Still Life [Bonus Track] (1976)

Never a firm favorite among Van Der Graaf Generator fans, Still Life remains an awkward album, stunning in parts but so paint-by-numbers in others. Released in April 1976, just six months after the incredible Godbluff, and featuring two songs ("Pilgrim" and "La Rossa") familiar from the last tour, the album fell closer to an embellished Hammill solo set than any other in the band's catalog, his occasional penchant for over-wordiness chasing even his most persistent bandmate out of the room. Their response -- to up the ... Read More

Never a firm favorite among Van Der Graaf Generator fans, Still Life remains an awkward album, stunning in parts but so paint-by-numbers in others. Released in April 1976, just six months after the incredible Godbluff, and featuring two songs ("Pilgrim" and "La Rossa") familiar from the last tour, the album fell closer to an embellished Hammill solo set than any other in the band's catalog, his occasional penchant for over-wordiness chasing even his most persistent bandmate out of the room. Their response -- to up the volume of their own contributions -- just added to the jumble, and though the passing years have dignified Still Life somewhat (what was once "over the top" is now devilishly "progressive"), the record still remains the most disappointing in the group's repertoire. That said, the 2005 remaster is worth hearing if only for the vastly improved sound quality (an asset that extends across the entire series of reissues), while the bonus track takes listeners back a full 12 months to a show in Bangor, Wales, on May 10, 1975: "Gog" was one of the more disorienting numbers in Hammill's mid-'70s solo career, and the full VDGG lineup brings it into dramatically shimmering focus. It might even be worth the cost of admission. ~ Dave Thompson, Rovi Read Less

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2005, Caroline Distribution UPC: 094631139420 CD See All

1976, Virgin/Charisma UPC: 094631139451 CD See All