H to He, Who Am the Only One

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h to he who am the only one, 2008-04-20
H to He Who Am the Only One has to be the best title an album ever had! Robert Fripp of King Crimson played on "Emperor in His war Room" "Lost" has to be one of the more soft machine influenced tracks on the lp

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"The fusion of hydrogen nuclei to form helium nuclei...", 2008-03-12
Luis Mejia (son) - The second concrete album of the band is their real point of turn, in both their senses of musical direction and style (which gets more dramatic but specially harmonious) and their classic almost all time lineup emerges, Nic Potter (electric guitar and bass) goes out, leaving a very original trace ever happened in rock music: the least need of an electric guitar, though still Potter and Robert Fripp collaborate in this aspect of this album. H to He Who Am The Only One is a near masterpiece, every sound on the album is completely inflictive, eclectic, and full of originality and a body of work, the feelings this album (or generally the band, as this special quality never changed in their years) gives you are exactly chills, for any rocker or listener this is such an original side of music that appeared to be totally unnoticed, that's why you can hear to their music anywhere, this style doesn't sound dated at all (in fact, many punk revival hits are going back in a certain secretive way to this matching style), and the dramatic and exagerate but really rocking feelings it gives you, but still being such a compelling and cerebral work any music essentialist will recognize (just see this band's professional critics!). br / br /"Killer" became another of their classics, it arises your attention in its instrumental, kind of jazzy start, express madness in the way Hammill sings it, and even get you to laugh a bit, and as it is quite repetitive and catchy it is a true gem, the same as "House With No Door", another memorable piece, this is more serious in its theme of loneliness but the dramatic piano touches are outbursting. "The Emperor In His War Room" hits this same feelings, but with a touch of serenity. br / br /"Lost" starts the second part of the album as more of a strange but complex piece, full of alternative and non-standard melodies, key risings, but specially the way of mixing and juxtaposing the instrumentation, and quite a really jamming but fierceful piece. The ending "Pioneers Over C" is a critics favourite (one of mines, too), specially because it is one of their most representative pieces, the beauty and cohersion of the obvious experimentation, the "free verse" lyrics, switching vocal range that can be provided only and just by Hammill, and it focuses more on rhythm, a very jazzy one, instead of mellody. br / br /Meanwhile, the extra "Squid 1/Squid 2/Octopus" is pure experimentation and jamming. Overall, this is truly their first true expression of quality and originality, finally melodious, and for the ones looking for a rock album different from the commercialized trash rock of today's charts, but sounding different and acquireable, their progressive music full of horns and organs will just be perfect, also including Hammill's vocal duties which there are no words which exist to qualify it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

A Worthy Lead-Up to _Pawn Hearts_, 2006-07-20
On _H to He . . ._, the listener hears a prog band firmly developing its own personality, with David Jackson's distinctive saxophone playing and Peter Hammill's quirky sonwriting sensibility standing out. Still, they haven't completely separated from the prog pack at this point, like they would on _Pawn Hearts_. The first song, "Killer," definitely indicates a band striking in its own direction, with Hammill's trudging chromatic organ riff dominating the proceeding in the middle of the song. Then the typical flower generation refrain comes in at the end ("We need love . . ." over and over). Oh well. It was pretty sweet until then. br / br /And after all, it is Britain and it is 1970. You hear Genesis influences in Hammill's erudition, Keith Emerson influences in Hammill's attempts at keyboard histrionics (let's just say the best is yet to come for him), but you especially hear King Crimson influences here. Guy Evans sounds like a Bill Bruford wanna-be for a large part. Listen to track 2, "House with No Door." It's got the precious lyrical sensibility of early Peter Gabriel, but other than that it almost sounds like it could be _Court of the Crimson King_ with its magisterial post-"Whiter Shade of Pale" progression and snare-fill-heavy drum attack. I don't dislike it, but like I said they are not differentiated from the pack as much as they could be. br / br /VDGG, like most of their compeers at this point, seem to be recovering from the 1960's. It took releases like their _Pawn Hearts_ a few years later to establish the truly frantic paranoid mood that was the inevitable result of the Summer of Love (and the ultimate manifestation of this was yet to come with punk; I like to think of _Pawn Hearts_ as pre-punk--one can't say the same thing of _H to He . . ._). Here, you hear some of Hammill's patent angst, but it is not as convincing and unsettling as what was to come. There are plenty of great moments for your appreciation and I recommend this for any fan of challenging rock, but if you are seriously into prog, don't expect this to be far beyond VDGG's most accomplished contemporaries. They pulled out ahead of all of them with _Pawn Hearts_. _H to He . . ._ is at least worthwhile to own to hear the evolution of the band that made one of the three best prog albums ever.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

The most original progressive rock band EVER. , 2006-04-06
If there is a band who can express "Being and Nothingness" by Jean Paul Satre or "Being and Time" by Heidegger, THIS IS THE BAND! This band explores the deep dark abyssmal recesses of being with SOUND. Does this "sound" like something you want to experience sonically? You may be saying a big NO! But if you consider yourself a progressive music fan in the very least, then IT IS YOUR DUTY TO LISTEN TO THIS MASTERPIECE! It is one of the most hauntingly disturbing prog masterpieces I have ever encountered. Desert Island record for any progressive rock fan.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A League by Themselves, 2006-02-23
To think this music was originally recorded more than thirty-five years ago is amazing, considering the punch and vitality it still contains in this new century. VDGG has always been totally unique. Peter Hammill's vision, leading this fine band of musicians to places other bands fear to tread has always been an adventurous and rewarding listening experience. I'll admit, initially it might take a little getting used to for some people. These guys are different, but boy is it worth getting into! H to He contains some of the band's best work. There are moments of straight ahead rock (Killer), achingly beautiful laments (House With no Door) and cool spacey rock (Pioneers Over C). The remastering job sounds great. Get it!