Date | Label | Catalog # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
17 Mar 2008 | Virgin/EMI | B00133QSYA | CD |
I'm just back from a great VDGG show in Québec City, so I felt compelled to write a review of their latest CD Trisector .
Van der Graaf Generator is now a trio, David Jackson having left the boat after their 2005 reunion tour. His absence has changed the group's sound quite a bit. On their shows, VDGG has managed to compensate this absence by increasing Peter Hammill's role in the music and Hugh Banton has almost become what we call in french an "Homme Orchestre". This is also in evidence on Trisector but the void made by the departure of Jackson is more apparent, the instrumental opening the album "The Hurlyburly" being a good example of this. Still, the great musicianship of Banton and Evans, the very good compositions (not quite as epic as before though) and PH having the same power in his voice as 40 years ago makes Trisector an album that should appeal to any VDGG fan.
It is such treat that this band is again with us after all these years and making creative and pertinent music still. Joining the titles of the two last songs on the album "Over the Hill -We Are Not..." describes today's version of Van der Graaf Generator very well.