review by daniel

I wonder why reviewers, particularly from the mainstream rock press, seem so eager to praise Van der Graaf Generator’s reunion album. Do rock critics feel the need to correct their fathers’ ill-judged criticism? No, I don’t mean to imply the presence of objectively good and bad art, just that rock critics seem more aware of what is the right opinion at the moment than 12 year old kids at a school yard. And yes, VDGG sure deserves some praise in the media, but I doubt that this album will be regarded essential VDGG ten years from now. Maybe the critics seriously think that “Present” can match “Pawn Hearts” or “Godbluff”. Or maybe they compare it with other reunion-albums. In that case “Present” is a bloody masterpiece, because it is more than decent, and decent is a lot better than embarrassing, the most suitable description of most reunion–albums.

How does the music on the new album compare with the classic VDGG stuff, then? Less adventurous, less dynamic, less intense, fewer themes, fewer outbursts and no build-ups that climax in that VDGG-chaos. Is there anything left? Some. If it is an excuse to tour, at least it isn’t a poor one.

“Every Bloody Emperor” and “Nutter Alert” are both good songs. The former is closest to classic VDGG with its typically calm start and gradual build-up, even though it never quite reaches any climax. The latter might be the best song of the album, with its catchy melodies and Dave Jackson proving that he is still able to handle his saxes. “Abandon Ship” and the instrumental “Boleas Panic” are decent, but they both suffer from repetitive riffs (“Boleas Panic” is the better song simply because the riff is better). “In Babelsberg” is slightly annoying and Hammill’s guitar playing does not help (I don’t mind his notorious technical inability; I simply dislike his sound), while the calm closer “On the Beach” is downright bad. Every time I hear that one I think of the brilliance of “My Room” and weep.

As a bonus, a second disc consisting of (semi-interesting) improvisations is included. These improvisations do not have much in common with the far out improvs of Henry Cow; they sound more like jamming than experimentation (although I am not sure which I prefer). They have one thing in common with most attempts at improvisation though: Most of the time they seem to drift aimlessly without ever arriving anywhere. The songs just carry on, and then they stop. A cool sound, a good idea, a bad idea. But never a plan.

One more thing: The CD is copy-protected, which means you cannot transfer the songs to your computer and consequentially not to your ipod/MP3 device. What the record companies gain by harassing the people that actually BUY their products is very difficult to understand. If the idiot who came up with the idea happens to read this, feel free to contact me and explain.