Pawn Hearts - Van Der Graaf Generator

Pawn Hearts (Van Der Graaf Generator, 1971)

1. Lemmings (including Cog) - 11:37
2. Man-Erg - 10:20
3. A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers - 23:04
    a) Eyewitness
    b) Pictures/Lighthouse
    c) Eyewitness
    d) S.H.M.
    e) Presence of the Night
    f) Kosmos Tours
    g) (Custard's) Last Stand
    h) The Clot Thickens
    i) Land's End (Sineline)
    j) We Go Now

Following the already brilliant H to He Who Am the Only One, Van Der Graaf Generator completely blow the roof off the studio and deliver one of the greatest examples of dark progressive rock ever put on vinyl. The three extended compositions on Pawn Hearts are towering, ambitious opuses unidentifiable with any normal genre of music or standard song structure. Peter Hammill's impassioned vocals, Hugh Banton's heavenly organ compositions and devilish synthesizer experiments, David Jackson's multi-tracked saxophone power blasts, and Guy Evans' intense percussion form a truly unique amalgam, and they are reaching for the highest heights their art can attain on this album.

"Lemmings" is a truly frightening yet poetic portrayal of civilization's blind rush toward destruction. The music mirrors the tumultuous lyrics with styles ranging from pastoral to martial, industrial to elegiac, ending with a note of timid hope about persevering for posterity, yet with a musical question mark as the tune decays into an ambient, mysterious coda.

"Man-Erg" switches focus inward, as Hammill examines the warring forces of good and evil inside a person. Banton's piano and pipe organ in the verses is pure bliss - restrained, elegant, beautifully harmonic.  Jackson's flute is the perfect complement to the stately melody as Hammill sings softly, yet intently. It builds into a passionate chorus (though is it a chorus if none of the words are repeated?), then switches suddenly to a harsh staccato attack of sax and synth in 11/8 time as Hammill wails "How can I be free? / How can I get help? / Am I really me? / Am I someone else?" That transitions to a downright soulful "bridge" where he tries to collect the pieces of his contradictory reflections. After one more verse where it all comes together - "I too live inside me / And very often don't know who I am" - the pent up energy releases into a glorious final chorus where the stately main theme is undermined by the recurrence of the psychotic sax/synth 11/8 barrage, which starts quiet but eventually swallows hope in a loud crash of desperation. For me, this song exemplifies VDGG and their unique musical vision.

The second half of the album expands the already prodigious lyrical and musical genius of the first two songs to a single extended composition, the most ambitious, sprawling, and fantastic piece the band ever put together. It is very difficult to do justice to this richly dense work. By turns haunting, mysterious, chaotic, jubilant, contemplative, and unsettling, it chronicles feelings of loneliness, lost identity, and despair at the inescapable trap of rationalism, which can undermine any philosophy yet offers no solution to the very real dangers of existence.  But don't take my word for it, watch the video.

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 blind rushes toward destruction

Synergy - Glass Harp

Synergy (Glass Harp, 1971)

1. One Day At a Time - 3:40
2. Never Is a Long Time - 3:26
3. Just Always - 5:02
4. Special Friends - 2:43
5. Coming Home - 3:32
6. Song of Hope - 4:23
7. Child of the Universe - 3:01
8. Mountains - 4:01
9. The Answer - 2:40
10. Dawn of a New Day - 2:56

Fans of mind-blowing guitar playing need to give this album a listen. Phil Keaggy's lightning-fast licks, liquid tone, and creative fusion of rock, jazz, classical, and folk elevate an otherwise pedestrian set of songs. The songs fall into the general category of Beatles-and-Woodstock-influenced 70's rock without necessarily going all the way to psychedelic.  Ambition and eclecticism are the name of the game, and the enthusiasm of the band makes up for some stylistic missteps.

There are five objectively good songs here.  "One Day At a Time" opens with a classical guitar intro and Keaggy's distinctive vocal, then transitions to an electrifying instrumental where all three players (Dan Pecchio, bass, and Jon Sferra, drums) shine. "Special Friends" isn't particularly complex, but it's just a happy song with great harmonies and fun guitar breaks. "Song of Hope" boasts great texture, mysterious volume-pedal guitar swells, muscular bass lines, melodic vocals, and creative chord changes. More classical overtones and creative chording come to the fore in "The Answer", an unabashedly evangelistic song in the style of Keaggy's solo work. Finally, "Dawn of a New Day" provides another upbeat rocker to close the proceedings.

The songs I've left out aren't necessarily bad, they just err in different ways. The guitar solo that closes "Never Is a Long Time" is outstanding, but the verse/chorus structure before it is a fairly bland hard rock blues. "Just Always" and "Child of the Universe" are the two ballads on the album, and both lack a great melody to carry them. "Coming Home" is marred by a megaphonic rhyme scheme ("Sitting at the station/I've got no reservations"), and "Mountains" has a bizarre bass drum roll as part of its regular rhythm that distracts from the otherwise enjoyable country-rock and harmonizing.

On the whole, I think this album is a stellar example of raw talent on display.  All three musicians have considerable chops, and each is eager to demonstrate his ability. This pays off on some songs but proves distracting in others. The energy of youth is still unrestrained by the wisdom of discretion.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 lightning-fast licks

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! - Jethro Tull

Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (Jethro Tull, 1976)

1. Quizz Kid - 5:09
2. Crazed Institution - 4:48
3. Salamander - 2:51
4. Taxi Grab - 3:54
5. From a Dead Beat to an Old Greaser - 4:09
6. Bad-Eyed and Loveless - 2:12
7. Big Dipper - 3:35
8. Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die - 5:44
9. Pied Piper - 4:32
10. The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive) - 5:32
--
11. A Small Cigar - 3:39
12. Strip Cartoon - 3:19

A cartoony album cover, a comic strip for liner notes, songs pulled from a "soundtrack" to a never-produced TV movie about an aging 50's motorcycle rocker... there are a lot of red flags here. But if you make it past the signs flashing "KEEP AWAY!!! THIS MEANS YOU!!!", you'll find an enjoyable album with several songs worthy of adding to the pantheon of Tull classics and a wry, poetic story.

David Palmer's orchestrations get about as much album time as poor Martin Barre's lead guitar and John Evan's organ/synth put together (Palmer would join the band officially on the next album), but we still get several fine moments of Tullian hard rock with Baroque overtones. "Quizz Kid" is the strongest of the rock pieces, with enough roaring guitar, arpeggiated keyboard, and manic flute-playing to satisfy the snobbiest of fans.

For an album with a leather-clad fist-pumping (perhaps obscenely gesturing?) rocker on the front, though, this is a very calm and pretty album. "From a Dead Beat..." is one of the gentlest, stateliest pieces in the band's oeuvre, with tasteful orchestration and sweetly contrapuntal bass from newcomer John Glascock. The title track and "The Chequered Flag" are also very stately and surprisingly emotional. The philosophical examination of life, death, and moving on in "The Chequered Flag" provide several delightful head-scratching moments, while the anthemic "Too Old..." takes several twists and turns, standing as a sterling example of intelligent, creative rock and roll.  And John Glascock gets in some seriously excellent bass riffs, to which I am hopelessly partial.

Are there some less distinctive moments here?  Yes.  "Salamander" plagiarizes the previous album's "Cold Wind to Valhalla" and doesn't really say anything new.  "Taxi Grab" and "Bad Eyed and Loveless" are more blues-based pieces, hearkening back to the band's roots but again not saying much (aside from Barre's tripping-down-the-stairs guitar solo in "Taxi Grab").  I guess that's the problem when you're an excellent band - your high quality of work makes albums like this look bad, even though an average band would be lucky to have something this good in their discography.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 leather-clad fist-pumping (perhaps obscenely gesturing?) rockers

For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night - Caravan

For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (Caravan, 1973)

1. Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss - 9:15
2. Hoedown - 3:18
3. Surprise, Surprise - 4:06
4. C'thlu Thlu - 6:12
5. The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again - 5:56
6. Be Alright / Chance Of A Lifetime - 6:33
7. L'Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise) - 10:03
--
8. Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss (US Mix) - 9:15
9. No! (Be Alright) / Waffle (Chance Of A Lifetime demo) - 5:10
10. He Who Smelt It Dealt It (Memory Lain, Hugh demo) - 4:42
11. Surprise, Surprise (demo)- 3:15
12. Derek's Long Thing - 10:59

Who is this band again?  On ...Plump In The Night, Caravan morph into a guitar-led progressive/symphonic rock band, trading most of their jazzy improv for tighter instrumentation and more complex composition. This stylistic shift results in one of the group's best albums, though different in character from earlier classics like If I Could Do It Again... or In the Land of Grey and Pink.

More lineup changes: one Sinclair cousin (Richard, bass) leaves while the other (Dave, keyboards) returns to the fold. Bassist/vocalist John G. Perry is Richard's replacement, and while his style is completely different, he delivers an inspired performance throughout. The addition of Geoff Richardson on electric violin/viola is a definite plus. He adds character and texture to the pieces, along with taking some fun solos.

The opening and closing tracks are pure excellence. "Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss" features up-front vocals, cheery harmonies, rockin' riffs, and overall good times.  It's one of those songs that makes you smile when you hear it.  Geoff and Pye trade solos, barn-stompin' style; John's bass and Rich's drums fly all over the place while still anchoring the song; Dave's organ and synth drive the dynamics and emphasize the anthem; and Jimmy Hastings' flute flutters above all.  Meanwhile, at the other end of the album, the instrumental "L'Auberge Du Sanglier" suite finds the band stretching out into some seriously complex territory: a bracing instrumental in 19/8 time with breaks in 13/8, featuring roaring lead guitar, furious fiddling from Geoff, and knotty rhythmic support. It transitions into "Backwards", which is actually a cover of the last five minutes of Soft Machine's "Slightly All The Time", but instead of reproducing the original's gentle, floating wash of jazz saxophone, they take the inspired chord progression and amp it up with orchestra and synthesizer, building from nothing to a huge, dramatic interpretation before revisiting the original 19/8 theme to wrap it all up. Simply stunning.

And as a bonus, all the songs in between these two have something to offer as well!  "Hoedown" and "Surprise, Surprise" are in a more traditional pop vein, but the harmony vocals help them stand out. "C'thlu Thlu" features a spidery, menacing guitar/bass riff to tell its scary story, and "Be Alright / Chance of a Lifetime" mixes harder rock with gentle acoustic passages. "The Dog, The Dog..." is classic Caravan - a cheeky lyric sung innocently over folky guitar, with pretty flute and violin gracing the piece and a break for a Dave Sinclair keyboard solo. Well done, mates.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 rockin' riffs