There were a lot of very different bands peddling their wares in the
progressive rock 'golden age' of the 1970s - some tending toward
symphonic grandeur, other towards jazz fusion, and others still
ploughing the more immediate end of the spectrum. There were the
left-field eccentrics and the tricky 'difficult' bands. Apart from it
all, however, there were Van Der Graaf Generator. In a decade stuffed
with a wild array of influences, styles and instrumental line-ups, there
can be few tending quite so near to the definition 'unique' as the four
musicians who made up the 'classic' line-up of Van Der Graaf. For a
start, there was the astonishing songwriting and vocals of generally
accepted 'leader' Peter Hammill, but there was much more behind that to
set these men apart. Their unparalleled instrumental make-up saw little
or no guitar and no bass guitar, while organist Hugh Banton handled the
bass parts on pedals, David Jackson pioneered an astonishing saxophone
style, playing two instruments at once, electric rather than miked up,
and using a full effects pedalboard. Drummer Guy Evans filled in - well,
everything else. It was and remains a sound quite like no other. This
book documents their incredibly influential first decade as prog's
ultimate 'outsiders'. It's quite a ride
