Customer Reviews

Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Least we can do is wave to each other" is a brillant and beautiful album. The second lp by VDGG and the first for charisma records this lp actually stands up to any thing released in 1969. Virgin will be remastering the entire catalog in 2005,go to sofasound.com for details. In may 2005 in London VDGG will preform a reunion concert. Their first since 1977. Hopefully they will play the outstanding tracks on this record. A MUST FOR ALL PROG LOVERS!!!!!!!!!!! "Darkness 11/11", "Refugees", "White Hammer", "Whatever Robert would of said", the ouitstanding "Out of my Book" and "After the Flood" are all exceptional tracks! Peter hammill's lryics for the cd can be found on the sofssound site. Hard to find so just wait for the 2005 remastered edition.

While most rock songs concerned themselves with the business of getting off with girls, Peter Hammill had other things on his mind: you don't get lines like "Malleus Maleficarum slaughtered and tortured" in your average rock lyric. This album portrays Hammill's vision of some sort of occult-related nuclear apocalypse. This band was so underground they were molten -- without being magma, of course ;-)

I feel that liking this album is going to be a tough assignment for newcomers. I've known Van Der Graaf for 28 years, and this album for a week. I love the albums I knew in my youth -- particularly GODBLUFF, STILL LIFE and PAWN HEARTS -- but, at the age of 42, I struggle to digest new VdGG discoveries. As always with VdGG albums, this one improves with each hearing. After about my fourth hearing, I was so disillusioned that I was all prepared to write a short of essay entitled, 'Whatever was the point in progressive music?', focussing on the assertion that teenagers and students in the early 70s had less money but less choice of leisure products -- no video, no Nintendo, and in the UK at least, no all-day TV.

But after several more auditions, I believe this album stacks up well (without being quite so excellent) as the other three I named. All the VdGG ingredients are here, fully-formed -- even the fledgling special effects. (I would imagine Hammill is quite embarrassed today about the dalek voice borrowed from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop used to sing the 'total annihilation' lyric in 'After the Flood'.) As other reviewers have said, this album owes something to IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING; there are also very faint echoes of the acoustic guitar style of Bowie's SPACE ODDITY and Jethro Tull's flute.

Despite the fact that 'Refugees' from this album was VdGG's biggest UK single (no less than #47 in the hit parade!), I wouldn't recommend this as the first port of call for a VdGG newcomer -- possibly STILL LIFE and the remastered collection in INTRODUCTION are the best starting points. Provided you give them enough time, you'll soon find that buying VdGG albums becomes addictive. And you'll end up buying this one, even if it takes 28 years. And maybe you'll be able to help me understand the line 'West is Mike and Susie'.

At first listen this album may not be easy, but thats what it's all about,lost of touch,lost loves,violent foretold revelations.There is no escaping,yet we feel human vulnerability in all the songs, Peter Hammill delivers; scarcely,provoking,horrific,and he can be as gentle as a child a whole spectrum that goes to perfection whith the album theme.It must be listened as a whole or not at all! The imaging is astounding,Hugh Banton plays some really scary,graphic,torturus organ,David Jackson proves he's not just another sax player.On rythmic section ,Guy and Nic provides us with the appropriate power and contorsion! A rare and beautiful album! In my quest as a musical instigator it is my duty to find rareties like this for myself and all you people.Most of the music today is tedious,soporific,and blatant no rest for the wicked I gess,NOT!

It only took two years for Van De Graaf Generation to release their sophomore LP - 1970's John Anthony produced "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other" (great album title). In the UK the album was released on manager Tony Statton-Smith's newly formed Charisma imprint. In the States ABC's Probe subsidiary had the pleasure. Naturally the US and UK pressings sported different covers, though they shared the same track listing. With Hammill again responsible for the bulk of the six songs, the majority of these songs were apparently written and in some cases even recorded prior to the debut album.

- Yeah, Peter Hammill's lyrics and delivery were pretty depressing (the blowing wind sound effects and Hugh Banton's ghostly synthesizers aptly set the tone), but 'Darkness (II/II)' has always been a personal favorite given it's nifty melody and the amazing performances from bassist Nic Potter and the rest of the band. The song title apparently came from the fact Hammill wrote it on November 11th. Regardless the song simply sounds amazing when cranked up on a quality stereo system. rating: **** stars
- Complete with a Baroque-tinged woodwind arrangement, 'Refugees' found the band marching off in a pastoral direction. Easily one of the prettiest and most mainstream things they ever wrote and recorded, I think most folks would be amazed to learn this ballad was by one of England's foremost progressive bands. Maybe it's just me, but I've always taken the lyric to be a comment on the impact of communism on human desire for freedom (yeah, I need to cutback on the caffeine). rating: **** stars
- 'White Hammer' found Hammill and company moving towards a hybrid incorporating Al Stewart-styled story-telling ("In the year 1486 ... Malleus Maleficarum ...") and a mix of progressive and hard rock elements. Hammill's typically dark and dense lyrics seemed to have something to do with the evils associated with the Spanish inquisition, but who really knows. Hum, wonder if Stewart ever thought about recording an album on the subject. Yeah, it sounds a bit over the top, but kicked along by Guy Evans dynamic drums and Jackson's surprisingly effective sax, the track actually rocked out with a surprising amount ton of energy. rating: **** stars
- I can't swear this is true, but recall reading that the eclectic rocker 'What Would Robert Have Said?' was inspired by band namesake Robert van der Graaf. rating: *** stars
- 'Out of My Book' was another beautiful ballad with great multi-tracked vocals ... about as close to a pop construction as these guys would ever come. Simply wonderful with Jackson turning some beautiful flute work and Banton adding to the melody with what sounded like a church organ. rating: **** stars
- While the extended 'After the Flood' attracts the most critical attention, to my ears its always been one of the album's least interesting performances. Clocking in just short of twelve minutes, the post-apocalypse/environmental disaster lyrics were definitely sobering - doubtful you'll find anyone shaking their groove thing to this one. Technically the song was certainly impressive mutating through a much of segments, including a slow ballad section, some frightening distortion-laced Hammill vocals, some pseudo-jazz moves, and even outright discordant experimentation where Jackson was allowed to freak out on sax for a couple of minutes, but it felt kind of stitched together, with the changes sound abrupt and forced. The good news is that if you could get through the first two thirds of the song, the track took an unexpected change in direction, revealing a likeable, rock melody. rating: *** stars

In the UK the album was tapped for a single in the form of:



- 1970's 'Refugees' b/w 'The Boat Of Millions Of Years' (Charisma catalog number CS 122)

As shown on the US pressing, Hammill's liner notes have always made me smile: "Don't listen when you're hustling, depressed, or with preoccupations, and if you're always in these moods, don't even bother ..."

"At Least We Can Wave To Each Other" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Darkness (II/II) (Peter Hammill) - 7:25
2.) Refugees (Peter Hammill) - 6:22
3.) White Hammer (Peter Hammill) - 8:15

(side 2)
1.) What Would Robert Have Said? (Peter Hammill) - 6:05
2.) Out of My Book (Peter Hammill - David Jackson) - 4:04
3.) After the Flood (Peter Hammill) - 11:58

By the time they recorded "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other", Van der Graaf Generator had already disbanded and reformed once, in the process recording an uneven album The Aerosol Grey Machine that was originally viewed as a solo album by mainman Peter Hammill. At the tail end of 1969, they reunited with woodwind player David Jackson and bass player Nic Potter to record a new album which was released that summer.

Compared to their abortive debut, "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other" is much closer to the proto-post-rock sound of their following three masterpieces. There is none of the funky basslines and very little acoustic guitar on "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other", and Hugh Banton has moved away from the traditional-style piano here played on "The Aerosol Grey Machine". Hammill's voice, too, has changed from the tones he used on "The Aerosol Grey Machine" towards a huge, but highly melodic tone.

Of the six tracks on "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other", there are two absolute classics that rank with "Killer" and all of Pawn Hearts and Godbluff. The first, "White Hammer", is about the witch-hunts of the Renaissance and features some of the very best - and certainly the heaviest - keyboard playing ever seen on a rock album. Even on the softer parts, Hugh Banton possesses a fiery energy that matches the depths of Hammill's voice perfectly. There are many remarkable things about "White Hammer", such as the beauty in Hammill's voice even on the harder parts, and the sheer depths of his lyrics that reflects a man who must have researched his subject matter thoroughly. The final solo by David Jackson and the variety of tones he manages on the saxophone are another wonder. "Whatever Would Robert Have Said" begins with similar organ work from Banton before going into a structure dominated by several short very fast passages and some really dark lyrics about guilt and violence. It then goes into a fast saxophone solo where, for one of the few times on the album, piano is audible and then to a classically fiery jam whose intensity even amidst the big production values is stunning.

The other four songs here do not have the intensity or quality or originality of their following three albums. Indeed, "Out of My Book" is very close to "The Aerosol Grey Machine". Even with the beautiful flute and organ interplay, this is not passionate like the classic band was to become. The first two songs, "Darkness (11/11)" and "Refugees" are beautiful and despairing: preludes to what the band would do on "House with No Door" and "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" but not so immediate for the listener. Closer "After the Flood", featuring a quote from Einstein,is an epic that synthesises all the different styles of the album into something like the dynamics of later albums - though again without the immediacy and power that was to make their next few records so stunning.

"The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other" was to be a transitional album for Van der Graaf Generator. There are still more than traces of their uneven debut that later albums were not to retain, but on at least three of the six tracks here we hear one of the most passionate and original voices ever to adorn rock music - a band that can seem at times to be a quarter-century ahead of its time.

I was so surprised to see this band available. I never got to see them in concert but I did and still do love this album. Yes i said album.

Pawn Hearts and Godbluff are the definative Van Der Graff Generator albums. Noise rock? These guys wrote the book.

But it took the band three years and three albums to nail their style, when Pawn Hearts came out in 1971. In 1969, they released The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other. Noise experiments start here.

"Darknes" is a melodic piece, but David Jackson's sax makes a raspey growl, fantastic in rudeness. "White Hammer" is more complex, and ends with a doom coda, full of atonality, and again, Jackson's wounded beast tennor. The album continues with conterpoint: fantastic melodies and harmonics, and beastly dissonence on top.

Now true: Van Der Gaff uses Jacksosn's sax and dissonence, but this is not from extended solos like in jazz. Jackson uses few notes, sometimes extending one for bars, over Hugh Banton's organ and layers of drums and fuzz. Jackson had jazz chops, but he was new wave ten years before new wave. His work is like James White of the Contortions. The differance is that new wave worked on spare musical frames. Van Der Graff wanted to heap as many layers as possible. In 1969, rock was still thriving on Sargent Pepper aftershocks.

But this is not important. Buy this and play, loud. Enjoy, and run for your bloody life.

First let me apologize for saying I thought Pawn Hearts was the only Van Der Graaf Generator album you need- I was WRONG! I don't even know why I said that. In fact, I don't even remember if I really said that in my review or just thought about saying it, haha.

I love The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other. Now, it doesn't quite have that spooky vibe that Pawn Hearts has, nor the interesting storytelling lyrics, BUT, this album certainly has melody and emotions from the lead singers voice so it's an album you need to own ASAP!

I can't believe how much this band grew on me the last couple of months- I've been listening to these guys like CRAZY! That lead singer is amazing how he almost sounds annoying at first, and then your mind adjusts to his style of singing with repeated listens. It's a really good style too- not cheesy like I originally thought. It reminds me of David Bowie a little bit, had Bowie been capable of more honest emotions (or rather, had his career led him to *choose* to be more emotional since after all, that kind of stuff wasn't required by Bowie- just being extremely diverse was his specialty).

"Refugee" has REALLY good vocals, almost high pitched enough to make you cry. Seriously, this is a great song. I don't get how some people think "Darkness" is the best song- not to me. It's good, with a moody slow build-up of lyrics to a saxophone jam at the end, but I've heard the band do better (just on this album alone).

"After the Flood" has more really good vocals and a creepy part at one point near the end with the singer screaming out "ANNIHILATION!". THAT is creepy indeed! That particular part sounds out of tune at first, but becomes better with more listens. The organs (or keyboards) that play throughout this song are really good, giving off a sense of a nightmare scenario. Oddly enough, after that one creepy part goes away, we are treated to a SPLENDID vocal melody ("and when the water falls again, all is dead and nobody lives"... or something (sorry, can't make out the lyrics most of the time). But it's a GREAT song.

"White Hammer" reminds me of early Trespass-period Genesis with another solid vocal melody. In fact, the way the drums sound on this album reminds me of the Trespass album. I personally LOVE the way the album sounds. I just love Van Der Graaf Generator's style of songwriting. That lead singer has a way of getting better and better until you just can't help but open your front door and run down the street yelling "I LOVE THESE GUYS!"... unless it's cold outside (then you're better off screaming your head off indoors). :)

"Out of my Book" is a PERFECT pop song, seriously. It reminds me of "Our House" by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Just listen to the vocal melody- you can tell a song like this should have been recognized back in the day.

I'm taking away one point because the album features perhaps their only truly awful song called "Whatever Would Robert Have Said?" The lyrics are sung in a way where Hammill's asks YOU (the listener) a bunch of supposed important questions, but it fails to make an impression on me, and in fact if anything it's a major distraction and an odd, glaring experimental mistake by the band.

Overall- one bad song, and the rest is gold.

I really don?t understand some critics written here about this record, what a lost of time. VDGG are one of the best progressive and all time jazz/rock bands ever, Peter Hammil such an enlighted poet and singer, whose lyrics rival those of Genesis' Peter Gabriel or Crimson's guru Pete Sinfield. Although, especially King Crimson and Gentle Giant are more technically skilled, VDGG made rock history in their first period (four albums, between 1968 and 1971) with some of the most beautiful flute and sax driven songs ever. LWCDIWTEO is their second and by the way, After the flood is an amazing listening experience, a truly epic masterpiece. Listen to it please.

the "real" van der graaf shows it's occasionally ugly, occasionally wonderful head. It's not a big deal to write songs in the same key. i mean what is wrong with that?! most bands do that. Peter is a pretty solid song writer. I don't know if he's a genius, but I think he's pretty damn close. Most of Van Der Graaf is really very very solid and very interesting. This album is a great second album. After The Flood has a scary part, and the music is alterantively pretty, and very bitter and dissonant. Not the best Graaf but get it any ways.