Quiet Zone / Pleasure Dome (Mlps) [Import, Limited Edition]

Van Der Graaf Generator | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 27, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1977
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Limited Edition
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B00140GXQK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,478 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Lizard Play

2. The Habit of the Broken Heart

3. The Siren Song

4. Last Frame

5. The Wave

6. Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running)

7. The Sphinx in the Face

8. Chemical World

9. The Sphinx Returns [Instrumental]

10. Door [*]

11. Ship of Fools [*]

12. The Wave [#][*][Demo Version]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disaster once prophesied, now come, May 17, 2001

By 

Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quiet Zone (Audio CD)

Van Der Graaf reformed in '74 and cut two outstanding albums: 'Godbluff' and 'Still Life'. 'World Record', which followed, was a step down in quality, and precipitated a split; regrettably, Hugh Banton and David Jackson left. At a stroke, Peter Hammill had lost two lead instruments -- sax and organ -- together with the bass pedal and the provider of most of the effects that created such a dense sonic background for 'Pawn Hearts' several years earlier.

The result was a thin sound, which enabled Guy Evans, one of the most underrated free-jazz drummers of the 70s, to shine through. Hammill re-recruited old mate Nic Potter to provide a chunky bass sound -- and it gets very chunky indeed on parts of this album and most of the 'Vital' live album that followed. And most controversially of all, Hammill hired Graham Smith on violin. I never saw Smith play with VdGG, but I saw him perform with a previous band, String Driven Thing, and his on-stage persona was somewhat arrogant -- sort of what-am-I-doing-here-when-I-could-be-playing-classical?

Hammill's friend Robert Fripp had shown how a violin could enhance a guitar, bass and drums combo: King Crimson's RED is one of the greatest prog records of all time. But Graham Smith was no David Cross.

'Quiet Zone' was released in the midst of the punk era. It has a clean, stripped-down sound, but the songs just don't grab me. The only surprise was that it was released as a VdGG album, rather than a Hammill solo LP.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Underappreciated gem, May 15, 2002

By 

Ed Brickell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quiet Zone (Audio CD)

Who said the famous quote (I'm paraphrasing here) that the last thing progressive rock fans want is for their music to actually be progressive? I'm reminded of that as I skim the reviews of this CD. Basically, the negativity stems from one ridiculously obvious observation: this doesn't sound like the Van Der Graaf Generator of old. Well, surprise -- the best musicians move on to new sounds and challenges, and that's exactly what Peter Hammill does on this CD.

Hammill reinvents Van der Graaf Generator, shortening their name lest anyone think it's the same group (it's not at all) who recorded the sax and organ-drenched works of the late 60's and early 70's. The sound is lighter and more open, the compositions are tighter, shorter, but just as challenging as before. The airier production allows you to hear what marvelous musicians this new band (NOT Van der Graaf Generator) truly are. And since Hammill is no longer forced to rely on operatics and bellowing to make his point, we actually get to hear his singing in a more personable, human context. It's just as dramatic (alhtough not quite as loud) as before.

Most music fans are frightened of change. Thank the gods at least some musicians aren't. So enjoy Van der Graaf -- and also enjoy Van der Graaf Generator.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars atypical but very good, April 3, 2008

By 

Andreas C G "Andreas Carl Georgi" (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quiet Zone (Audio CD)

In the 2 years since I wrote this the album continues to grow on me, and I am upgrading it to 5 stars.

This album is very controversial. Some people love and some dislike it. AMG actually lists it as their pick among all the VDGG albums. Technically this is not VDGG but VDG. Hugh Banton and David Jackson had left after the previous album, taking with them the trademark organ/saxophone lead instrumentation. For this album Peter Hammill's piano and guitar move to the front, along with a violin player. Nick Potter, a previous VDGG member is brought back on bass. The result is a sound that is very different to any previous albums. Another difference is a focus on shorter songs with simpler structures. It can be argued that this really sounds more like a Peter Hammill solo album than VDGG, but it really is a one-off anomaly in his catalog. One could say that this album, along with "Nadir's Big Chance" and "Over" are transitional works between the progressive rock of VDGG and Hammill's early albums on one hand, and his work after the breakup of VDG(G) in 1978.

The album has two titles, one for each former LP side (released in 1977). The first half has shorter and simpler songs, while the latter half has somewhat more involved songs. The overall sound is more subdued, largely because of the instrumentation, but also because of Hammill's (relatively) more subdued singing. The streamlined sound does allow Hammill's lyrics to stand out more, and in most cases they are of the usual high quality.

The songs in the first half are all quite good, particularly "Last Frame" and "The Wave", which has become a concert staple. "Chemical World" is one that I like a lot, with a very striking vocal and acoustic guitar intro. "Sphinx in the Face" is pretty good, except for the falsetto chorus at the end, which irritates me (and which they unfortunately choose to bring back for a reprise at the end). Yellow Fever / Cat's Eye (Running) is a song which Hammill seems to like a lot (he named it 3 times!), since he has released several versions - I now own 4. I must say that I don't share his enthusiasm for it. A review I read commented that it sounds like Hammill was trying to do an ELO song. On this track I find the violin to be very grating, and I just don't like the song. On other tracks the violin works very well, usually playing a role roughly analogous to what David Jackson did previously.

I was initially not that impressed with this album, but I have gotten to like it a lot with repeated listenings. As with anything, it helps to approach it without preconcepttions of what it ought to be. If you listen to it as a VDGG album, or as a "prog-rock" album, you might not appreciate it. If you look at it as part of the continuum of work that Hammill has done with VDGG and solo, it fits in very well.

In a nutshell,it is not really representative of VDGG or Peter Hammill's solo work (it's probably closer to the latter). Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable album which fans will want to get.