Godbluff - Van Der Graaf Generator

Godbluff (Van Der Graaf Generator, 1975)

1. The Undercover Man - 7:25
2. Scorched Earth - 9:48
3. Arrow - 9:45
4. The Sleepwalkers - 10:31
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5. Forsaken Gardens (live) - 7:58
6. A Louse Is Not A Home (live) - 12:47

After a four-year hiatus which saw Peter Hammill release five solo albums, each with varying levels of participation from the rest of the band, Van Der Graaf Generator officially reformed in 1975 and released Godbluff, a lean, visceral work consisting of four extended compositions that retain the dark experimentation of H to He and Pawn Hearts while trimming studio overdubs to capture more of a live sound.

It all starts with "The Undercover Man", a classically-tinged ballad with David Jackson's flute and Hugh Banton's magnificent church organ supporting a vocal plea to a friend in crisis. Haunting lyrics build above the elegant instrumental support: "Now panicking, you burst for air / Drowning, you know you care / For nothing and no one but yourself / And would deny even this hand which reaches out / Toward you to help..." This is perhaps one of the band's most emotional and poignant songs, with comparatively no musical dissonance to be found.

Of course, the dissonance was saved for the rest of the album. "Scorched Earth" tells the claustrophic tale of a fugitive fleeing his pursuers across a moor, and the music and lyrics are a perfect complement.  Hammill uses the Hohner Clavinet (think Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" with no funk) as a constant pulse over which the music trips like desperate footsteps clambering over the headland, from danger to danger. Two separate, conflicting vocal tracks add to the bewildering intensity of the music.  It ends with an extended coda that builds the main musical theme mercilessly - no solos or variations, just the increasing volume and speed of the chase coming to a close.

The pulsing Clavinet also drives "Arrow", a brooding, menacing piece that seems to continue the story from "Scorched Earth" (which might also continue the story from "The Underground Man", come to think of it...).  Perhaps the leanest piece, the music is stark and jagged, building to several screaming crescendos then fading back down to the wispy mystery it started from.

The closing song "The Sleepwalkers" is the most musically dense and varied of the pieces, hearkening back to past epics in its cyclopean construction. A philosophical musing on conscious versus subconscious, night versus day, and waking versus dreaming, it conceals several musical surprises and even some humor in the form of a somnambulent cha-cha. The band skillfully navigates the many different moods and styles of this challenging piece, ending an already excellent album on yet another high note.

Bonus Tracks:  The remaster includes two (poor quality) live recordings from around the time the album was released.  If you can get past the sound, the performances are very good, and it's also good to know that some of Hammill's best solo pieces found life in the reformed band's set.

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 cyclopean constructions