VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Not every live album makes the impact Vital did. Recorded at London's Marquee Club on 16th January 1978, it hit shops six months later, by which time the group had split (for the second time), making this more of a capsule of the past than was probably intended. It also turned heads for the often radical re-design of older tracks in the set list. The troupe had been known for on-stage intensity, but this tour was particularly ferocious. Captured using a 24-track mobile unit, the second of two performances in the UK capital was committed to tape, and then mixed down into Vital at Foel Studio by Guy Evans. After some serious magic was worked to clean up a sax track that suffered a technical fault, the finished product encapsulated the huge energy and atmosphere that defined the original date.

Review: It's hard to tell whether The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the most reassuring or disappointing moment in the history of Van der Graaf Generator. The progressive rock outfit that came out of Manchester University in the mid-late-1960s have been going, in some form or another, for 55 years. And yet here we are, in 2022, discussing this, the only UK Top 50 album they ever released.

The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other was also their first LP released in Britain, which speaks volumes about how unfair music can be. Despite the obvious visibility issues of a band that continue to pass many by, it's safe to say critics have always been pretty blown away by the VDGG, and no more so than on this outing. At times its unsettling, in other moments joyous, it packs so much personality you can't help but get to know the players intimately on first listen.