Killer/House With No Door/The Emperor In His War Room/Lost/Pioneers Over C
English progressive band Van Der Graaf Generator’s third album H To He was well received by the critics but failed to generate commercial momentum. Robert Fripp of King Crimson helped out on some of the tracks.
“Van Der Graaf Generator are a difficult band, even for people who are into progressive rock. They rarely use an electric guitar and their sound is largely based on the Hammond Organ, crazy sax solos and of course the sometimes quite histrionic vocals of Peter Hammill. This is their first really good album. It feels like a concept album from time to time - mostly, the lyrics deal with loneliness.”
“As with the last album every song flows perfectly into the next, mixing pleasant melodies with jarring outlandish outbreaks of cacophonous sounds that perfectly emphasize lyrical subterfuge in their deliveries.”
“Peter Hammill's vision, leading this fine band of musicians to places other bands fear to tread has always been an adventurous and rewarding listening experience. I'll admit, initially it might take a little getting used to for some people. H To He contains some of the band's best work. There are moments of straight ahead rock, achingly beautiful laments and cool spacey rock.”
“H To He is the consensus starting point for a series of classic prog rock albums by the Peter Hammill fronted Van Der Graaf Generator. While I may not be as head over heels for this album as some other prog, this doesn’t make H To He any less essential to the band’s discography or prog in general. The biggest improvement on this album is that they’ve managed to clean up most of the ridiculous lyrical references and overly long compositions and replaced them with a leaner, more economic series of incredibly dense material.”
“This is a classic recording that is a must for Van Der Graaf fans, and essential listening to discover just how wildly experimental, powerful and moving progressive rock could be in its infancy.”
“This is the bleakest, most gothic prog rock I have ever heard. Instrumentation is sparse, with great drumming, solid bass playing, twisted Hammond organ work plus angular and aggressive sax playing.”
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