| Artist: | Compilation |
| Title: | Eyewitness, A Tribute To VDGG |
| Label: | Mellow Records 279 |
| Length(s): | 71+72m minutes |
| Year(s) of release: | 1995 |
| Month of review: | 02/1996 |
| 1) | Landberk - Afterwards | 3.54 |
| 2) | TNR - Last Frame | 7.28 |
| 3) | Gizmo - House With No Door | 6.33 |
| 4) | Deus Ex Machina - After The Flood | 8.45 |
| 5) | Finisterre - Refugees (G) | 5.54 |
| 6) | Irrgarten - Still Life (G) | 7.27 |
| 7) | French T.V. - Pioneers Over C | 13.52 |
| 8) | Zauber - Theme One | 3.14 |
| 9) | Germinale - Meurglys III, The Songwriter's Guild (G) | 8.33 |
| 10) | C.A.P. - Faint-heart And The Sermon | 5.32 |
Disc 2:
| 1) | Epicentro - Lemmings | 11.34 |
| 2) | Luna Inconstante - Necromancer | 6.36 |
| 3) | Twenty Four Hours - Darkness (II/II) | 6.50 |
| 4) | Nostalgia - Out Of My Book (G) | 4.20 |
| 5) | Notturno Concertante - Vision (G) | 3.20 |
| 6) | Egoband - Arrow | 8.47 |
| 7) | Finnegans Wake - Squid One | 6.17 |
| 8) | Men Of Lake - Killer (G) | 7.09 |
| 9) | Jay Tausig & Friends - Solitude | 8.04 |
| 10) | Jay Tausig - On Tuesday/Slender Threads | 5.42 |
| 11) | Art And Illusion - Lizard Play (G) | 4.01 |
(G) = also on Mellow Genesis tribute
Well going by them one by one, I thoroughly enjoyed the rather heavy on guitar version of Afterwards by Landberk. The vocals are rather good and carry some emotion.
The second one up is TNR and this is also a very good one, with a lot of dynamics and very Hammill like vocal performance. Some rearrangements have been made, making it not worse or better than the original, but just a little different, more in the vein of Fireships.
The third track is acceptable, but isn't desolate enough. Especially the more up-tempo vocal part isn't very much to my liking. I'm not sure whether Hugh Hopper should be part of this outfit, but he is here.
Deus ex Machina renders a powerful version of After the Flood (although some the rather lengthy sax intermezzo is not to my liking). The vocals are good and powerful. Also heavy on the guitar and organ.
The vocals on Finisterre are so abominable that I've listened to it twice, but the third time chose to fast forward.
The Canadian outfit Irrgarten delivers an acceptable result. Deformed vocals compensate the lack of saxophone. Certainly not among the best ones.
French TVs version of Pioneers over C is a good cover with enough pathos. The singer of French TV even makes it to the high note in 'ten centuries ago or going to fifteen forward'. Applause. A lot of piano, that I believe is not part of the original is apparent in this track. The desolation is very apparent here. Also some samples about the space age have been included.
The cover of Theme One (from Pawn Hearts) should not be here actually, because it was a cover by VDGG already. Anyway, this version really lacks the power of the original. It's quite different with a lot of flute.
Germinale has a chance to deliver a better result than the original. IMO the original is far too long and rather boring. Their version is a lot shorter, so there's hope. It turns out indeed that this version is better than the original, justifying the existence of this coveralbum (mind you, this need not be the only justification). Still, it remains a rather uneventful piece although the end is very good.
C.A.P. took on a solo Hammill track and a very good one at that. Hard to come close to this one and although it's a good attempt, it isn't as stunning as the original. This is also the very first track in which a trace of accent is apparent (compare this to the Genesis tribute).
The second disc starts out with a long Lemmings. IMO theu should have taken on an instrumental. The vocals are so flat, it's hard to listen to it. The music is played well, however.
The Necromancer has always been one of those songs of VDGG not fitting into the 'formula'. The sixties influences are evident.
On Darkness (II/II) the vocals are a bit muffled, because of bad production. The entire track sounds a bit flat because of this and instruments sound as they are played away from the microphone.
The rendition of Out of my Book is not very appealing. On the other hand the track is not that strong either, so that's a problem as well.
Vision is also a little under par. The original is also rather tame, but the female backing vocals certainly don't help. The original had a subtleness that worked. This version is more like an entry for the European songcontest.
Back to VDGG now. The medieval and agressive Arrow, a very hard one to do IMO, has been done quite well by the Egoband. The aggresiveness is there and the vocals are grating and biting like PH himself. Powerful.
Squid One (where does that one originate from?) is a little mellow, which is good after the aggressive Arrow. Still, it contains some rather typically quirky VDGG parts. Strange track.
Men of Lake on their Riva, seemed inspired by VDGG and I was interested in what they would make of Killer. The song has been changed a lot changing and adding melodies for the prominent guitar. Interesting cover.
I've never heard of Tausig before, but Solitude sounds alright actually. It turns out On Tuesdays is mixed with Solitude and not with Slender Threads. Tausig has a good voice for this kind of track and he sounds rather like Hammill.
Art and Illusion give us a rocky version of Lizard Play. Good vocals. I like it.
Leaves me something to tell about the artwork, which is great (almost fantastic, mind you). The cover is beautifully drawn (a large eye, with an embryo for a lens) and this drawing is reproduced on the CDs, so that if you juxtaposition them you a large part of the picture is reproduced. Strangely enough the left side of the eye is on the second disc and the right part of the first one. The booklet is also rather nice, although this time, the releases by the covering bands have not been reproduced and their is even less information about the original tracks than in the Genesis case (not even noting which tracks are Hammill solo and which are really VDGG). A foreword by VDGG producer John Anthony is included.
Some Hammill tracks have been included, probably to introduce some less frantic tracks and the choice of tracks is not very good (Vision and Out of My Book, where Again would for instance have been better).
Best tracks are from Disc 1, 1, 2, 4, 7 and 9 and from Disc 2 6 , but note that this also includes my personal preferences with regards to the songs themselves, not just the rendition.