Just purchased as I feel I should like this band but never put in the time. Saw PH in concert in late 80s and was appreciative rather than loved. Don't know any of this stuff though. So why buy a mega box set.....??? I am not a well off individual. But, this is like making the investment in an LP when I was younger. I would scrimp and save for weeks for just one album. As a result, I invested proper time into the music. It meant more. Was less disposable. I have taken this philosophy with a number of bands/acts recently. Just gone straight in and bought the box sets. And it works. Focus, Jan Akkerman, Tangerine Dream (x3) and Kate Bush are just some who I have now purchased box sets and only then gone on to fully appreciate. Ain't psychology weird... (Or is it just me???)
No, it's not just you ... I've always liked the idea of overcommitting: diving in for the big boxed set rather than nibbling around the edges doing my due diligence. It doesn't always work (the big Family boxed set left me kind of cold) but it sometimes works when a more patient & cost-effective route wouldn't have done: my love for the Grateful Dead is attributable not to any individual album but rather to The Golden Road. So we'll both be entering new territory come September.
I'm kinda jealous of you both. I found out about VDGG in 89. I picked up this mag with a Fripp article and interview and as a side note they listed a bunch of stuff he played on. The list had both VDGG and the solo Hammill so I went out and picked up all three. It was instant love and I proceeded to buy both catalogs. Killer was the first tune I listened to and what a track it was and it just kept getting better. I hope you guys come to love them as much as I do.
I will tell my wife I'm not the only one then . It hasn't always worked for me either. The recent Thin Lizzy box for example. Sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
I’ve done the same, boxes go out of print and shoot up in value so getting in this way is a good investment that’s almost always paid off with low risk. If you fall in love with the band you don’t have that painful gaping hole in your collection. And when you shell out a ton for a big box you’re more than willing to put in the work to let the band inspire you.
Purchased the big box but its great that there are options to buy the albums in lesser quality but 5.1
I have to say I am personally never disappointed with DTS at 96k on a DVD, especially when encoded by Ray Shulman - and that is comparing it to my original 96k WAV files.
My initial plan was to wait a few weeks or months to see if this shows up on Amazon USA or some other vendor for around $160 shipped. But then the more I thought about how good the samples I listened to on Spotify sounded (I've never heard Van Der Graaf Generator's music before this week!), I worried that this might be a box set that could sell out before it reaches more USA-centric vendors, and decided this is one I wanted if I could get it for around $200 (that's a fair price anyway, for 17 CDs and 3 Blu-Rays packed with high-resolution stereo and surround sound mixes). So I ordered from Burning Shed (damn, wish I'd made up my mind quicker, when the signed postcard version was still available to order for the same price!), and also saved about $8 by telling PayPal I'd rather pay in British Sterling than in US dollars, since the credit card I used doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, and PayPal was going to charge a fee. Cost, including shipping from UK to Oregon USA: $199.69. Looking forward to a deep dive into unheard music, sometime in late September or early October...!
Yeah BS with shipping even for me is still the best deal. Curious to see what it will be going for on importcds.
I discovered Van DerGraaf in late ‘83 when I was working opposite a Dutch punk who was a paint sprayer in a lab in Holland when I was on work experience! He was a huge fan of punk and industrial music - but loved Hammill and Van Der Graaf and he got me hooked. We went to see PH live in Amsterdam that year - it was a knockout gig! I started with Godbluff and PH’s Over & Nadir’s Big Chance then later Pawn Hearts, Still Life and the early Hammill solo albums. Utterly brilliant stuff but not for everybody. Really regretted missing the original band live so was totally blown away when the reunion occurred in 2005! Saw them in Leicester & Gateshead on the comeback trail, fantastic emotional music experiences. I loved the vinyl albums which I had, posters and all, until selling them 25 years ago when I committed fully to CDs. Miss that artwork! Anyhow, looking forward to the box and listening to these albums all over again. Phew, rock and roll eh? PS I wonder what became of the punk painter?
I have ordered from them before once. I ordered the Tears for Fears seeds box. I pre ordered it way in advance of release. For whatever reason they didn’t get enough in and seemed to randomly send to people. People that ordered after me got theirs first. I wasn’t happy about that. Didn’t get my box until something like 3 months after the release date I think. Otherwise they did finally deliver but still, I wasn’t happy. I am willing to give them another chance due to the price being the cheapest of anyone thus far.
I have many times. They don't always ship on release day but that doesn't bother me. I have gotten the McCartney Big Barn Box, the recent Thin Lizzy box and many others through them without issue. If it's your first order, sign up for the mailing list first and they will send you a percentage off coupon to use.
Sure at some point this will be up on Amazon and Alliance Entertainment (Import CD). I guess I’ll go to Burning Shed. If using credit card to preorder, is card charged immediately?
I can't really imagine myself buying a $200 box of a group that I don't know beforehand. Well, maybe I should try that Anyway, somebody who is just coming to the world of VdGG, prepare to be surprised! I think many can see Yes and King Crimson as some kind of counterparts of the prog world, representing light and dark, respectively. I see VdGG as a weird part of the dark side of prog, less emphasis on instrumental virtuosity, but more lyrics about the... darkness. The most crucial thing is Hammill's voice and style, some people can't stand it. I love it!
Ide debate they are as good of players as anybody. Hugh David and Guy more then hold their own. Ive heard this nonsense before from people who don't play a instrument or get it. Hammill is a fine composer , lyricist and vocalists and second to nobody.
I'm sorry for being misunderstood. I never said that they can't play their instruments. Their sound and style is just not based on showing how good they are. But let's face it, there is no way that VdGG could ever have played "Heart Of The Sunrise" or "Fracture". They didn't even have a bass player in their classic line-up, and Peter is not really a guitar player. Their strength is something completely different.
Just go the news this morning (Canada time), the whole Charisma box set looks interesting, BUT I will wait to hear what the mastering is all about. I have most of the old VDG albums, I bought them quite a long time ago (before 2000), I have bought more recently Still Life which is the 2005 release I think, the mastering is very, very BAD for that album. I went to check the DR database, many of VDG albums where remastered around that time 2005 and they are BAD. Maybe this release will fix that, I will wait to see.
The single version of "Refugees" that was posted a few pages back appears to be a lot more dynamic (DR10), so hopefully this new set should be a major improvement.
