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The Box (Van Der Graaf Generator Album)
''The Box'' is a four CD box set by Van der Graaf Generator, containing recordings that had been released before, but also BBC-recordings and some live recordings that were never officially released before. It was released in 2000 by Virgin Records. Included in the sleeve notes are introductions by Guy Evans and Tony Banks from Genesis, a timeline of Van der Graaf Generator events from 1967 to 1978 (including a list of dates and places for every then-known concert by the band), an essay about the organs by Hugh Banton, an essay about Van der Graaf Generator compositions by Peter Hammill, an essay about saxophones by David Jackson and an essay about being a Van der Graaf Generator-aficionado by Ian Laycock.Album notes in the booklet of the CD "The Box" (2000). Virgin Records. Each of the CDs has its own title taken from a Hammill lyric for a song contemporaneous to the band period each particular disc represents. "Bless the Baby Born Today" is a line from "Darkness (11/11)", " ...
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Van Der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans. The band formed at the University of Manchester, but settled in London where they signed with Charisma. They went through several incarnations in their early years, including a brief split in 1969. When they reformed, they found minor commercial success with '' The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other'' (released in early 1970 and their only album to chart in the UK), and after the follow-up album, '' H to He, Who Am the Only One'' (December 1970), stabilised around a line-up of Hammill, Banton, Evans and saxophonist David Jackson. The quartet subseque ...
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A-side And B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides. Use of this language has largely declined in the 21st century as the music industry has transitioned away from analog recordings towards digital formats without physical sides, such as CDs, downloads and streaming. Nevertheless, some artists and labels continue to employ the terms ''A-side'' and ''B-side'' metaphorically to describe the type of content a particular release features, with ''B-side'' sometimes representing a "bonus" track or other material. ...
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Van Der Graaf Generator Albums
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or people in tiny quantities. Mini MPVs, compact MPVs, and Multi-purpose vehicle, MPVs are all small vans usually used for transporting people in small quantities. Larger vans with passenger seats are used for institutional purposes, such as transporting students. Larger vans with only front seats are often used for business purposes, to carry goods and equipment. Specially-equipped vans are used by television stations as mobile studios. Postal services and courier companies use large step vans to deliver packages. Word origin and usage Van meaning a type of vehicle arose as a contraction of the word Caravan (towed trailer), carava ...
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Vital (Van Der Graaf Generator Album)
''Vital: Van der Graaf Live'' is the first live album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was recorded 16 January 1978 at the Marquee Club in London and was released in July, one month after the band's 1978 break-up. The album (on vinyl and, later, on CD) was credited under the abbreviated name Van der Graaf, like the previous year's '' The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome'' (1977), and featured the same line-up plus newcomer cellist/keyboardist Charles Dickie, who had officially joined the band in August 1977, and original saxophonist and flautist David Jackson, who re-joined the band for this recording. The album is noted for its sometimes radical reworking of the older material. Although Van der Graaf Generator were seldom less than intense on stage, the 1977 and 1978 tours were remarkable for their ferocity. The absence of Hugh Banton, whose organ work was a hallmark of the group's sound before his departure in 1976, as well as frontman Peter Hammil ...
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The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome
''The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome'' is the eighth album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Released in 1977, it was their last studio album before their 2005 reunion. The album features a more energetic, new wave sound than its three immediate predecessors, anticipating singer and songwriter Peter Hammill's late 1970s solo work. For this album, bassist Nic Potter returned to the band, having left in 1970, and violinist Graham Smith (String Driven Thing) also joined the line-up, in place of the two members who had departed in the aftermath of their previous album, '' World Record'' (October 1976): organist Hugh Banton and saxophonist/flutist David Jackson. This considerably modified the band's sound. Officially, the band's name was shortened to just "Van der Graaf" for this album and the live album, '' Vital'' (July 1978), that followed, but contemporaneous Charisma Records promotional materials used both the full and shortened name. Reception Cri ...
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World Record (Van Der Graaf Generator Album)
''World Record'' is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock group Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976 on Charisma Records. Bonus tracks were added for the 2005 rerelease. It was the last album recorded by the classic line-up of the band until their 2005 reunion: Hugh Banton and David Jackson departed in December 1976 and January 1977 respectively. Banton's departure owed to financial troubles and his then-recent marriage, but he stayed to finish touring commitments. Jackson continued with Peter Hammill and Guy Evans to rehearse with the new line-up in January 1977, which featured returning bassist Nic Potter and newcomer violinist Graham Smith (of Scottish folk-rock act String Driven Thing), but left shortly after the band started rehearsing, just before the next tour. Track listing All songs written by Peter Hammill, except where noted. 2005 re-release bonus tracks # "When She Comes" – 8:13 # "Masks" – 7:23 #*both recorded for the ...
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Godbluff
''Godbluff'' is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour. As the first self-produced album by the band, it featured a tighter, more pared-down sound than the band's earlier recordings with producer John Anthony (record producer), John Anthony. Hammill said "we did not want to make 'Son of ''Pawn Hearts with a big long side two and lots of studio experiments". Van der Graaf Generator would never work with an outside producer from this point forward. Hammill made extensive use of the Hohner Clavinet D6 keyboard, which he had first started using on his previous solo album, ''Nadir's Big Chance'' (1975). The first release of the record in the United States was on Mercury Records. The 2005 reissue added live performances by the band of two songs from Peter Hammill's album ''The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage'' (1974), recorded at a concert at L'Al ...
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Still Life (Van Der Graaf Generator Album)
''Still Life'' is the sixth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976. It was their second album after reforming in 1975, the first being '' Godbluff''. One live bonus track was added for the 2005 re-mastered re-release. A new re-master, with 5.1 surround sound re-mixes by Stephen W Tayler, was released on 3 September 2021. Cover The album front cover, photographed by Paul Brierley, shows a Lichtenberg figure. The image was described by journalist Geoff Barton in '' Sounds'': "It's actually a frozen-in-action shot of an electrical discharge from a real Van de Graaff generator machine, set in acrylic." Response Geoff Barton of '' Sounds'' wrote: "Where 'Still Life' scores over past LPs is in its precise and accurate reproduction of leader Hammill's vocals. He never really ''sings'', rather he murmurs, shouts, screams or speaks, and this wide range of tonality has presented in the past often insurmountable problems for enginee ...
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Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus'') and Ausa (ancient ''Aprusa''). It is one of the most notable seaside resorts in Europe with revenue from both internal and international tourism forming a significant portion of the city's economy. It is also near San Marino, a small nation within Italy. The first bathing establishment opened in 1843. Rimini is an art city with ancient Roman and Renaissance monuments, and is also the birthplace of the film director Federico Fellini. The city was founded by the Romans in 268 BC. Throughout Roman times, Rimini was a key communications link between the north and south of the peninsula. On its soil, Roman emperors erected monuments such as the Arch of Augustus and the Tiberius Bridge to mark the beginning and the end of the Decumanu ...
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Pawn Hearts
''Pawn Hearts'' is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". The album was not commercially successful in the UK, but reached number one in Italy. It has since seen retrospective critical praise and was reissued on CD in 2005 with extra material. The songs for the album were worked out while on tour in 1971, with further development and arranging at manager Tony Stratton-Smith's house in Crowborough, Sussex over a two-month period. The original plan had been to release more material, making up a double album, but Charisma vetoed the idea. A non-album single, " Theme One" was included on some releases in the US and Canada. The album's strong commercial showing in Italy resulted in a number of lucrative promotional tours there, but the resulting pressure led to the band's split in August 1972. ...
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A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers
"A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is a song by the English rock band Van der Graaf Generator, from their fourth album '' Pawn Hearts'' (1971). It is a concept piece over 23 minutes long, which comprises the whole B-side of the album. "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" evolved in the studio, recorded in small sections and pieced together during mixing. The song has many changes in time signature and key signature, and even incorporates some musique concrète. Recording "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" was recorded at intervals between gigs. It was recorded in small sections that were pieced together during mixing, and it took about three to four months to record, non-continuous. According to producer John Anthony, the track features a lot more studio experimentation than on previous albums, saying "we pushed the facilities at Trident to the limit and had involved the use of every single tape machine in Trident at some stage." The experiments included tape manipulation and Hugh ...
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H To He, Who Am The Only One
''H to He, Who Am the Only One'' is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records. The band recorded the album in several stages throughout mid-1970 in Trident Studios with producer John Anthony. The songs mentioned a killer shark in "Killer", lost love in "Lost" and science fiction material in "Pioneers Over c". Bassist Nic Potter left the group in August partway through recording, with organist Hugh Banton covering on bass guitar in the studio and playing bass pedals in concert. King Crimson's Robert Fripp made a guest appearance on guitar, and the cover was the first of several by the band to feature the artwork of Paul Whitehead. The album did not chart in the UK, and contemporary reviews were mixed, but it has since been regarded as a good example of progressive rock albums by critics. "Killer" has been singled out for praise as a fan favourite. Background The group's previous album, '' The L ...
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