Godbluff by Van der Graaf Generator

Godbluff, fifth album by the legendary Van der Graaf Generator, the first album recorded after the band's reunion in 1975.

First self-produced album and with a more essential sound than the previous ones, Peter Hammill in fact said: "We didn't want to compose a new Pawn Hearts with a long B side and full of experimentation", they didn't do that, but they did create something new and beautiful.

This is a prog work that offers improvisation and complexity, mixing virtuosity with psychedelic passages. A moving album even though it is not an easy listen, with an extremely intense vocal performance by Peter Hammill. 

Much has been said about this album, here are some comments from reviewers of specialized magazines, the first is a negative evaluation: "a verbose display of that kind of deliberately avant-garde rock, which so many other bands play infinitely better". I disagree.

And now those with which I completely agree:

"Godbluff" represents the sound of the mid-seventies, in the truest sense of the word: uncomfortable, coherent, relentless, courageous"

"Simply, an essential purchase"

Then these beautiful ones: "The album opened with a brave calm, with David Jackson's flute echoing through the sound space, joined by Hammill's voice barely whispering the opening lines. A Sturm und Drang was about to arrive, but the music had opened up and the lyrics had developed a greater focus, often abandoning metaphor in favor of more direct statements. Godbluff was a brilliant return to the scene - only four tracks, but all classics."

"It was the best reunion ever. Godbluff was a classic in every respect. It evoked vast stretches of moorland, the burning shelters of herdsmen, hordes of madmen on carts destroying farmhouses, heads impaled on lances. And Hammill towered above it all, like Zarathustra, desperately and eloquently seeking some semblance of morality where there was none."

The intense and complex progressive sound is expressed through long and experimental tracks, ranging from epic to melodic, from dark to intense with long instrumental sections.

Some notes on the tracks:

The Undercover Man with the beautiful flute in the opening part and a beautiful melody of organ and light percussion in an impressive progression with Hammill's absolutely exceptional voice. Powerful in the central part and moving at the end. Great track. 

Scorched Earth, less melody and more complexity in their darker style, with a tormented vocal part and a great saxophone section. Fantastic

Arrow is a track of great complexity, difficult to listen to with prominent drums and saxophone, the track that most resembles their previous repertoire.

The Sleepwalkers is my favorite track, it starts delicately and when the voice comes in, a sense of fear and tension begins. The saxophone is once again amazing, very powerful, a track that moves from melodious moments to different levels of complexity. Fantastic,

Only four tracks that, although in the new course, have all become classics, an essential purchase for what I also consider the best reunion ever, at least the most successful.

So nothing more to add, it just needs to be listened to and re-listened to. Godbluff, together with Pawn Hearts, is an essential reference point for the history of progressive rock, a must for anyone who loves the genre. Fantastic album, masterpiece.

Tracklist

1. The Undercover Man (7:00)
2. Scorched Earth (10:10)
3. Arrow (8:15)
4. The Sleepwalkers (10:26)

Duration 35:51

LineUp

- Peter Hammill - vocals, guitars, piano, Hohner D6 clavinet
- Hugh Banton - organs, bass, bass pedals
- David Jackson - saxophones, flute
- Guy Evans - drums, percussion

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