Taking Sides: Van der Graaf Generator vs. Peter Hammill Solo

Oh boy

Hammill solo for me. I first knew him as a solo artist, saw him live and bought several of his albums before I had even heard of VdGG. So I didn't know the whole backstory. Of course the solo albums are much more numerous and diverse than the band albums, which maybe gives him a bit of an advantage in this poll. But I've always felt the solo albums are a stronger body of work than the VdGG records. The other band members are great of course but he doesn't need them around him to do his best work.

Of course the solo albums are much more numerous and diverse than the band albums

There you go

Don't particularly need diversity. I like the creepy horror-prog thing VdGG does on The Least We Can Do, H To He, Pawn Hearts, Godbluff and Still Life and that's really all I need.

I like the creepy horror-prog thing VdGG does on The Least We Can Do, H To He, Pawn Hearts, Godbluff and Still Life and that's really all I need.

You should check out Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, The Silent Corner & the Empty Stage and In Camera, then. All of them full of just as much creepy horror prog as is on those VdGG albums. In the case of the first two, the other VdGG members play on a lot of them, they are VdGG records in all but name.

Cool, will do.

Did anyone do Peter Hammill for the ILX Anthology? He's too hard for me to dig through.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Surprised this poll didn't attract more attention and comment. When PH/VdGG were featured in the prog rock listening club there were plenty of responses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aIJKDGGcpo

Hammill in fearsome solo overdrive mode in this recently unearthed footage from 1973.

i don't know why, but i keep loving van der graaf generator's albums (including their new one, so far), and completely ignoring anything peter hammill did solo after 1979. surely this is wholly irrational and unfair of me, right?

Basically yes. A Black Box, Sitting Targets and Patience from the early 80s are all killer - I prefer them to most VdGG