Van Der Graaf Generator
BBC 23 September 1971

Let's start by saying that this is not a review of an album, but rather of a Live recording that unfortunately has never been officially released except on numerous bootlegs (the best of which is called "The lost live tapes").

1971, VDGG were in the midst of their last tour before their first breakup (in 1972) when one of their concerts was recorded by the BBC for a John Peel broadcast.

Unfortunately, only 23 minutes of music were taken from that concert, but I can say with certainty that it is the best music recorded by the group during their career: The version of "Killer" present here is worth more than all their studio albums put together, and it is one of the most thrilling performances ever... If the studio version already stood out for its splendid riff, but lacked a bit of harshness (due to the production), here we are assaulted from the first note by a distorted saxophonic chord (made possible by Mr. Jackson's ability to play a tenor sax and an alto sax simultaneously) and by Hugh Banton's demonic organ that deftly navigates between the two manuals of his Hammond E112 organ and the bass pedals without making the absence of the 4-string instrument felt... And then Peter Hammill, here in top form as always, sings the verses of the song with unimaginable power... and when the organ solo comes, we are carried into a vortex of indescribable distortions and fury....

In addition to this wonderful performance, we have a live version of the already obscure and rare "W" where the already gloomy atmosphere of the original recording is further darkened by Hugh Banton's gothic organ (in this case a Farfisa Professional coupled with a Copycat tape echo) and Hammill's final break on the word "Death".... Chilling!

There is also a magnificent performance of "Man-Erg" that immediately outshines the studio version in power and conciseness, while unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to listen to the version of "Theme One" recorded that night, which if like the others, must be a gem...

Unfortunately, these recordings are hard to find (except on a friendly kicking quadruped) but they ABSOLUTELY deserve to be listened to in order to understand what VDGG were like live during their golden era..