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Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT -- AND RARE -- PIECE OF MUSICAL HISTORY
Review: As fans of Van der Graaf Generator know all too well, during their existence the band only ever played one gig in the US - so this short (30 minutes worth of VdG) video is quite a treasure. The performance is live in a Belgian TV studio - just the four group members (Peter Hammill, vocals and electric piano; Hugh Banton, keyboards; David Jackson, saxophones; and Guy Evans, drums) playing two pieces: the short instrumental written by George Martin, `Theme one', and their magnum opus `A plague of lighthouse keepers'.The band is pretty sharp - and they'd have to be, to reproduce this sort of music in a live setting - and the camera work and editing are very good. There's a small problem with the sound mix during `Theme one' - Hugh Banton's organ can barely be heard over the saxes and drums until near the end of the piece - but it's thankfully cleared up before `Lighthouse keepers'. The stage set made me chuckle - the director chose to decorate the stage with rows of candles - at one point changing them to sparklers - in an attempt to set the proper mood for the piece. Ah...the seventies...! As I mentioned already, I was very impressed with the camera work and editing - the camera operators as well as the director obviously took the time to familiarize themselves with the band's music, knowing which member would be soloing at a given time. For most of the long piece - over 20 minutes - they're right on the money. Now that I have this gem, I'm going to order Peter's solo performance from Berlin in 1992 - at 90 minutes, it'll go a little further in satisfying my addiction to their challenging and intelligent music.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT -- AND RARE -- PIECE OF MUSICAL HISTORY
Review: As fans of Van der Graaf Generator know all too well, during their existence the band only ever played one gig in the US - so this short (30 minutes worth of VdG) video is quite a treasure. The performance is live in a Belgian TV studio - just the four group members (Peter Hammill, vocals and electric piano; Hugh Banton, keyboards; David Jackson, saxophones; and Guy Evans, drums) playing two pieces: the short instrumental written by George Martin, 'Theme one', and their magnum opus 'A plague of lighthouse keepers'. The band is pretty sharp - and they'd have to be, to reproduce this sort of music in a live setting - and the camera work and editing are very good. There's a small problem with the sound mix during 'Theme one' - Hugh Banton's organ can barely be heard over the saxes and drums until near the end of the piece - but it's thankfully cleared up before 'Lighthouse keepers'. The stage set made me chuckle - the director chose to decorate the stage with rows of candles - at one point changing them to sparklers - in an attempt to set the proper mood for the piece. Ah...the seventies...! As I mentioned already, I was very impressed with the camera work and editing - the camera operators as well as the director obviously took the time to familiarize themselves with the band's music, knowing which member would be soloing at a given time. For most of the long piece - over 20 minutes - they're right on the money. Now that I have this gem, I'm going to order Peter's solo performance from Berlin in 1992 - at 90 minutes, it'll go a little further in satisfying my addiction to their challenging and intelligent music.
Rating: 
Summary: Lemmings on the Brink
Review: Because anyone buying this dvd will do so for the Van der Graaf section, I'll restrict my comments to that. Firstly, it only lasts 30 minutes and was recorded over two days in March 1972 for Belgium television. The classic line-up of Banton, Evans, Jackson and Hammill, play 'Theme One' and 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers'. Although the dvd claims to have been re-mastered, the sound quality on my copy is not brilliant and the mix on 'Theme One' is terrible with the sax and drums virtually obliterating the keyboards. 'Lighthouse Keepers' is much better and shows the band in good form. Here, Peter Hammill is more sedentary than was his norm as he is playing the electric piano and is therefore seated until the very end of the set when he begins prancing about the studio. Hugh Banton looks intense, Guy Evans, workmanlike and David Jackson maintains his usual commanding presence. The quality of the playing is good throughout, though, naturally, less complex than the studio recording. Hammill's vocals are also less modulated and much of the light and shade of the piece is subsequently lost. 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers' is undoubtedly the band's greatest achievement, steeped in the influence of William Hope Hodgson, and successfully conjuring up all the extra-dimensional weirdness and paranoia of that writer's work. But in spite of some reservations, this is an interesting record of the band playing their magnum opus just prior to their split a few months later having exhausted themselves, and what comes across most strongly is their intensity, and that is all important. In concert, VDGG could be very good or very bad, either way it didn't really matter to their fans who would lap it all up regardless of the quality of the musicianship and never felt short-changed as the band always seemed to be giving their all. If you were into them, you were into them one hundred percent, for better or worse. It's a shame this dvd isn't longer. There can't be much footage of their pre-1972 incarnation, but there must be more than this. But at any rate this is strictly a nostalgia trip for ageing fans, and as such I recommend it, albeit with reservations.
Rating: 
Summary: Leaves One Wanting More
Review: For hard core collectors only ...... I so wish I could give this noble effort five stars, for I am very prejudiced on VDGG's behalf, but this is NOT a five star quality product. There are specifically only two performances featured here (Theme One and A Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers, both from the Pawn Hearts release) recorded with an early 70s TV mix (instruments and vocals drowned out at times, no bass to speak of) ...... and the rest of the disc consists of plugs from other "Vaults" titles by Uriah Heep, Fairport Convention, Focus, and all that other 70s stuff we listened to to make us feel more CULTURAL. These rants aside, this filmed performance is a treasured look at an exceptional group from that era, the unclassifiable and troubled Van Der Graaf Generator, featuring the emotionally overwrought singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and crew performing a work that belongs high on a list of essential prog rock listening. Just don't expect this video release to attract any potential converts. We can but hope there are more such gems waiting for us in other vaults.
Rating:
Summary: Ceteris paribus
Review: Just as the othe reviewer wrote, there is only 30 minutes of VDGG on this DVD, and - none - of it is remastered. It's a relatively "bad" mono mix! That said, you get the instrumental Theme One and the entire Plague of Lighthouse Keepers. Evan's drumming is simply brilliant! Until a way-back machine is invented, this is prime VDGG, get it while you can!
Rating: 
Summary: Buy insteed the GOB BLUFF DVD
Review: This has just 30 min. of VDGG that you can find as well on the GOD BLUFF DVD as well. So just buy that one and you'll have both!!
Rating:
Summary: The Least We Can Do Is Find More Clips
Review: This is the wonderful Belgium TV appearance from '71 where the band perform Theme One and the whole of Lighthouse Keepers. It's really an extraordinary clip - the band looks great, they sound wonderful, and even the cheesy sparklers and candles that the TV crew threw in for effect work well. Many of the hardcore VDGG fans have had this clip on bootleg video for years, but I'm sure that there are legions of Hammill Heads who've never seen this stuff before and it's great for Classic Rock Productions to have finally made this available for those who aren't hip to the underground video bootleggers lists. The frustrating thing is that, contrary to what one might understandably think, the band were on TV quite a bit and it's a shame that only this one half-hour clip was unearthed. The group were on the German Beat Club show in '70 (many of the cognescenti have this on video); they were on a popular British show in '70 called Disco 2; their concert at the Paris Bataclan in '72 was recorded for Pop 2 (a famous French TV show); in '75 the group was filmed live in Belgium performing the whole Godbluff album (an awesome clip that many have in their collections); they performed on Tony Wilson's show "So It Goes" in the mid 70's; and they filmed a promotional clip for the song Wondering in '76.... the list goes on. Someone (maybe even Classic Rock Productions) should try to find and subsequently license this stuff for public consumption. But in the meantime, at least this Belgium '71 clip is available and that's an awesome starting point.
Rating:
Summary: The Least We Can Do Is Find More Clips
Review: This is the wonderful Belgium TV appearance from '71 where the band perform Theme One and the whole of Lighthouse Keepers. It's really an extraordinary clip - the band looks great, they sound wonderful, and even the cheesy sparklers and candles that the TV crew threw in for effect work well. Many of the hardcore VDGG fans have had this clip on bootleg video for years, but I'm sure that there are legions of Hammill Heads who've never seen this stuff before and it's great for Classic Rock Productions to have finally made this available for those who aren't hip to the underground video bootleggers lists. The frustrating thing is that, contrary to what one might understandably think, the band were on TV quite a bit and it's a shame that only this one half-hour clip was unearthed. The group were on the German Beat Club show in '70 (many of the cognescenti have this on video); they were on a popular British show in '70 called Disco 2; their concert at the Paris Bataclan in '72 was recorded for Pop 2 (a famous French TV show); in '75 the group was filmed live in Belgium performing the whole Godbluff album (an awesome clip that many have in their collections); they performed on Tony Wilson's show "So It Goes" in the mid 70's; and they filmed a promotional clip for the song Wondering in '76.... the list goes on. Someone (maybe even Classic Rock Productions) should try to find and subsequently license this stuff for public consumption. But in the meantime, at least this Belgium '71 clip is available and that's an awesome starting point.
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