The Hawkwind Album Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Pete Puma, Aug 1, 2013.

  1. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Palace Springs and Love In Space are both worthy "live" albums from the 90s.
     
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  2. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    It looks like the 1990 live albums aren't streamable.
     
  3. Veni Vidi Vici

    Veni Vidi Vici Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Are you sure about that? It's the conventional wisdom that there are no recordings known of the 70s get-togethers of the PinkWind classic lineups. Nik Turner and Twink sharing a stage in the 90s or whatever doesn't cut it.
     
  4. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    Electric TeePee


    Wiki says:

    After a European tour in March and April 1991, long-standing keyboardist Harvey Bainbridge chose to leave the group. Female singer Bridget Wishart would also end her association with the group in September. The group would go on to operate as a three piece of guitarist Dave Brock, bassist Alan Davey and drummer Richard Chadwick, making heavy use of sequencers, synthesizers and computers, both in the studio and live.

    The album was recorded in 1992 at Brock's own Earth Studios, produced with Paul Cobbold. "Mask of the Morning" re-uses the lyrics from "Mirror of Illusion" from the 1970 debut album Hawkwind. "Death of War" uses lyrics, written by Mark Rowntree, credited as "Rown Tree", convicted killer, in secure hospital since 1976.[3] "Rites of Netherworld" is a brief keyboard piece based on Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.


    Track listing
    1."L.S.D." (Richard Chadwick, Alan Davey) – 8:17
    2."Blue Shift" (Davey) – 4:17
    3."Death of War" (Rown Tree, Dave Brock) – 4:47
    4."The Secret Agent" (Brock) – 8:11
    5."Garden Pests" (Brock, Davey) – 2:09
    6."Space Dust" (Davey) – 5:18
    7."Snake Dance" (Harvey Bainbridge, Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 3:54
    8."Mask of Morning" (Brock) – 8:49
    9."Rites of Netherworld" (Brock) – 0:36
    10."Don't Understand" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 7:04
    11."Sadness Runs Deep" (Brock) – 5:58
    12."Right to Decide" (Brock, Davey) – 4:25
    13."Going to Hawaii" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 7:35
    14."Electric Tepee" (Brock) – 3:07


    Personnel
    Dave Brock – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
    Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards
    Richard Chadwick – drums


    My take:

    Well Harvey’s personal problems led to his leaving Hawkwind after a short 1991 spring tour in Europe (without Dave Brock!). Bridget performed with the band in July of ’91 but her singing became more hit than miss. She balked at Dave’s suggestion she take singing lessons for greater control and the band sacked her. So Hawkwind was down to a three piece for the first time and, as is often the case, adversity yields strong results.

    Electric TeePee has a strong ambient flavor as well as some techno, but the space rock is still strong in this one. LSD starts things off strong with a riff based rocker –l love it. Blue Shift is a lush ambient song for chilling out to after the rush of LSD. And this 1-2 punch of a space rocker buffered by ambient songs will be the framework for most of this album. The Secret Agent is the next rocker and it takes some flak from fans who find the lyrics too silly/lightweight. I think the song is a fun rocker that cruises along like good Hawkwind does –blanga! Space Dust and Snake Dance (heard first on Space Bandits) are two excellent synth-based moody songs. Mask of the Morning is the next stand-out and it is a ripping update to Mirror of Illusion from the debut album –probably my favorite song on this album. The final highlight for me is the driving Right To Decide, with its excellent lyrics that, prior to doctoring, caused some stir in the British press. Regardless, the song rocks and was also released as single (in substantially different form).

    The album is padded with a few too many ambient songs for my liking, but the good far outweighs the filler here. The production is effective and serves the music well –except that Dave’s vocals are a bit too low in the mix for my liking. Highly recommended!
     
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  5. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    The remember your future EP that contains the single edit / remix of Right To Decide.
     
  6. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident

  7. Former Scientist

    Former Scientist Now on wheels....

    Location:
    UK
    Lots of great Hawkwind memories here...my missus managed to fall asleep during the Xenon Codex era gig we attended, quite a feat. I loved WoteoT, and kept up with them via Hawklords (which seemed more electropop/rock than punk, more like early Ultravox!) and on through subsequent albums and tours. I can honestly say I have enjoyed every album (except the many live recordings)....my one regret is selling my Flicknife Chronicles cd when it was really rare for about £40....
     
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  8. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    Would it be right to call this period the early classics?

    After that, it's a case by case affair... One thing tough, they always remained faithful to their trippy concept.
     
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  9. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    This is the first of the post 83 albums I own. I liked the Right to Decide on Epoch Eclipse so I bought it. I listen to a lot of ambient music so I like the ambient tracks quite a bit. Blue Shift may be my favorite track. There's really not a bad track on it.

    I'd extend the classic period to 77 just to include Quark, Strangeness and Charm which on any given day could be my favorite. IMO, Electric Tepee sits a little below those along with PXR5 and Levitation. Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music also fits in the the same period, but I don't know if I streamed it when it was covered in this thread. If I did, it didn't leave an impression. I know I never heard it before this thread.
     
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  10. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    Yes you can add Quark, Astounding and Levitation to the 70's classics. It took me more time to immerse myself into those 3 probably because they were moving away from their psychedelic sound to something new. I consider these 3 as very good albums, enough to get them on vinyl.

    Now listening to Levitation in a pair of headphones, wow... Hawkwind really opened the road for space rock bands à la Ozric...
     
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  11. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I generally agree as to what constitutes "classic Hawkwind". Quark and Levitation belong on that list and PXR5 and Astounding Stories are just behind them and highly recommended. And yes, Levitation is a stormer! Later day strong albums include Electric TeePee, Palace Springs and Alien4 (up soon).
     
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  12. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous

    Wiki says:

    As with the previous album, Electric Tepee, the group remained a three-piece of guitarist Dave Brock, bassist Alan Davey and drummer Richard Chadwick. The album was recorded in 1993 at Brock's own Barking Dog Studios, produced with Paul Cobbold.

    The title track "It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous" is a quote from the mathematician/philosopher Alfred Whitehead's Science and the Modern World, which had originally been used on the sleeve notes to the Space Ritual album ("It is the business of the future to be dangerous; and it is among the merits of science that it equips the future for its duties"[3]). The Arabic-influenced "Space Is Their (Palestine)" would be worked into the middle section of the live version of "Hassan I Sabbah", retitled "Assassins of Allah". "Letting in the Past" is a re-recording of "Looking in the Future" from the 1982 album Church of Hawkwind. "The Camera That Could Lie" is a reggae-influenced piece that fused music which had previously been used in the middle section of the live version of "Damnation Alley" on the 1992 album Palace Springs with lyrics from the song "Living on a Knife Edge" from the 1981 album "Sonic Attack". "Gimme Shelter" is a cover version of the Rolling Stones song that the group had recorded with Samantha Fox for the Shelter benefit single Putting Our House in Order, although this album version removes Fox's vocal. Drummer Richard Chadwick performs vocals instead.

    Track listing

    1."It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous" (Dave Brock, Richard Chadwick, Alan Davey) – 6:23
    2."Space Is Their (Palestine)" (Brock) – 11:46
    3."Tibet Is Not China (Part 1)" (Davey) – 3:39
    4."Tibet Is Not China (Part 2)" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 3:20
    5."Let Barking Dogs Lie" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 9:01
    6."Wave upon Wave" (Davey) – 3:13
    7."Letting in the Past" [aka "Looking in the Future"] (Brock) – 2:53
    8."The Camera That Could Lie" (Brock) – 4:56
    9."3 or 4 Erections in the Course of a Night" (Brock, Davey) – 2:02
    10."Techno Tropic Zone Exists" (Brock) – 4:30
    11."Gimme Shelter" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 5:34
    12."Avante" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 6:00

    Atomhenge CD bonus tracks

    1."Gimme Shelter" (feat. Samantha Fox) (Single Version) - 5:56

    Also, On Atomhenge Disk 2:

    The Solistice Remixes EP (4 Real Communications, 4R1, June 1993)


    2-1 Spirit Of The Age (Radio Edit)

    Writen-By – Dave Brock, Robert Calvert 4:08

    2-2 Spirit Of The Age (Full Vocal Mix)

    Written-By – Dave Brock, Robert Calvert9:52

    2-3 Spirit Of The Age (Cyber Trance Mix)

    Written-By – Dave Brock, Robert Calvert9:53

    2-4 Spirit Of The Age (Flesh To Phantasy Ambient Mix)

    Written-By – Dave Brock, Robert Calvert12:08

    Decide Your Future EP (4 Real Communications 4R2, 1993)

    2-5 Right To Decide (Original Mix)

    Written-By – Alan Davey, Dave Brock4:24

    2-6The Camera That Would Not Die (Original Mix)

    Wrtten-By – Dave Brock5:17

    2-7 Right To Decide (Alien Prophets Radio Edit Mix)

    Remix – Alien Prophets Written-By – Alan Davey, Dave Brock4:09

    2-8 Assassin (Magick Carpet Mix By Swordifsh/Astralasia)

    Remix – Swordfish Written-By – Robert Calvert

    Personnel

    Dave Brock – guitars, keyboards, programming, sequencing, sampling, vocals
    Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards, programming, sequencing, sampling
    Richard Chadwick – drums, Vocals


    My take:

    Ambient and techno come to the fore on this mostly instrumental release and fans of these genres should find much to love here. Me? I’m not a huge fan of ambient. I do like it from time to time (in smaller doses like Blue Shift), but I like driving space rock more, which is scarce on this release. The techo content is a bit more interesting to me, but again, not really my thing. The title track starts with an industrial grind underpinned by some synth washes and it goes on and on -pretty good music to chill to. Space Is Their Palestine is up next and is probably my favorite track on this disk. It has some interesting sampling that ultimately morphs into a driving, eastern-flavored groove. The percussion seems particularly varied and keeps things interesting. Another strong track is Let Barking Dogs Lie. It has some pulse and drive as well as some actual distinguishable guitar! The Camera That Could Lie is a bit of reggae the band would throw into their live shows from time to time and culminate with Hawkwind In Your Area. Is it the first vocals we actually get that are not sampled? We also have an odd cover of Gimme Shelter that will never replace the Stone’s version as a favorite, but it is fun and has some good guitar work from Dave . The version with Sam Fox is a bit extended and Sam’s vocals do help improve things vocally.

    Well I’m not a huge fan of this one, but they took some risks and tried new things so give ‘em some love for that.
     
  13. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I haven't listened to all the songs included in the EPs collected on the Atomhenge remaster so no comment from me on those remixes.
     
  14. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I've been listening this morning. The current track is The Camera That Could Lie. I don't particularly care for this track or the title track so far I like everything else but especially Tibet Is Not China (Part 2) and Let Barking Dogs Lie. My guess is that I'll be buying this.
     
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  15. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    Spirit Of The Age (Radio Edit) is horrible
     
  16. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Haven't heard it yet....I guess I won't hurry :D
     
  17. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I'll check out Tibet part 2 again, I forgot the song completely. Let Barking Dogs...is a favorite of mine too.
     
  18. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    The remixes of Spirit of the Age are OK. .
     
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  19. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    Anybody having an issue with track 10 of In the woods (Darkland)? My CD was skipping, had to return it back.
     
  20. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I did not get the physical disk for this and instead opted for the download.
     
  21. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    White Zone


    Wiki says:

    White Zone is the nineteenth studio album by Hawkwind, released under the band name Psychedelic Warriors in 1995. The name change reflects that this was a musical departure for the band; being a more experimental electronic offering rather than rock, the album is completely instrumental (except for samples) and there is little guitar featured.

    Track listing
    1."Am I Fooling" (Brock/Davey/Chadwick) - 1:28
    2."Frenzzy" (Brock) - 5:48
    3."Pipe Dreams" (Brock) - 3:38 - from Strange Trips and Pipe Dreams
    4."Heart Attack" (Brock) - 0:54
    5."Time And Space" (Brock/Davey) - 4:04
    6."The White Zone" (Brock) - 7:32 - from Strange Trips and Pipe Dreams
    7."In Search of Shangrila" (Brock) - 5:35
    8."Bay of Bengal" (Brock) - 1:35
    9."Moonbeam" (Chadwick) - 4:08 - from Chalice of the Stars
    10."Window Pane" (Davey) - 5:08
    11."Love in Space" (Davey) - 5:20

    Personnel
    Dave Brock - guitar, keyboards
    Alan Davey - bass guitar, keyboards
    Richard Chadwick - drums
    Dave Charles - sampler, OSCI

    My take:
    Some leftovers from It Is The Business…, some solo songs from Dave (previously released) and a solo song from Richard Chadwick. I don’t have much to say about this album, but if you liked their previous album you may enjoy this one. It has a bit more samples and sequencing and almost no guitar. The version of Love In Space has little resemblance to their more familiar takes of this song. I confess this one gets few listens from me. The song White Zone is probably my favorite here as it samples dialog from the movie "Airplane!".
     
  22. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Up next will be "The Business Trip" live album, which was released a year before "White Zone".
     
  23. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    The Business Trip

    Wiki says:

    Although credited as being live, some of the tracks are studio recorded backing tapes, to which the band mimed, such as "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" and "Berlin Axis". "Terra Mystica" was a bonus on the original vinyl-only release, and has never been performed live. The version of "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" here has a new slower musical backing than the version that appeared on the group's 1977 album Quark, Strangeness and Charm, and this new version was released as an EP without the overdubbed crowd noise. The notable tracks omitted from the album, recorded at the gig are: Letting In the Past (Living in the Past), Tibet Is Not China, Psychedelic Warlords, Sputnik Stan, Assassins of Allah (Hassan-i-Sahba) / Space Is Their Palestine. Davey's original vocals on Golden Void were overdubbed with Brock's.


    Track listing
    Side 1
    1."Altair" [a.k.a. "Wave Upon Wave"] (Alan Davey) – 1:02
    2."Quark, Strangeness And Charm" (Robert Calvert, Dave Brock) – 6:24
    3."L.S.D." (Davey, Richard Chadwick) – 5:30
    4."The Camera That Could Lie" (Brock) – 6:55

    Side 2
    5."Green Finned Demon" (Calvert, Brock) – 6:32
    6."Do That" [a.k.a. "You Shouldn't Do That"] (Nik Turner, Brock) – 3:09
    7."The Day A Wall Came Down" (Brock) – 3:32
    8."Berlin Axis" (Brock) – 2:27
    9."Void Of Golden Light" [a.k.a. "The Golden Void"] (Brock) – 5:50

    Side 3
    10."The Right Stuff" (Calvert) – 5:31
    11."Wastelands" [a.k.a. "Wastelands Of Sleep"] (Brock) – 2:10
    12."The Dream Goes On" [a.k.a. "The Iron Dream"] (Simon King) – 1:56
    13."Right To Decide" (Brock) – 7:31

    Side 4
    14."The Dream Has Ended" [a.k.a. "You Know You're Only Dreaming"] (Brock) – 4:44
    15."This Future" [a.k.a. "Welcome To The Future"] (Calvert) – 1:52
    16."Terra Mystica" (Brock) – 8:00 – vinyl and Atomhenge CD bonus track

    Personnel
    Dave Brock – guitar, keyboards, vocals
    Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals
    Richard Chadwick – drums


    My take:

    A “live” album in name only as there was much studio sweetening added to these tracks. At least three tracks are complete studio creations (Quark, Terra Mystica and Berlin Axis) Still there is much to recommend the album. The sound and production are strong and serve the music well. Several older songs get interesting face lifts, like Quark Strangeness and Charm. Nobody will beat Calvert’s original studio version –so why try? Instead, they opted to re-jig the song by slowing down the tempo and vocal delivery to create an entirely new listening experience that, for me, works well. Green Finned Demon gets a lush arrangement which I think stomps the original 80s version –this is my favorite version of the song. You get a couple of the best songs from Electric TeePee (L.S.D. and Right To Decide) that are a bit more lively than their studio versions (though I think the studio versions are stronger). They also added an excellent version of “You Know You’re Only Dreaming” titled The Dream Has Ended A rare cover of The Right Stuff is also included. The album is a nice sampler of the period and it could work as a nice introduction to early-mid 90s Hawkwind. Probably not essential, but I am glad to have it.
     
  24. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Pretty cute...
     
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  25. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    And the updated version...
     

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