Review - DOG, Levellers/Nick and Van Der Graaf Generator
It's been a long time since I've had three new
releases to listen to all in one week that have truly excited me. I haven't been
this happy since the weekend recently when I got to watch new Doctor Who and a
live re-telling of the Quatermass Experiment and thus had something to watch
live on TV on a Saturday night rather than running screaming from "talent",
"reality" shows and other crassness :-) Here are brief impressions thus
far:
1) Death of God
Single
It feels like an age since we last had any new studio material from Roy and this song is a very satisfying and timely release. It hasn't changed too much from the live version that some of us have heard; there is some rather natty percussion and wind instrumentation on the single that breathes extra life into it. Personally I am rather looking forward to Roy's "cliff notes" at a gig sometime soon as there is stuff in there that I know will become clearer after a good 20 minute ramble before playing it - duck eggs and other stuff :) I am still absorbing it but the basic message is clear enough. I cheated and got a copy from Cadiz Music directly because I couldn't wait but I'll be getting others in the shops next week (yes, this means you Aaro!).
By the way I subjected myself to 90 minutes of relative torture last night (Question Time on BBC1, with Charles Kennedy, Michael Howard and Tony B.liar. A very interesting programme -- and Charles K definitely came off best in my opinion. I think this year, rather than abstaining as I did last time, I will give his party a vote even though I live in an almost-certainly-Tory stronghold.
There is a shorter radio-friendly version of the single which I rather like.
Criticism: I don't like the stuttering, repeating of lines that tend to crop up in some live songs. It is in the recorded version too (the "oh, no!" bit) and this has already started to irritate me.
2) Levellers single with Nick
Nick's track (Not in My Name) is a solid acoustic song and Nick's voice is very distinctive though not too forward in the mix. I was a little surprised that there was no guitar related posturing apparent; it's quite a straightforward song musically so I guess Nick's input was mainly on the lyrics. I see this as a great thing actually - I want more protest-style, angry stuff rather than sugar coated gloss about a happy home life ... :)
3) Van Der Graaf Generator "Present"
Goose bumps came up on my arms within 20 seconds of the first track. It's wonderful. I like Peter's solo stuff a lot though I have become disinterested in recent material, probably due to lack of real instruments (percussion particularly) and a pondering quality to it. But it's never held a candle to the VdGG work (apart perhaps from "Silent Corner", "Over" and "Chameleon". However this is the real deal. More please.
The second CD, full of improvisations, is surprisingly good. I've found that it's very good to work to.
Paul.
It feels like an age since we last had any new studio material from Roy and this song is a very satisfying and timely release. It hasn't changed too much from the live version that some of us have heard; there is some rather natty percussion and wind instrumentation on the single that breathes extra life into it. Personally I am rather looking forward to Roy's "cliff notes" at a gig sometime soon as there is stuff in there that I know will become clearer after a good 20 minute ramble before playing it - duck eggs and other stuff :) I am still absorbing it but the basic message is clear enough. I cheated and got a copy from Cadiz Music directly because I couldn't wait but I'll be getting others in the shops next week (yes, this means you Aaro!).
By the way I subjected myself to 90 minutes of relative torture last night (Question Time on BBC1, with Charles Kennedy, Michael Howard and Tony B.liar. A very interesting programme -- and Charles K definitely came off best in my opinion. I think this year, rather than abstaining as I did last time, I will give his party a vote even though I live in an almost-certainly-Tory stronghold.
There is a shorter radio-friendly version of the single which I rather like.
Criticism: I don't like the stuttering, repeating of lines that tend to crop up in some live songs. It is in the recorded version too (the "oh, no!" bit) and this has already started to irritate me.
2) Levellers single with Nick
Nick's track (Not in My Name) is a solid acoustic song and Nick's voice is very distinctive though not too forward in the mix. I was a little surprised that there was no guitar related posturing apparent; it's quite a straightforward song musically so I guess Nick's input was mainly on the lyrics. I see this as a great thing actually - I want more protest-style, angry stuff rather than sugar coated gloss about a happy home life ... :)
3) Van Der Graaf Generator "Present"
Goose bumps came up on my arms within 20 seconds of the first track. It's wonderful. I like Peter's solo stuff a lot though I have become disinterested in recent material, probably due to lack of real instruments (percussion particularly) and a pondering quality to it. But it's never held a candle to the VdGG work (apart perhaps from "Silent Corner", "Over" and "Chameleon". However this is the real deal. More please.
The second CD, full of improvisations, is surprisingly good. I've found that it's very good to work to.
Paul.
Posted: Fri - April 29, 2005 at 12:25 PM
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
More Fuzziness
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 23, 2006 04:20 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jan 23, 2006 04:20 PM