Hammill first. While he’s not KC or the Sunshine Band, he is slightly more accessible than VDG. Two albums of his that I recommend without hesitation are ‘A Black Box’ and ‘Sitting Targets’. Much more recently he released a collaboration with someone named Gary Lucas called ‘Other World’. I implore, BEG you to get this record. It is absolutely stunning. It has vocals and tight composition to start, and then it flows, drifts, whatever you want to call it - and you’re in a universe of ambient, psychedelic guitar workouts that are sheer genius. I know - am 100% certain, based on your videos - your jaw will drop in wonder. Maybe try and imagine a Van Der Graaf take on ‘Smile’ by The Beach Boys. It’s one of those records that’s a miniature, self contained universe in itself. And, as if he hadn’t blown my mind enough, he just released a triple disc set called “...All That Might Have Been’, which is very much a continuation, and even deeper plunge into the ‘Other World’ disc. I swear, if you spend your hard earned cash on either and don’t like them, I’ll put on Paul Simon’s chicken suit and sing ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’. That is how confident I am that you will be wild about either. And the first two I mentioned are my favorite examples of his earlier work. Peace.

[@lastfairdeal2]

Brother! Gentle Giant; King Crimson; VDGG!!! Unbeleiveable!!! Love your commentary...BC

[@suntigerrock]

I need to listen to more van der graph - now...

[@keenear8898]

Dereck, I just stumbled across your channel and posts, and watched your reviews of GG and VDG. These are two of the greatest prog bands of all time, and have never earned the musical recognition they deserved. It is truly wonderful to see someone loving them as I do .... musical genius! Your reviews sound almost exactly as they would if they were coming from me. I may have missed it, but "world record" is another masterpiece by VDG. If you don't have it...get it!

[@douglasgilbert174]

Dereck, I like to share some experience with you from the past , when I went to Emerson college and study music cinema etc. In 1974 I was walking down the stairs on a Saturday morning and I heard organ music , so I followed it from where it was coming and I knock on the door which was half open . The man came at the door and I said who is this you are listening to and he said vdgg from the album CV pawn hearts . Then my roommate was there to and I said may I come in and he said sure l. Then I ask what song is this , this music is really good. He said this is the second side of the album and it's called plague of the light house keepers. Then he said you can find this in the cut out bin for $1.99 and I went and found the album and got the Surprise of my life.

[@tscarlsson]

Just stumbled upon you here, I'm 27 and my favourite genre is the early "original" prog love your videos and seeing all the stuff you have. I currently live in another country (From Iceland but living in Australia) so my vinyl collection is out of reach, which sucks. I have some great vinyls at home (H to he and Pawn Hearts being some of my favourites....that's kind of what I miss most about home, my killer setup and my records!). Love your enthusiasm and just seeing another fan showing off his collection (I'm very jealous btw, I'd kill to have all of these prog records yo have!)

[@canierau]

Pawn Hearts autographed ..... amazing!!

[@chrisoliver123]

This is an excellent video Dereck. I had the same reaction when I first heard Van Der Graaf, I just didn't get it. A friend put 2 songs from "Godbluff" on a mix tape and those were the only songs I didn't enjoy. It wasn't until I on a whim bought " The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other" and that album blow my mind! So good. Peter Hammill to me is one of the greats!

[@dodibenabba1378]

Only just got into them, blown away.

[@ROBERTNESH]

great band

[@chrisshill1252]

famous charisma label 😎

[@tutenvanman2715]

Forgot to mention Peter did the lyrics for a Italian group L'Orme on Charisma. Two versions in English and in Italian.

[@jesaja53fem]

Nice episode,great band-and good stories u tell👍

[@JDsmiffy1]

Great posting Derreck, I love VDGG and Peter Hamill, have most of the albums you showed. Jealous of the signed Pawn Hearts LP. There is a great KZbin footage of them playing Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers live on Belgian TV if you're interested. Best regards from England, Paul

[@dereckvon]

I have it on dvd.

[@JDsmiffy1]

Nice one! keep up the great work.

[@MrDanielphenix]

Hammill got the same guitar as Fripp (on Over )It's (call) MeurglyssIII- Meurglyss II was stolen in Italy. Still Life is the most amazing cover for me. The album Vison was release for the first American tour in 78 and then came out in Canada for the Mini-tour of June 78. (so there are 2 versions) The back cover of Vision is one of the most amazing picture of Peter. Nice job anyway (even if a couple are missing).

[@adrianlackey5107]

Wow. A trip through Derekvon's VDGG vinyl collection was like a trip through my own. I heard Pete Hammill's singing on Robert Fripp's *Exposure* and loved it. With in months, I saw *World Record* in a delete bin, bought it and the rest is history. WR still remains my fave despite the awful guitar solo on Meurglys III.

[@vdggmouse9512]

Meurgly's III is the greatest song of all time - nothing better including the guitar solo!

[@chrisoliver123]

The Future Now is excellent. That and PH7 are my favorite Peter Hamill albums

[@leehasselman3937]

Brother D: YOU NAILED IT!...My Hippy Uncle Dave, played me "Pawn Heart's August of 1980, and I NEVER came back from the "Peter"Genious!... SO MUCH LOVE and MEMORIE's, on each new release of Peter in the '80's,and : (as U. Dave would say ...)"The BEST and Beautiful thing about VDGG?: Year's would go by, and THEN, another just appears). I TRUraphyLY THANK YOU!, for such a great discograpy of THE BAND, and Peter Hammill. I Met Peter in a tiny club in Pittsburgh Pa's "South Side".. My dear friend Scott got us a ticket. There were NO MORE than 60 people there!. And he played Comet ,Course and the Tail{Vision), In the End!, .I was so thankfulto HEAR these incredible song's from my youth, and THERE is PETER! 10 yards from me?: A DREAM come true!. . "AFTERWARDS"(Least We Can DO:), when finished, I MET Peter, shook his hand, and THANKED HIM...FOR ALL He touched my Heart with.. Musically; Lyrically, Passiontly!.. Thank you Brother... I DO!... UNDERSTAND

[@godbluffvdgg]

They are the best of prog! :)

[@MultiLew1]

Linda coleção!

[@dereckvon]

A pleasure to do it for you my friend!

[@JCridford]

Fascinating insight into your collection, my friend: VDGG are one of my favourite bands! 'The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other' was the first album I bought; I was 15 I think, and 'Refugee' blew me away! I've never seen the book, is it still available?

[@robertmantia37]

Pawn Hearts! Top 20 of all time

[@brianparks2039]

Thank you friend, you’ve earned another subscriber

[@warmswarm]

Hi Dereck, I'm a bit late getting to this video, but great stuff. I've been a fan of VDGG and Peter Hammill since the early 70's. They were one of the first bands I ever saw (in north east England) I was about 17 years old and I think H to He.... had just come out. By the way, Robert Fripp didn't produce H to He, John Anthony did. ((*_*))

[@Oakenshield69]

I'd love to see Nic Potter on bass with them again. Love his solo releases, beautiful music. Huw Lloyd-Langton from Hawkwind is on a couple of them, I beleive.

[@jean-lucpernel2202]

un autre grand groupe de prog' anglais !

[@shyshift]

Dereck, the guitar used on Over is this: www.gad.net/Blog/2016/10/31/guild-1974-bluesbird-m75/ When I first saw that album on the shelf I too was attracted to the guitar, and at first I thought it was a Gibson Les Paul. But then I started to notice how thin the body was at a time when I owned a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and something just didn't gel ya' know? So after watching your video I decided to Google it and came up with the Bluesbird. I had never heard of it until now,but I didn't really know that much about Guilds. Lots of musicians use them so they must be excellent. Cheers,Rand.

[@mrbizzarro]

I have the Pawn Hearts lp and love it! but now i want more! lol

[@teddydog6229]

PS - My Experience is from ‘Sitting Targets’

[@peterbustin8604]

I like you videos very much, you have an endearing quality which is unique. Ive just subscribed and I went onto your page and watched your 'warm up' introduction video. I think you need to re-work it as it comes across as too needy. Good luck, though and I hope you keep producing these videos ! Love from me in the UK.

[@dereckvon]

I don't appreciate strangers telling me what I need to do.

[@peterbustin8604]

Oh god, I didnt mean to insult you. I'm so sorry. I'm really upset.

[@dereckvon]

Thank you so much. It's all good.

[@peterbustin8604]

God Bless

[@lastfairdeal2]

If you have not heard the BOX SET of the Peter Hammill, from JAPAN, please do yourself the favor, of looking it up! Especially, from 'Chameleon's' to 'Nadir's Big Chance'... P

[@chrisshill1252]

ph7 fave hammill solo music

[@blackvladtheimpala]

Derek: It started for me with Pawn Hearts on Vinyl. Yanked it from a bargain bin for $1.99. Got most of the Hammill / Van der Graaf catalogue. Please check out Hammill's "In Camera" and "Nadir's Big Chance". The latter very possibly a forerunner to punk. Lydon (Johnny Rotten) was allegedly inspired to form the Pistols as a result of this record. Dig the wall of vinyl, btw...

[@krisscanlon4051]

bless you dvon love peter and VDGG. i forgot i love your channel. one you are open two you are proggeriffic 3 you aint like this chap from uk who is brit rude regarding commentary. very loverly.

[@malekmo64]

Be interesting if Stackridge sold albums in the USA?

[@dereckvon]

Yes, I have some Stackridge.

[@johnhouse9983]

Fools Mate i always thought of as Hammills' Sgt Peppers or Dark Side of The Moon

[@totovassallo7255]

Bellissimo

[@chrisshill1252]

I have Peter Hammills Ph 7 on CD but it doesn't have Polaroid on it..heard that later

[@dereckvon]

It's a special one.

[@vdggmouse9512]

It's their third album - you pronounce it by saying the letters - 'H' to 'He'. H stands for Hydrogen - He stands for Helium. So you pronounce the letters. He is NOT THE WORD 'he' as opposite of she! Say the letters 'He'! H to He! Hope you understand. It stands for Hydrogen to helium fusion. Wow that's hard to explain! Someone tell me if they understand what I tried to explain. Van der Graaf is the greatest band - well maybe second greatest. Hard to dethrone The Beatles

[@SublimMedia]

So if i would get one van der graaf, its the pawn hearts? its re issued for a nice price so im thinking of getting it...

[@newforestpixie5297]

I hope you got it cos you will have missed- out on something pretty unique 😀🏴😇❤️from wessexshire

[@lastfairdeal2]

Listen, really. Check out Peter Hammill's The Empty Corner and The Silent Stage Van-DER Graffy....!!!

[@prosoloist]

you got it upside down and backwards but we all know what you mean ;)

[@dereckvon]

No doubt it did.

[@jkbaca41]

That's interesting. I got Pawn Hearts first and didn't like it. Picked up H to HE and that album totally clicked with me. I think Killers is what drew me in. Now I have all but Aerosal and the latest ones. No solo Hammill, either.

[@neonwind]

Give Vital a review please, regards.

[@keithchiv6166]

a good analysis, i saw hammill solo in 69-also on the bill were the nice,yes and renaissance ! i also saw vdgg many times ,including the 75 reform,and the 05 to the present day.im going to the palladium after all the covid stuff. a great part of seeing them was playing football with them before concerts,as in the inner sleeve of pawn hearts. once i was in a circle with them,and david jackson decided to kick the ball into the bushes,which sums up that side of his personality.also good is the book 'killers angels,refugees ' poems and anecdotes . on still life 'pilgrims' is the thematic follow up to refugees. on ' chameleon in the shadow of the night' there s an in joke. ie .whats it worth ,the track,he was living at worth in sussex.also german overalls on the record,it look me so long to realise that the track means deutshland uber alles- another way of saying german rules all- bad ! to me pawn hearts is very slightly overated ,he to he is more complex and involved,his science and existentialism etc. bye....

[@tutenvanman2715]

Gave up after Vital. Played side 1 H to He to death. Refugees is one of my favourite singles. Hammil has done a couple of lyrical books. There are more off shoot recordings than you mentioned. The long Hello is a reissue the cover is not original nor is the Philips label. The Least we can....came with a poster, there is a release with them sitting on a boat with a white cover. Theme One came in picture cover. What about the lp and single of Rikki Nadir you forgot to mention. It is punk before punk. the Sex Pistols rated them.

[@rockonthestone4907]

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