This is my favourite Hammill or/and VDGG song. David Jackson is great on sax and Peter Hammill is marvelous singing his obscure lyrics just the way they need. (VDGG has been one of my favourite band since 1971).
true prog piece. starts as mellow piano ballad, but unexpectedly turns into heavy (almost heave metal!) section, organ and sax play something similar to distorted electric guitar riffs - and this is 1971, before "metal" thing was officially invented.
Have no words to describe this masterpiece... A sensible song, a superb interpretation...Seems like the years have been good to these guys, they seem to be playing better as time goes. I´ve been hearing this song since the 70s and despite all the stuff I´ve heard through the decades, VDDG continues to surprise me. Recommended for anyone who likes progressive rock, opps... for anyone who likes music.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! 30 years ago, people thought my generation would grow out of musc like this. How wrong they were! Genius is genius, however old I am!
''And then his eyes will rise and stare through mine, he'll speak my words and slice my mind'' The most scarily real portrait of how ordinary people are capable of just ''losing it'' when the repressed areas of the mind are at times of stress and anger set free. Peter's lyrics are on a level above virtually every other prog / rock songwriters. He definitely is more of a true poet than just songwriter.
When I first heard Pawn Hearts and this track in particular, back in the day, it sounds melodramatic but an intense wave of sadness came over me. Not because of the music, which was superb, but because I felt the band would have to split after this album - it simply represented a peak I didn't think anyone could ever exceed. Listening to this track again and this version brought back that feeling - VDGG was and remains one of the most powerful and passionate bands ever and its music is simply timeless. Feeling honoured to listen to it again. Thank you.
superb i been rejuvenated for a fortnight non stop as days/years progress,just gets better & better this musical/lyrical combination will never ever get antiquated brilliance at its BEST..
I wanted to leave some comment But compared to how much i love them since 1972 when i saw them in rome and the fact that they're the only ones who allways own my soul and my heart and one of the few bets i won in life and Peter the only one i listen to almost every day ...there' nothing i can say... But The words still come..i love you!!
This song is in my "Top 10" list. Love not only the lyrics but the way the music follows the meaning and the way Hammill sings it. (Of course "Killer lives inside me" as well as "Angels live inside me").
AUGURI a PETER HAMMILL!!!!!!! Oggi 74 primavere !!!!! Straordinario vocalist musicista compositore uno dei veri GENI musicali della musica contemporanea!!!!! Grandi pagine musicali sia con il VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR e sia solista !!!!!!! Di NUOVO AUGURI PETER!!!!!!!
Mi associo volentieri all'omaggio a Peter Hammill, che ha rappresentato e rappresenta ancora una fonte di emozioni distribuite nel corso della mia gioventù e oltre.
I love this song. Since the very first time I heard it I wondered what was the meaning of the title. However, I couldn't find anything on dictionaries nor at the web. Then, a few weeks ago, it happened that I read the novel of the Spanish writer Alberto Vazquez-Figueroa (quite good), named "Tuareg" (excellent, too). He describes an erg as "an uninterrupted line of very high dunes that went on and on like a sea of giant waves". Gacel, a native of the Sahara desert, had been prosecuted by several soldiers. Then he covers himself with sand and converts himself into a rock from the erg, overcoming his need to drink, sweat or even urinate. I ignore if Peter Hamill wrote this song inspired by this book. I share this, because I think there might be some others like me who are still searching for the meaning of the title song. Thanks!
Erg = unit of work (a unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one dyne when its point of application moves one centimetre in the direction of action of the force). A Man Erg is thus akin to one horsepower, the amount of effort one man can produce/achieve...
I think Man-Erg is an anagram, that being for "German". If you look at the interior gatefold of the Pawn Hearts LP the band is satirically throwing fascist salutes, so I think this song is about Adolf Hitler.
Until this day i couldn't understand why David Jackson was so important to Van der Graaf Generator... just beautiful... and this song is amazing! The best!
Aleister Crowley on drums! Great band. I'm in my late 20's and I just found out about them about 2 years ago and have become such a huge fan of Van Der Graaf and Hammill since then. Everyone I tell about them Loves it!
Aha! the mighty Beast with shaven Head and Zillion Yard stare... Aleister's apt for this Group, Graham Bond mentored the Young Van Der Graafians in the late 60's...🎷🎹🎤
The last good year and tour of Van Der Graaf...after no more Jaxon, feeling is gone, technical and mathematic complex music for the sake of it....reminds me of KC and their boring albums after Red...but this is worth it...Wish they had come again in Quebec with Jaxon!I hope they don't make another boring record! They call it a day!
Grande nostalgia per le emozioni che i vdgg ci regalano ogni volta che capita di ascoltarli... , poi.., ti rendi conto che sei nella merda del 2020...e allora la nostalgia diventa un incubo. Cosa cazzo è successo..? 😳
Very good performance. They're all in fine form, and Hammill is looking great. Such a pity the other three decided they could no longer work with David Jackson; I just don't think it's as good without him. They need the saxes to add depth and texture; two keyboards and drums just can't do it.
What a great emotion ..!!!!.. I grew up with this music, music with a capital M .... Live is more "intimimate" this song, sorry, this Masterpiece .... Thanks
At the time when this song was being performed in concerts in Italy, the Polizia were following them round, afraid that a revolution would begin in their concerts. (Or this tale merely apocryphal?)
oui, musicmania, c'est étrange cette tendance masculine du public, que j'ai bien souvent constaté, je ne me le suis jamais expliqué. Ce n'est ni du gangsta rap ni du hard core.
