Van Der Graaf Generator: H To He Who Am the Only One (remastered) [CHARISMA]

Why you'll love it

This reissue reproduces the original Charisma LP, newly remastered from the master tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios. It's the home of "Killer" and "Pioneers Over C," with King Crimson's Robert Fripp guesting on guitar.

This edition

• Remastered from the original master tapes
• Cut at Abbey Road Studios
• Gatefold jacket
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Prog in 1970 had plenty of bands who wanted to be an orchestra. Van der Graaf Generator wanted to be a thunderstorm. Peter Hammill's voice could whisper and howl in the same breath, Hugh Banton's organ filled the room, and David Jackson's saxophones squalled over Guy Evans's drums.

They cut the album in stages at Trident Studios with producer John Anthony. When bassist Nic Potter left partway through, Banton simply covered the bass lines himself. "Killer" turns the tale of a lonely shark into a towering epic, "House With No Door" is a tender piano ballad, and "Pioneers Over C" heads into deep space with science fiction ambitions to match. Robert Fripp drops in on guitar, and Paul Whitehead painted the cover, the first of several he did for the band.

Critics now hold it up as a prime example of progressive rock at its most atmospheric, and Whitehead's cover art has become as much a part of the band's identity as Hammill's voice. It's an album about a shark, loneliness and space travel, which, if you think about it, covers most of a long Canadian winter.

Also at Kops: more Van der Graaf Generator on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Charisma (cat# 089 607-8), a reissue of the 1970 album.