Van Der Graaf Generator ?– Pawn Hearts Vinyl VG+ Cover VG+ UK 1971 CAS 1051
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Description
Van Der Graaf Generator ?– Pawn Hearts Vinyl VG+ Cover VG+ UK 1971 CAS 1051
Distributed by Phonogram.
Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". The album was not commercially successful in the UK, but reached number one in Italy. It has since seen retrospective critical praise and was reissued on CD in 2005 with extra material.
The songs for the album were worked out while on tour in 1971, with further development and arranging at manager Tony Stratton-Smith's house in Crowborough, Sussex over a two-month period. The original plan had been to release more material, making up a double album, but Charisma vetoed the idea. A non-album single, "Theme One" was included on some releases in the US and Canada. The album's strong commercial showing in Italy resulted in a number of lucrative promotional tours there, but the resulting pressure led to the band's split in August 1972.
All tracks written by Peter Hammill, except where indicated.
Side one No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Lemmings (Including 'Cog')" 11:35 2. "Theme One" (Only on original US and Canadian releases[31]) George Martin 2:55 3. "Man-Erg" 10:19 Side two No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" a. "Eyewitness" (2:25) b. "Pictures/Lighthouse" (Hammill, Banton) (3:10) c. "Eyewitness" (0:54) d. "S.H.M." (1:57) e. "Presence of the Night" (3:51) f. "Kosmos Tours" (Evans) (1:17) g. "(Custard's) Last Stand" (2:48) h. "The Clot Thickens" (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson) (2:51) i. "Land's End (Sineline)" (Jackson) (2:01) j. "We Go Now" (Jackson, Banton) (1:51)"Van der Graaf Generator
- Peter Hammill – lead vocals, acoustic and slide guitar, electric piano, piano
- David Jackson – tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, flute, vocals
- Hugh Banton – Hammond E & C and Farfisa Professional organs, piano, Mellotron, ARP synthesizer, bass pedals, bass guitar, psychedelic razor, vocals
- Guy Evans – drums, timpani, percussion, piano
Additional personnel
- Robert Fripp – electric guitar on "Lemmings (Including 'Cog')", "Man-Erg", and "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers"
Technical
- John Anthony – production
- Robin Cable, David Hentschel, Ken Scott – engineering
- Mike and Dave C – tape op
- Howard – brightest hope
- Paul Whitehead – sleeve design
- Keith Morris – inner sleeve photography
The album was not commercially successful in the UK. A Record Mirror review said "I have to confess complete ignorance of precisely what Van der Graaf Generator are trying to achieve",[23]though Melody Maker were more enthusiastic, saying "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is one of the most fascinating and dramatic items I've ever heard".[24] However, the album reached number one on the Italian album charts.[25][26] The group toured Italy to promote the album, where they were treated like superstars and surrounded by army vehicles and riot police.[27] They followed this with a short European tour, during which they filmed a live version of "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" for Belgian television. The production took two hours to film as the band had not intended to perform the song live and had forgotten it. The resulting film shows Hammill singing the song while reading a lyric sheet.[28] Regular tours of Europe followed over the next four months, but the strain of the workload became too much for the band, and they split up in August 1972.
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