Van Der Graaf Generator
Real Time

I reflected a bit before writing the review of this album because on Debaser everything and more has already been written about the Generatore, and the risk was to rewrite the same old things over and over, arousing the ire of those who can't stand VDGG and other progressive groups ("still with these overcooked bands from the '60s, enough already") and the wrath of the fans ("useless review that says nothing new").

In reality, "Real Time" indeed says nothing new, the tracks are all (almost) well-known and similar to the studio originals, there are no unreleased tracks, and the lineup is the "classic" one with Peter Hammill on vocals, guitar, and piano, David Jackson on winds, Hugh Banton on keyboards, and Guy Evans on drums. Even the band's logo on the CD cover is the same as that on "Godbluff" from distant 1975. What can be said about this album other than the usual things that fans already know by heart?

However, the temptation was too strong, taking advantage of the release of the double live CD that immortalizes the historic concert on May 6, 2005, at the Royal Festival Hall in London, sold out for months, to express my total and unconditional love for this band that I have been following since the Jurassic or so, meaning since "Theme One" was at the top of the Italian hit parade.

However, Debaser is still a review site and not a sentimental announcement column, so I'll try to describe the album starting with the tracklist, where, in fact, there is something new. It's somewhat surprising to find a track from Peter Hammill's extensive solo production, the splendid "(In The) Black Room", taken from his first album, and it's also surprising that there are only two tracks from "Present": "Nutter Alert" and "Every Bloody Emperor". Evidently, VDGG prefer to satisfy their fans who want to listen to the historic tracks from the '70s live rather than promote their latest album. A choice I fully share.
All the other tracks are part of the "classic" Generatore repertoire and certainly need no description: "The Undercover Man", "Scorched Earth", and "Sleepwalkers" from "Godbluff" (1975), "Childlike Faith In Childhood's End" from "Still Life" (1976), "Masks", and "Wondering" from "World Record" (1976). Not missing are even the super classics from the 'Trinity' of 70-71 like "Darkness" and "Refugees" from "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Others", "Killer" from "H To HE", "Lemmings", and "Man-Erg" from "Pawn Hearts".

At this point, a doubt arises, will our heroes manage to play like they used to and not make us long for the good old days? Listening dispells any doubt, the four lively old men, despite their venerable age, are not rusty at all and play with the same energy and passion as 40 years ago, David's jazzy sax still perfectly intertwines with Hugh's gothic keyboards, Guy is still the same tireless metronome, and Peter's voice still gives chills to those who hear it. Unfortunately, the sound quality is not the best because the entire concert was mixed in real time (as suggested by the title) without any retouching or overdubbing. Better this way.
The concert's atmosphere is saturated with nostalgia, emotion, and enthusiasm. Everyone is aware of witnessing a historic rock music event, the return of VDGG to the stage after almost 30 years. Peter eases the tension by exchanging a few words with the audience we imagine to be composed almost entirely of 40- to 50-year-olds with bellies and little hair on their heads. The applause is abundant. However, the tracks are listened to in reverent silence, and surely someone in the audience has tears in their eyes. The feeling between the audience and the band is total.

Someone might wonder what's so special about VDGG to have such a faithful and passionate following. The answer is simple, originality and consistency that have always characterized their career. Original is the instrumentation: the electric guitar, a fundamental rock music instrument, is only occasionally present in their tracks, and even the bass is often replaced by Hugh's organ pedals. Also original is their music, considered "progressive" but having none of the classic formalism of Yes, Genesis, ELP, and King Crimson, it does not celebrate itself with flawless solos and dizzying keyboard fugues, but it is dark and claustrophobic, made of often intricate and dissonant harmonic interlocks and glimpses of melancholic lyricism.

Let's be clear, nothing to say against the "historic" prog bands which I always gladly listen to, especially King Crimson which makes my neurons bubble with delight, but in my opinion, VDGG has something more, they do penetrate your brain but then they hit you in the heart. Thanks also to Peter's visionary lyrics, true poems that, instead of describing bucolic and fairy-tale scenarios, analyze man's sense of helplessness in the face of the universe, his existential anguish, the fears and hopes we all have inside us. Peter's world is not an enchanted forest inhabited by gnomes and elves but a psychodrama populated by killer sharks and suicidal lemmings.

Moreover, VDGG have always been consistent with themselves and their audience, they never sold out to record companies, never composed little commercial music records to make money, despite often finding themselves in financial difficulties. They disbanded as hard and pure in 1978 after releasing a live album (their first ever), "Vital", a powerful and energy-filled record, a controversial sonic testament of a band still in great shape.
Paradoxically, the sound of "Vital" is more modern and current compared to "Real Time", bass and electric guitar are prominent, and Peter's voice dominates everything, never so powerful and theatrical. This is because Hugh is absent, replaced by the eternal reserve Nic Potter and David is present only on some tracks as a "guest". The result is a rough and edgy sound that anticipates certain sonorities that will develop in the next decade but that personally leaves me puzzled. The absence of David's sax, the electric breath of the Generatore, one of the unmistakable trademarks of the band, is indeed noticeable. In fact, if it weren't for Peter's unmistakable vocal timbre in the singing, "Vital" would seem more like the work of a grunge band covering VDGG tracks than an official Generatore album.

"Real Time", unlike "Vital", is neither harsh nor modern, it's a simple and anachronistic album, nostalgic and ingratiating that says nothing new but says it beautifully. Listening to it is like going back in time, like watching a black and white film, like drinking a glass of rosolio, like browsing through an album of old photographs that makes you rediscover ancient but never dead emotions. "Real Time" is useless and precious like almost all true works of art.

The Generatore is back, long live the Generatore.