World Record is the seventh studio album by Van der Graaf Generator, which was formed in 1967.
Peter Hammill was at the top of his game in the mid-1970s. Or rather, one could say that Hammill was at the top of his game throughout the entire 1970s, but it was specifically in the middle of that magical decade that his creative output was at its peak. After Van Der Graaf Generator broke up in the summer of 1972, he had released no fewer than four solo albums by 1975. On top of that, in February 1975, Van Der Graaf Generator made a comeback, and that move yielded no fewer than three new studio albums in exactly one year. And Hammill composed roughly 95% of the songs on those albums. And all this without compromising on quality! In fact, a significant portion of the music that Hammill/VdGG created between 1972 and 1976 ranks among his and the band’s finest work.
World Record is the final installment in the loose trilogy comprising Godbluff (October 1975) and Still Life (April 1976). While Godbluff and Still Life generally receive effusive praise, the reception of World Record, released in October 1976, has been considerably more mixed. And in some cases, even surprisingly negative. Personally, I consider World Record to be a downright criminally underrated album.
Following the slightly more polished and sonically complex Still Life, World Record marks, to some extent, a return to the style of Godbluff. The soundscape of World Record is extremely “dry” and stripped-down. Minimalist. The band has stripped the music of all its frills, leaving only the core, as it were. World Record sounds as if four men were playing everything live in the studio, straight onto tape. And that’s apparently how the recording process largely went. What’s fascinating about the end result is how the band’s sound is, in a way, so raw and light, yet the music is still truly intense and weighty. Largely, of course, thanks to Hammill’s unrestrained vocal delivery. It feels as though, at times, he’s pushing himself further than ever before. Which is saying a lot after Still Life! A new element in the band’s palette is Peter Hammill’s simple yet effective electric guitar playing, which at times takes on a surprisingly significant role. And the guitar named Meyrglys III doesn’t just play a major role musically—that otherwise ordinary Guild guitar also plays a central role in…
”When She Comes”
The album kicks off with a bang with “When She Comes,” which moves through a variety of irregular time signatures. Guy Evans’s crisp, punchy drumming makes the shifts in tempo and overall mood sound completely natural. Hammill’s growling vocals tell the story of a femme fatale who seems almost demonic. Around the seven-minute mark, Hammill’s vocals—recorded in multiple takes and slightly processed—are truly breathtaking in their rawness. “When She Comes” is a truly explosive start to the album.
When the lady with her skin so white
Like something out of Edgar Allan Poe
Holds your hand so very tight
And you hope that she’ll never let go.
”A Place To Survive”
“A Place To Survive” is the album’s most straightforward rock song. And boy, does it rock! For a full 10 minutes, no less. This seductively groovy track flows with exceptional smoothness for VdGG. Guy Evans gets to channel his inner John Bonham in this song. The action is spiced up by David Jackson’s gritty saxophone riffs and Hammill’s truly raw vocals. Hammill screams and spits out commands that urge the listener to pull themselves together in the face of disaster and take control of the situation. The situation may seem hopeless, but we’ll get through this too. But it takes work.
While the holocaust rages around you,
Be the eye of the storm;
Though the extent of disaster astounds you,
Forearmed is forewarned.
You may have passed time in happier ways,
But there are other mountains to climb:
You’ve never lived as you’re living today –
Now is the time!
Stand straight, though your back breaks from trying,
Walk on – even now you must strive.
Don’t wait – while you’re waiting, you’re dying;
Be strong, it’s your place to survive.
At the end of “A Place To Survive,” Evans really lets loose on the drums, and it’s a thrilling listen. Throughout World Record, Evans plays with a stylish restraint and minimalism, humbly serving the songs, but when the drama calls for it, he has more than enough capacity to really let loose. And that’s always a breathtaking thing to hear.
”Masks”
After the furious “A Place To Survive,” the storm seems to calm down a bit with the song “Masks.” “Masks” begins as a ballad with a beautiful melody, but soon becomes rougher and heavier. And almost ridiculously complex. The lyrics of “Masks” tell the story of a man who hides behind pretense and lies. The final verse, when the “masks” are finally removed, is heartbreaking thanks to Hammill’s emotional delivery (a nice detail is when Hammill stutters on the line “‘m-m-m-masochistic m-m-m-mumble”).
After all the pantomimes are ended
He peels all the make-up off his face
To reveal, beneath, the tears running all down his cheeks:
Alone, he opens to the world…but it’s much too late.
He’s been left, in the end, without a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace.
“Masks” delivers a thrilling melodrama that walks a fine line between profound depth, madness, and absurdity. That’s what I love about it.
”Meurglys III (The Songwriter’s Guild)”
The most controversial track on the album is the 21-minute “Meurglys III (The Songwriter’s Guild),” where Peter Hammill’s supposedly grating electric guitar playing and the strange, minimalist “reggae jam” at the end have drawn criticism. Personally, I like both, and in addition to the composition’s overall genius, I particularly enjoy the song’s lyrics, which are a poignantly moving study of a musician whose mental health is shaken as he devotes himself to his guitar and isolates himself from the rest of the world (Meurglys III was Hammill’s nickname for one of his Guild guitars. The Songwriter’s GUILD… get it?).
The existentialism characteristic of Hammill is not, on this occasion, of a cosmic, categorizing nature; rather, it operates on a touching, down-to-earth level:
Meurglys III, he’s my friend,
the only one that I can trust
to let it be without pretence
– there’s no-one else.
It’s killing me, but in the end
there’s no-one else I know is true:
there’s none in all the masks of men.
There’s nothing else
but my guitar…
I suppose he’ll have to do.
Musically, “Meurglys III” is full of valleys and hills, just like VdGG’s best songs in general. Quiet and extremely loud, simple and complex sections are skillfully juxtaposed. Building up the tension is also something VdGG excels at, and “Meurglys III” is no exception. When the intense section around the ten-minute mark seems to be fading, the listener thinks the band surely has nowhere left to go. And then the band unleashes such a dizzying two-minute complex, fast-paced, and chaotic instrumental section that you can’t help but gasp for breath. The entire band plays at the peak of their abilities with fierce intensity.
Once the instrumental chaos has subsided, Hammill’s vocals return one last time. Now quiet and fragile. The musician in the story seems to have accepted his fate:
Though I know all this is just escape,
I run because I don’t know where the prison lies.
In songs like this I can bear the weight;
I’m running still,
I shall until,
One day, I hope that I’ll arrive.
The time for bravado is over, and now we can only hope for the best (Be strong, it’s your place to survive?). The music settles into a simple reggae groove that Jackson embellishes with his saxophone, but the lead role is taken by Hammill’s extremely raw yet intriguing electric guitar playing. The repetitive section lasts about five minutes, and I understand that it might test the patience of many listeners, but to me, there’s something magical about it. And heart-wrenching (again! World Record might be VdGG’s most emotionally devastating album). The section perfectly captures the empty life of a person who has almost completely lost their hope and purpose, a life that just goes on and on and on…
”Wondering”
The album’s closing track, the almost church-like hymn “Wondering,” is the only song on World Record that I can’t say I absolutely love, and yet even that one is actually damn good. There’s something truly captivating about this song, which struggles between the heartfelt and the grandiose. Featuring a magnificent and rather intricate melody, it is also the only track not credited solely to Hammill, as the band’s keyboardist (who plays all the bass parts on the album using bass pedals), Hugh Banton, was also involved in composing it. A beautiful song, but perhaps its finale—intended to be majestic (and sounding as such)—is a bit drawn out.
”’Wondering’ holds the world record for the number of chords written for any song by anyone! It’s got its moments. I know lot of people love it, but I find it bit strange… and I wrote it. -Hugh Banton
World Record brings to a close Van der Graaf Generator’s incredibly prolific second coming, which began in 1975 and yielded three masterful albums in just one year. However, the band’s commercial success did not come close to matching the quality of their albums, and the band spent more money on the road than they earned. The band lived the life of rock stars on tour, especially at Hammill’s insistence, even though their sales figures did not really justify it. The intense atmosphere and financial problems drove the band, as in 1972, into another dead end.
Financial uncertainty drove Hugh Banton, who had just gotten married, to leave the band. Bassist Nick Potter, who had previously played with the band, was recruited for the new lineup, but after a few rehearsals, David Jackson also quit. Van der Graaf Generator’s classic lineup was no more, and the quartet did not reunite until decades later, in 2005. The year 1977 introduced a radically revamped band whose name had been shortened to Van der Graaf.
World Record is a great way to wrap up the second phase of VdGG’s classic lineup. It’s an underrated album that, on some days at least, I even consider the band’s best.
Best tracks ”When She Comes”, ”A Place To Survive”, ”Meurglys III (The Songwriter’s Guild)”
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Tracks:
Side A
”When She Comes” 8:02
”A Place to Survive” 10:05
”Masks” 7:01
Side B
”Meurglys III, The Songwriter’s Guild” 20:50
”Wondering” 6:33
VdGG:
Peter Hammill: vocals, guitar, piano David Jackson: saxophones, flute Hugh Banton: Hammond organ, bass pedals, Mellotron Guy Evans: drums, percussion
Producer: Van der Graaf Generator
Label: Charisma
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