Van Der Graaf Generator - Quiet Zone / Pleasure Dome (Mlps)
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Van Der Graaf GeneratorEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Import, Limited Edition
CD Release Date: 2008-05-27
Music Label: Caroline
Soundtracks:
- Lizard Play
- The Habit of the Broken Heart
- The Siren Song
- Last Frame
- The Wave
- Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running)
- The Sphinx in the Face
- Chemical World
- The Sphinx Returns [Instrumental]
- Door [*]
- Ship of Fools [*]
- The Wave [#][*][Demo Version]
Free Music Notes for Quiet Zone / Pleasure Dome (Mlps)
Free Music Review: their worst album
Hit: 3 Stars
The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome is quite the disastrous album. I was told by many to avoid it but like a clueless fanboy, I didn't pay any attention to the many warnings given to me. Now I regret it.
Alright, here's the deal. Whether Peter Hammill wanted to admit it or not, he was definitely running low on songwriting ideas. World Record had a few questionable moments that pretty much confirmed the well was drying up, but at least that album had more than enough great moments that the few terrible ones weren't a distraction.
What's especially weird about this album is that the saxophones no longer dominate most of the material. Instead the violin does, and the actual playing sounds remarkably similar to Jefferson Starship. Interesting enough, Jefferson Starship started going downhill around the same time as Van Der Graaf Generator. Hmmm...
Anyway, as far as musical instruments go, I actually prefer the violin over the saxophone. This is perhaps due to the fact most artists prefer to use the saxophone, so whenever a violin makes an appearance it's like a special event. However Van Der Graaf Generator *clearly* had something special going with the melodic saxophone jams, so I'm disappointed.
Anyway, what's up with Peter Hammill? He sings in such a relaxed, bland and straightforward kind of way most of the time, never really expanding his vocal range to match the creative lyrics like he did in the early days. Whenever he does try to raise his range, it's almost never interesting and indicates a band either completely burnt out or suffering from a temporary period of writers block.
However the lyrics are actually pretty good. They feel more personal and still resonate with me quite well. However the songwriting... yikes. There's really not a single interesting vocal melody on the entire album.
There's one saving grace, and it's a good one. A song I'm sure the Trans Siberian Orchestra would be proud of, "Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever" takes a classical cliched violin riff and builds Hammill's vocals around it. THIS time, he actually uses his vocal range to sing with lots of amazing range and power, like in the early days. I love one part around the 3-minute mark when the cymbal bashes play along with the violins- I never heard anything like it before, and it paints a picture of instant destruction or more realistically perhaps, reveals a band on the verge of self-destructing.
Perhaps the most offensive song is "Chemical World". Hands down, the worst verse melody in the bands entire career. The first part of the song seriously sounds like it consists of exactly three notes before eventually speeding up in the most generic way imaginable. At least the violin playing that occasionally comes and goes manages to trigger a positive reaction out of me, but the vocals leave me completely numb. "The Sphinx in the Face" has a nice beat going for it, but not much else. Very predictably written and disappointing. However I will admit there is *something* about it that grows on me with repeated listens. The final minute or so reminds me of the Bee Gees when Hammill really extends his vocal range to higher heights, and the melody here is pretty good too.
Then you have a terrible song like "Lizard Play" which bases its unsatisfying vocal melody around recreating the one from "Lemmings" but making it much less appealing. "Last Frame" and "The Siren Song" are very forgettable ballads with no interesting instrumentation or any signs of a progressive rock band that just released several quality albums in a row from 1969-1976. Flat ballads.
Overall, no it's not the worst album ever created of course. It's just a very disappointing one, but you know, it's not exactly surprising. You could tell something like this was coming when you consider some of the more average vocal melodies in a track like "A Place to Survive" from their World Record album. The signs were definitely there. Too bad the band members themselves apparently didn't notice them.
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