The Aerosol Grey Machine | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1969 | |||
Recorded | January 1969, 31 July – 1 August 1969 | |||
Studio | Marquee and Trident Studios, London, England | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, psychedelic rock | |||
Length | 46:58 | |||
Label | Mercury (USA), Fontana (Germany), Vertigo (Italy & Netherlands) | |||
Producer | John Anthony | |||
Van der Graaf Generator chronology | ||||
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The Aerosol Grey Machine is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was first released in the United States in 1969 by Mercury Records.
The album was originally intended as a solo album by the band's lead singer and main songwriter, Peter Hammill. When the band signed with Charisma Records, a deal was worked out whereby The Aerosol Grey Machine would be released under the Van der Graaf Generator name, in return for Mercury releasing Hammill from his earlier contract. [1]
The Aerosol Grey Machine was released in September 1969 by Mercury, in the US only. [2] An initial edition contained the song "Giant Squid" on the cover but that was a mis-print (on the record "Necromancer" was featured instead), later pressings corrected the mis-print. This version of the LP was later released in Europe by Fontana Records.
The album was reissued on CD in 1997 by Repertoire Records in Germany, using the original running order of the album as released on LP, and featuring the first single as bonus tracks. Another 1997 release, by Peter Hammill's own UK record label FIE! Records, uses a slightly different running order and adds "Giant Squid" along with a previously unreleased early version of "Ferret and Featherbird" as bonus tracks.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
In his retrospective review, Steven McDonald of AllMusic called it "A raw, energetic effort that sometimes did little to show off the young Hammill's talents" that "nevertheless has some fine moments that hint at the possibilities for future releases". [3] Paul Stump, in his 1997 History of Progressive Rock, commented that the album "said little unsaid elsewhere at the time; it was poetically skewed pop, arcanely arranged and cautiously extended." [4]
All tracks are written by Peter Hammill, except as indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Afterwards" | 4:55 | |
2. | "Orthenthian St (Parts I & II)" | 6:18 | |
3. | "Running Back" | 6:35 | |
4. | "Into a Game" | Hammill, Hugh Banton, Keith Ellis, Guy Evans | 6:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Aerosol Grey Machine" | 0:47 | |
2. | "Black Smoke Yen" | Banton, Ellis, Evans | 1:26 |
3. | "Aquarian" | 8:22 | |
4. | "Necromancer" | 3:30 | |
5. | "Octopus" | 8:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "People You Were Going To" | 2:44 |
11. | "Firebrand" | 4:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Afterwards" | 4:58 | |
2. | "Orthenthian St" | 6:19 | |
3. | "Running Back" | 6:36 | |
4. | "Into a Game" | Hammill, Hugh Banton, Keith Ellis, Guy Evans | 6:57 |
5. | "Ferret & Featherbird" | 4:34 | |
6. | "Aerosol Grey Machine" | 0:46 | |
7. | "Black Smoke Yen" | Banton, Ellis, Evans | 1:27 |
8. | "Aquarian" | 8:21 | |
9. | "Giant Squid" | Hammill, Banton, Ellis, Evans | 3:19 |
10. | "Octopus" | 7:57 | |
11. | "Necromancer" | 3:30 |
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards.
Guy Randolph Evans is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator.
Godbluff is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour.
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.
H to He, Who Am the Only One is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records.
Still Life is the sixth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976. It was their second album after reforming in 1975, the first being Godbluff. One live bonus track was added for the 2005 re-mastered re-release. A new re-master, with 5.1 surround sound re-mixes by Stephen W Tayler, was released on 3 September 2021.
The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage is the third album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was released on Charisma Records in 1974, during a hiatus in the activities of Hammill's progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Other ex-members of Van der Graaf Generator also perform on the recording.
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and the only one to chart in the top 50 in that country.
Tony Stratton-Smith was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He founded the London-based record label Charisma Records in 1969 and managed rock groups such as the Nice, Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis.
The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome is the eighth album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Released in 1977, it was their last studio album before their 2005 reunion. The album features a more energetic, new wave sound than its three immediate predecessors, anticipating singer and songwriter Peter Hammill's late 1970s solo work.
Hugh Robert Banton is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator.
World Record is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock group Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976 on Charisma Records. Bonus tracks were added for the 2005 rerelease.
Fool's Mate is the debut solo album by Peter Hammill of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. The title is both a chess and tarot reference. It was produced by Trident Studios' in-house producer John Anthony. The album was recorded in 1971, in the midst of one of Van der Graaf Generator's most prolific periods. Hammill used the album to record a backlog of songs which were much shorter and simpler than his Van der Graaf Generator material, and declared on the original album sleeve: "This isn't intended to be any kind of statement of my present musical position, but at the same time, it is an album which involves a great deal of me, the person, basically a return to the roots."
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans.
Real Time: Royal Festival Hall, London, 06.05.05 is a live album by Van der Graaf Generator, released in 2007 on Fie! Records. It contains the entire recording of the group's reunion concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 6 May 2005. The album includes at least one song from every album released between 1970-1976, plus their 2005 reunion album Present. Nothing is included from 1969's Aerosol Grey Machine and The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, released in 1977 after Hugh Banton and David Jackson left the group. The album also contains "(In the) Black Room", a song performed live by Van der Graaf Generator in 1972 ; following the band's August 1972 breakup, it was released on Peter Hammill's 1973 solo album Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, with Banton, Evans and Jackson all performing on the track.
Nic Potter was a British bassist, composer and painter, best known for his work with the group Van der Graaf Generator in the 1970s.
Bettina Hohls is a German artist and designer. She raised the attention of an international audience with her design and photographic work for the covers of two Peter Hammill albums in 1973 and 1974 as well as with her vocal contributions to releases of the German rock band Ash Ra Tempel in 1972.
The Union Chapel Concert is a live album by Guy Evans and Peter Hammill, recorded in the Union Chapel in London, 3 November 1996, and released as a double CD in March 1997. The album is noteworthy because it is the first time the four ex-members of Van der Graaf Generator, Hammill, Evans, Hugh Banton and David Jackson, played together in front of a paying audience since the band had broken up in 1978. The subtitle on the front of the album reads: "featuring a one song, one-off reformation of Van der Graaf Generator." David Jackson and Hugh Banton were unannounced guests and played a Soundbeam-medley and a Samuel Barber Adagio for strings on the church organ respectively. All songs that evening were played in varying line-ups. Only "Lemmings" was played by Hammill, Evans, Banton and Jackson.
John Anthony is an English music producer. He has worked with Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis, Queen, Roxy Music and Peter Hammill.
"A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is a song by the English rock band Van der Graaf Generator, from their fourth album Pawn Hearts (1971). It is a concept piece over 23 minutes long, which comprises the whole B-side of the album. "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" evolved in the studio, recorded in small sections and pieced together during mixing. The song has many changes in time signature and key signature, and even incorporates some musique concrète.