A couple of days ago this item has popped up on eBay.... If I had, well, some 100K$, I would definitely buy it right now. Maybe I could offer my price, but it will surely be insufficient to satisfy the seller. Ah, come what may - since my collection is built upon different principle I should not care much about this case. I will write a Tribute page instead.
Probably, this is the one and only album that connects me to the 60-s, the blessed years of the Flower Children. Only through the music on this record I can somehow feel the essence of that unique experience of the human being's existence on this planet. All other stuff does not catch me to that extent when I could miss those years and feel myself happy at the same time. I cannot think out any other example to serve for me.
Yes, it was then, some 45 years ago, when the times were changing, and the new music created in consequences of events, reflecting all that went before and projecting the future path. A true Here-and-Now music, which turned out to be timeless and unplaced.
Oh, sorry, you might have already asked "WTF??!! Why the price for that piece of plastic and cardboard is that high?!" Well, this copy is unique not only for the VdGG, but for all kind of vinyl/music/rarity collectors: this is the UK (!!!) test pressing of the first ever record made by Van der Graaf Generator. Actually the album was then released only in the USA (this has another interesting story with curious facts involved), so only a few copies of this specific record were pressed, and few copies of this sleeve too. The artworks for the official US-release was absolutely different, with different sleeve notes, and less attractive (in my humble modern opinion). Today almost anybody has a chance to own this piece of my world. One will take it soon.... I always thought I would never see this record on public sale in my life, so to say....
It seems to me that the Flower Children used all the possibilities the Life granted them with. What has left there for us, the modern people? I would say, the union of the Music, Love, and the Spirit. So, again we have everything to start creating what will be Ours. А new era is about to start. What shall come into this Life with this
era? How should we be involved into it? How should we present it
through our works? All depends on us, so let's do it now!
Today I am more than happy to realize, that the very first notes of the very first track of this very first album of Van der Graaf Generator - the No.1 music for me! - were the sounds created to tie me forever with this Music, to made me feel the Spirit, and still warming that Love inside me. So I shall be keeping this Spirit up and go forward with it!
Thanks go to the friends of mine Tigran Papyan (who brought all of that stuff to our attention and still spreads the word around), Araik Adamyan (R.I.P. - for sharing his tapes with the whole community of ours), Jeff (who shared his taped copy of the Aerosol with me) and, most of them all, to my brother George, who actually brought that tape home and pressed PLAY button. He would do that sooner or later anyway....
