Cheap Masters From the Vaults: Van Der Graaf Generator (DVD) Price
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$17.98
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| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 2000 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Navarre Corporation/ |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Color |
| TYPE: | Music Video - Pop/Rock |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 823880010293 |
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Customer Reviews of Masters From the Vaults: Van Der Graaf Generator
Buy insteed the GOB BLUFF DVD This has just 30 min. of VDGG that you can find as well on the GOD BLUFF DVD as well. So just buy that one and you'll have both!!
Leaves One Wanting More
For hard core collectors only ...... I so wish I could give this noble effort five stars, for I am very prejudiced on VDGG's behalf, but this is NOT a five star quality product. There are specifically only two performances featured here (Theme One and A Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers, both from the Pawn Hearts release) recorded with an early 70s TV mix (instruments and vocals drowned out at times, no bass to speak of) ...... and the rest of the disc consists of plugs from other "Vaults" titles by Uriah Heep, Fairport Convention, Focus, and all that other 70s stuff we listened to to make us feel more CULTURAL.
These rants aside, this filmed performance is a treasured look at an exceptional group from that era, the unclassifiable and troubled Van Der Graaf Generator, featuring the emotionally overwrought singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and crew performing a work that belongs high on a list of essential prog rock listening. Just don't expect this video release to attract any potential converts. We can but hope there are more such gems waiting for us in other vaults.
A GREAT -- AND RARE -- PIECE OF MUSICAL HISTORY
As fans of Van der Graaf Generator know all too well, during their existence the band only ever played one gig in the US - so this short (30 minutes worth of VdG) video is quite a treasure. The performance is live in a Belgian TV studio - just the four group members (Peter Hammill, vocals and electric piano; Hugh Banton, keyboards; David Jackson, saxophones; and Guy Evans, drums) playing two pieces: the short instrumental written by George Martin, 'Theme one', and their magnum opus 'A plague of lighthouse keepers'.
The band is pretty sharp - and they'd have to be, to reproduce this sort of music in a live setting - and the camera work and editing are very good. There's a small problem with the sound mix during 'Theme one' - Hugh Banton's organ can barely be heard over the saxes and drums until near the end of the piece - but it's thankfully cleared up before 'Lighthouse keepers'. The stage set made me chuckle - the director chose to decorate the stage with rows of candles - at one point changing them to sparklers - in an attempt to set the proper mood for the piece. Ah...the seventies...! As I mentioned already, I was very impressed with the camera work and editing - the camera operators as well as the director obviously took the time to familiarize themselves with the band's music, knowing which member would be soloing at a given time. For most of the long piece - over 20 minutes - they're right on the money.
Now that I have this gem, I'm going to order Peter's solo performance from Berlin in 1992 - at 90 minutes, it'll go a little further in satisfying my addiction to their challenging and intelligent music.