A collection of VDGG's BBC sessions recorded between 1968 and 1977, After The Flood includes a host of VDGG classics, plus five previously unavailable recordings.
Peter Hammill: "I think our music has stood the test of time because we always made the music we were driven to make without paying any attention to what anyone else was doing. We certainly didn't write music with an eye on what might or might not be successful, even though this was a recipe for absolute commercial disaster. We were very lucky to have maintained such a loyal audience. Everything we have ever done has been true and loyal to some bizarre Van Der Graaf ethos. That's the key to our longevity in my opinion."
Experimental, savage and beautiful, these wonderful BBC sessions make for an excellent addition to VDGG's enduring legacy.
Mastered by Paschal Byrne in 2015.
CD 1:
Top Gear session, 1968 (Hammill, Banton, Ellis, Evans):
1. People You Were Going To
2. Afterwards
3. Necromancer
Top Gear session, 1970 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson, Potter):
4. Darkness
5. After The Flood
Sounds Of The 70s Session, 10th June 1971 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
6. ManErg
7. Theme One
8. Vision (previously unreleased)
9. Darkness
John Peel Concert, Radio One, 23rd September 1971 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
10. ManErg (previously unreleased)
11. W (previously unreleased)
12. Killer (previously unreleased)
CD 2:
John Peel Session, 14th December 1971 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
1. Refugees
John Peel Session, 3rd July 1975 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
2. Scorched Earth
3. Sleepwalkers
John Peel Session, 1st April 1976 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
4. Still Life
5. La Rossa
John Peel Session, 11th November 1976 (Hammill, Banton, Evans, Jackson):
6. When She Comes
7. Masks
John Peel Session, 24th October 1977 (Hammill, Evans, Potter, Smith):
8. Cat's Eye / Yellow Fever
9. The Sphinx In The Face
10. Fragments Of) A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers / Sleepwalkers (previously unreleased)