Pawn Hearts by VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR (2015-03-25)

WOW! am glad I am still mostly alive - since I bought the vinyl when it came out - mostly on the promise of super-prod quality Guaranteed by the Paul Whitehead ( see Wikipedia plz) original cover, plus the The Famous Charisma label plus the good company such as contemporary Genesis sister band! The sound is both loyal and much improved. Van Der Graaf stretched studio capacity beyond the designers' conceptions. Album worthy of 5.1 mix. The side-long Plague of Lighthouse Keepers rivals Genesis' own war/sci-fi epic. A good extra - that one-time-only live performance. Am sure the Italians have Plenty of live recordings. England produced Prog - but the public ignored it through the black magic of negative imbecilic reviews, the industry practical of Not Paying the musicians, etcSoft Machine, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf... just rip them off: was the moto.Van Der Graaf had one of the Three Peters - the strongest lyricists in English and in England: Peter Gabriel, Peter Sinfield And Peter Hammill. Lyrics included 😊 😃oops: forgot. 20 minutes of extra Totally Worthwhile And Fully Compatible material. 😊

Even if you aren't a vdgg fan, this one is special. It is quite amazing instrumentally. So, I would recommend starting here. BUT, don't expect the other albums to sound like this one. They are ALL different. I also recommend listening to their albums on Youtube to see if they float your boat.I was amazed at the sound quality of Pawn Hearts. For those of you with good audio systems, this one sounds especially nice.

In 1976 I read a review in STEREO REVIEW magazine to which I was subscribing. The review was by another subscriber who wrote glowingly about an LP by a group I had never heard of (VDGG). He stated that this particularrecord was unlike anything he had heard before. He couldn't categorize it, stating that the music transcended categorization. And he concluded by statingthat it had changed his view of music and hisown life!"WOW"!, I thought, what kind of music was onthis record that could have such apsychological effect on an individual?As that reviewer stated it, "the record is PAWN HEARTS by Van Der Graaf Generator".So naturally I went out and bought the record. And after one listening, I understood what that reviewer meant. The music on this record was unlike anything I had heard before (which consisted mostly of hard and acid rock as well as groups such as Genesis, Camel, King Crimson as well as classical music.This album immediately became my most listened to record and I promptly went out and bought a second copy. Since then I have also purchased a cd of this recording.And, after reading a recent review here on Amazon regarding a positive remastering ofthe original recording, I decided to buy this remastered version.This newly remastered cd was like listening to the music for the first time! The sound on this cd is unbelievable. This is what a digital recording should sound like. The performance is as fantastic as it ever was. And the additional tracks add to the overall value in the purchase of this cd.Obviously, this is among my favorite of cds.If you haven't heard it yet, I don't know what you're waiting for. If you're ready to expand your musical horizons, (cliche or not), buy this cd.It just might change the way you 'view' music.

I will never forget the 1st time I heard this recording. It profoundly shook my interest in progressive rock music while elevating my appreciation for the inspired musicianship inherent in this recording. As complex as it is compelling, the vocal style of Himmell coupled with the sophisticated time changes and signature set Van der Graaf Generator miles apart from their musical peers. 'Pawn Hearts' still wows me. And, when I reflect on when this album came to fruition I am blown away by how so many years later, it still engages me from song to song leaving me fulfilled like very few other recordings ever do. For me, the best release in the catalog.

Three songs, the shortest of which is a touch over ten minutes and the longest over twenty minutes. Defines 1970s prog. The bonus tracks add to that too. Marvellous.Hammill and his buddies make a lot of noise in many different ways in clever arrangements. All classic prog, all deep and take time to discover but do reward the listener for their patience. VDGG always somewhat “Marmite” though perhaps this is their most easily accessible album and the most consistently sonically varied and engrossing.Dark, brooding, heavy, quiet, relaxing, noodling piano bits, crunching. It has it all. Lemmings and Man Erg are both as finer quintessential English prog rock as you’ll hear – well, until you get to A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers. Profound, gothic, choral, the burgeoning mixture of manic drumming, sweeping organ and devilish sax makes a sound like nothing else. The quieter gentle melodic piano interludes as Hammill slows it down a time or two.I recall buying the original on vinyl way back when – I called it Prawn Hearts then (perhaps I was drunk at the time) and still do. It’s as good as it gets. A good place to start if you are new to VDGG or want to see what real prog was like in the 1970s.

I've been a fan of VDGG since 1969 on the release of their first album "The Aerosol Grey Machine". I did have all their releases on album but have played and played them so I decided to get them all in CD format. I can now listen to them in my car which is an added bonus. A great and original band which I now are still recording to this day. Check out their other brilliant albums, "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other" and "H to He, Who Am the Only One" both released in 1970. Pawn Hearts for me is the crowning glory just a superb album.

At the time of writing, I am still awaiting the arrival of the CD, but have access to Amazon's music streaming service, post-purchase.This would get 5 stars if the original album version of the three excellent tracks (Lemmings, Man-Erg and A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers) were only on this - as was the original vinyl version. It is a shame that much experimental previously unpublished 'padding' was added - it has not added value, quite the contrary in my opinion. With the exception of the added 'Theme One' (was included on original USA release), the rest of the additional material could have been left off and the album (truer to the original) would be better. Still very good by virtue of the excellent original tracks.

I just rediscovered this 35 years after wearing out my original vinyl album, and to my amazement it has lost nothing of it's originality and power. An exhausting mix of musical violence, melodic beauty and Peter Hammill.It's almost impossible to say anything about this album that hasn't said before, but underlying the essential prog rock ingredients of unusual time signatures and instrumental virtuosity there are achingly beautiful melodies. There is also intense drama, such as the cut into "Land's End", 4 minutes from the end of A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers. I still have to pick up my jaw in time for the finale, which ends, inevitably, on an agonizing discord.In the early 70's we would eagerly await the next vinyl release from bands like Van der Graaf, in the hope that there might be a single (long!) track that touches greatness, but on Pawn Hearts they gave us two. Man-Erg reaches those heights, but A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers is out there at the limit - calm, frenetic, beautiful, terrible, an emotional rollercoaster. Progressive rock was about taking music where others feared to tread, and this is as good as it gets. There has never been anything else like it, not even from VdGG themselves.I won't review the 'bonus' tracks - they don't compare, and (in my opinion) have no place here. This review is for the original album, containing just the first 3 tracks. The digital remastering is superb, and if you haven't heard it yet you are a couple of clicks away from experiencing an essential moment in the evolution of rock music.

1971. Charisma Records. Tony Stratton-Smith took a chance.A heady year for those of us who remember.The Wolf for his part was a fairly undiscerningmusical whippersnapper of a pup; equally happy listeningto The Sweet and Mud as he was exploring the more arcaneavenues provided by the likes of Matching Mole and Henry Cow.What I loved most perhaps about Mr Hammill and his cohortswas their unrelenting seriousness; their commitment to a dark,almost Nietzschean, muse. Man both proud yet torn apartwith doubt and self-loathing.'Pawn Hearts' was an extraordinary achievement. Challenging,musically coherant, prodigiously performed and intellectually satisfying.Were I to have the choice of only one track from this album to take awayto my desert island it would undoubtably be 'Man Erg'.In this anthemic compostion we are taken on a nightmare journey throughinner conflict, doubt, duality and dissolution to a tentativereintegration promising some form of fragile survival.The breakdown into mayhem and madness following the hymn-likeintroduction is truly frightening. Hammill's voice and Jackson'ssaxes capturing the essence of existential terror.The theme of alienation continues in the epic 10 part composition'A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers'. Loneliness-Despair-Hope-Ressurection.A sustained assault of daring thematic and rhythmic complexity findseventual resolution in an uplifting coda stunningly augmented withmellotron and (guest) Mr Fripp's distinctive guitar volleys.Opening track 'Lemmings' offers little respite but the possibilityof a tenuous optimism and future remains:"What choice is there but to liveIn the hope of savingOur children's children's little ones?"The music and the message retain their relevance today.Essential.

When lists of top 100 albums appear in books and magazines (and they do frequently these days), VDGG never seem to figure. I suppose it's because they've never sold in huge quantities, but that in turn is probably to do with the uncompromising nature of the music. I've only heard three of their albums, but they are all superb. 'Pawn Hearts' is my favourite and I suspect that it wil remain so. In my opinion, it deserves, at worst, to be in the top 30 albums of all time, possibly better. The band conjure up so many different soundscapes out of saxes, flutes and keyboards, with the more conventional rock instruments holding it all together. 'Lemmings' and 'Man-Erg' are extended workouts that evoke a multitude of emotions and disturbances. But if Genesis are feted for their majestic opus, 'Supper's Ready', surely VDGG deserve similar acclaim for 'A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers', which, at 23 minutes, happens to be of a similar length and is, likewise, composed of a well-crafted series of shorter sections. On this, VDGG sustain the intensity of what is a seething maelstrom of sound and, as ever, Peter Hammill delivers a compelling, disturbed vocal. VDGG may be daring and ambitious in their approach, but they are capable of moments of outstanding, melodic beauty, as on '(Custer's) Last Stand'. On this release, even the bonuses are worth hearing. 'Theme One' is an unusually commercial number, though it was a single. 'Ponker's Theme' is brief excursion into jazz and the the other three tracks are experimental in nature. 'Pawn Hearts' matures with age and with every play. A magnificent album.

Well, define this album as a must have is an understatement.Hammill at his very best.Enough said. No, I would like to add that this album is IMO one of the most revolutionary along with in the court of the crimson King.How about that?

Need I elaborate.1971 - music that sounds like no other band. 3 songs. All brilliant.Plague of Lighthouse Keepers - 20+ minute epic. Simply the most jaw dropping musical journey I've ever been on. I'v etravelled it thousands of times - and its still an amazing trip to take.Lemmings - A twisting warped journey from brooding beautiful acoutsic guitar into a nightmare of lunatic arrangements and dischordant angst.Man Erg - My favourite song of ALL time. Its simply majestic. At once tender and touching - and then brutal. The climactic chord sequence is right up there with Beethoven's 5th for me!Awesome. Even when its not remastered and had no extra tracks - its the best album ever.

Good prog rock album with 5 bonus tracks. If you like king chrimson and the ozric tenticles you may like this.

Highly experimental and so maybe not to everyone's taste, but for those, like me, who enjoy challenging music that pushes boundaries, this is a highly creative and wonderful album that I would highly recommend to any serious fan of progressive rock music or experimental rock music in general. Not to be missed!

One of a number of early Progressive Rock bands that produced extraordinarily powerful and original music

What a band enjoyed them live and Robert Fripp,s guitar solo.Perfect.

essential VdGG music - nothing like it original and unique prog rock - listen several times before it begins to hit you!

Discordant progressive rock, slightly manic at times. Different.

Replacement for vinyl. Best album from their early period.