review by daniel

After four great classics in “H to He who am the Only One”, “Pawn Hearts”, “Godbluff” and “Still Life”, “World Record” is a minor disappointment. Don’t get me wrong: It is a good album and the disappointment should only be considered evidence of the qualities of the earlier mentioned classics. It is a rare achievement to come up with four albums of that class in a row. Led Zeppelin did it with their first four albums, before they too released a good album, “Houses of the Holy”, that still was a minor disappointment. (Thank god VDGG quit before they released their “In through the Out Door”).

“World Record” does not have any really weak songs; every track is good, with the exception of “Meurglys III” that is very good. “When She Comes”, “A Place to Survive” and “Masks” all contain engaging melodies and themes, but they nevertheless fail to make a lasting impression. Hammill uses his angry-voice a lot on these three tracks, but he never sounds quite as convincing as he does on “Arrow” from "Godbluff". The first half of “Meurglys III” is in fact the only piece of music on the album that makes an emotional impression beyond laid-back content. Beautiful and melancholic themes are gradually charged into themes of purifying anger, all with a certain touch of despair. Does it sound familiar? It is classic Van der Graaf Generator and I love it. The song could (and probably should) end after 13 minutes, but instead the band performs some sort of jam based on a reggae rhythm, and a guitar solo on top of it, for seven minutes. It is not as bad as it sounds, but it seems out of place and I prefer the edited version present on “The Box”. The album ends with “Wondering”, a Banton composition that does not sound like VDGG at all. It is a solemn, organ driven, tune that conveys hope rather than despair. An exception to the VDGG sound, and as such it works.