Pawn Hearts

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Pawn Hearts
Van der Graaf Generator's studio album

Publication
(s)

1971

Label (s) charisma

Format (s)

LP, MC, CD

Genre (s)

Progressive rock

Title (number)

3

occupation

production

John Anthony

Studio (s)

Trident Studios, London

chronology
H to He, Who Am the Only One
(1970) 		Pawn Hearts Godbluff
(1975)

Pawn Hearts (1971) is the fourth music album by the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator and the most successful after Godbluff . The album contains three tracks: Lemmings and Man-Erg , each with a playing time of around ten minutes on the A-side, and the 23-minute A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers on the B-side.

Characterization of the pieces

  • Lemmings reminds some listeners of the music of Gentle Giant with his instrumentation of saxophone , keyboard and drums as well as shorter guitar passages , but also has the typical style of Van der Graaf Generator. The lyrics are about life on the edge of the cliff and the temptation to jump down.
  • Man-Erg deals with the topos of the sleeping animal in humans that can suddenly wake up. Musically, the beginning of the piece is characterized by idyllic piano and organ playing , then the piece changes abruptly into a faster section with sprawling drums and guitar playing as well as restless singing, and then returns to the initial tempo by slowing down the beat .
  • A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers finally, is a progressive rock epic that similar Supper's Ready by Genesis , a sequence of different musical ideas loose links. In terms of content, motifs such as death and apparitions appear.

Classification within progressive rock

Pawn Hearts is a work that, like other Van der Graaf Generator albums, deals with many negative emotions at the text level. In addition to the typical saxophone passages by David Jacksons, the high proportion of obscure passages is striking . Van der Graaf Generator are often compared to King Crimson and Genesis , with Pawn Hearts having more influences of the style of King Crimson, even if Robert Fripp's work was not placed as prominently in the mix as on the previous album H to He , Who Am the Only One from 1970.

Others

The 2005 edition, with a revised sound, also contains the Hugh Banton piece Diminutions . It is reminiscent of ambient music, is characterized by synthesizers and electric organ as well as numerous reverb effects. At the time, the band found themselves unable to add this comparatively exotic electronic music to their main work.

reception

In June 2015, the renowned trade journal Rolling Stone selected the album at number 26 of the 50 best progressive rock albums of all time .

Track list

  1. Lemmings (including Cog) 11'39 "
  2. Man-Erg 10'21 "
  3. A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers 23'05 "
  • Eyewitness
  • Pictures / Lighthouse
  • Eyewitness
  • SHM
  • Presence of the Night
  • Kosmos Tours
  • (Custard's) Last Stand
  • The Clot Thickens
  • Land's End (Sineline)
  • We go now

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jon Dolan: 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time - Van Der Graaf Generator, 'Pawn Hearts' (1971). In: Rolling Stone . Wenner Media, June 17, 2015, accessed on September 25, 2015 .