The Hawkwind Album Thread

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

  1. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    Very different.
     
  2. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Do you like it?
     
  3. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I only listened to half of it because I'm about to go out the door, but yes I do.
     
  4. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I streamed White Zone and Business Trip and I like both quite a bit.
     
  5. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Nice....:righton:
     
  6. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    Alien 4


    Wiki says:

    At the end of 1994, with the group established as a three piece of guitarist Dave Brock, bassist Alan Davey and drummer Richard Chadwick, they felt they were lacking visually in terms of showmanship. Ron Tree, who had been involved with groups in the English free-festival scene, had offered his services and the group accepted them. In addition, guitarist Jerry Richards, another musician involved in the English free-festival scene as a member of the group Tubilah Dog, started contributing to some live dates and recording sessions.

    The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in the summer, and the Area S4 EP featuring a "Roswell Mix" of "Alien (I Am)" was issued. "Death Trap" is a re-recording of the song from their 1978 album PXR5. "Wastelands" is a re-recording of "Wastelands Of Sleep" from their 1988 album The Xenon Codex. "Are You Losing Your Mind?" is a re-recording of "The Iron Dream" from their 1977 album Quark, Strangeness and Charm with new spoken words.

    Track Listing:


    Side 1
    1."Abducted" (Ron Tree, Brock) – 2:45
    2."Alien (I Am)" (Brock) – 7:46
    3."Reject Your Human Touch" (Tree, Brock, Richard Chadwick, Alan Davey) – 2:20
    4."Blue Skin" (Tree, Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 7:07

    Side 2
    5."Beam Me Up" (Hawkwind) – 4:11
    6."Vega" (Davey) – 3:51
    7."Xenomorph" (Tree, Davey) – 4:52
    8."Journey" (Brock, Davey) – 3:12

    Side 3
    9."Sputnik Stan" (Davey) – 7:03
    10."Kapal" (Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 5:11
    11."Festivals" (Kris Tait, Brock) – 6:50

    Side 4
    12."Death Trap" (Robert Calvert, Brock) – 3:57
    13."Wastelands" [aka "Wastelands Of Sleep"] (Brock) – 1:22
    14."Are You Losing Your Mind?" (Tree, Brock, Chadwick, Davey) – 2:33
    15."Space Sex" (Brock) – vinyl and 2010 CD versions only

    Personnel
    Ron Tree – vocals
    Dave Brock – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
    Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals
    Richard Chadwick – drums
    Jerry Richards – electric guitar (tracks 12-14)


    My take:

    An album designed for a big stage production that works well in this capacity. Actually, this album has some strong continuity with Hawkwind’s past –including their recent 90s releases. Ron Tree starts his relatively brief tenure with the band. He had a great respect for Bob Calvert and tried to emulate his front-man persona with some success. This album is similar in style to Electric Teepee in that it has several strong space rockers buffered by ambient stand-alone songs and basic instrumental segue pieces. The album (and stage show) tell a disjointed story around alien abduction (and Ripley’s Xenomorph), but don’t take the story too seriously –the band didn’t, as it’s hardly fleshed-out lyrically.

    It starts strong with Alien (I Am), one of the best rockers here and a favorite of mine. Blue Skin is an instrumental that is both hypnotic and driving –another highlight. There is an earlier version of this song titled “I Am The Eye That Looks Within” recorded in ’94 for the “25 Years On” Anniversary box released by Griffin (highly recommended). Xenomorph gives Ron Tree a good vocal platform. The song itself is almost thrashy and rocks harder than most Hawkwind songs. Sputnik Stan is a comic relief song about a garbage man in space and yet it is musically strong and holds its own with the better tracks from this disk. Festivals is probably my favorite song on the album. It has nothing to do with the Alien abduction story and everything to do with the band’s disillusion with the recent British free festivals scene (violence and harassment by police and an increased criminal element). Musically it is a highlight with a very catchy chorus. The remake of Calvert’s Death Trap actually works well musically and Ron delivers a strong vocal rendition. Some may like this one more than the original, but Calvert’s quirky original vocal delivery wins me over. Are You losing Your Mind was a nice update to The Iron Dream and is always a welcome addition for me –it’s just a great song. This one is a winner for me. It gets frequent plays, though I confess to skipping some of the linkage songs which can come off as cheesy filler. The strong songs outweigh the weak ones –enjoy this blanga.
     
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  7. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    This EP has a nice edit of Alien (I AM) titled "The Roswell Edit" which I prefer to the album version -more succinct.
     
  8. Valen2260

    Valen2260 Forum Resident

    Really enjoying these in-depth looks at the later albums.

    I got off the good ship Hawkwind after the Electric Tepee tour - I'd really enjoyed the Space Bandits tour with a full line-up and full complement of instruments, and seeing the three remaining members trying to reproduce that sound on the ET tour was disappointing. Maybe it was just a bad night, but the set was way too tilted towards that album, which wasn't out at that point, And i just gave up after that.

    I did try seeing them again in 2003 when I was in Amsterdam, and that was a disaster too. Their keyboard player decided at the last minute not to join them, and the set was a mess, with long silences between songs while Brock got his penlight out and tried to work out which cd-r to load up next. Very short set. I was up in the bar area chatting to Arjen (Ayreon) Lucassen who revealed that he'd been invited to play on the encores, but seeing the shambles onstage, he discreetly left before the end of the show.

    Been revisiting the 80s albums via the box sets - nostalgic memories of the Choose Your Masques tour, but funnily enough while I preferred side 1 of the LP at the time, now I find I prefer side 2's songs.

    Black Sword was another nice moment. Band got bounced out of their intended theatre venue due to a double booking, and had to load in to a small club instead. We gave them a hand and were allowed to enjoy the sound check and a few beers before opening time. Then, mid-set, while we were shouting for Brainstorm, they actually stopped the show, and declared "Hang on. There are a couple of guys at the back having a Brainstorm!" before then lunching into the song.

    Happy days
     
  9. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I envy your opportunity to see them live so often. I have only had the opportunity to see them once live in the USA (2006) and there subsequent attempt to tour was scrapped a few years ago. Not likely to see them again.

    You may enjoy Alien4 as it is completed with a full band compliment (5 people including Jerry Richards on a few tracks).
     
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  10. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    This is a good album. The live versions are in some cases better, and "Love in Space" is the best song from this era, but only on the live album...
     
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  11. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    No Calvert era?
     
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  12. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    I was just listening to the Love In Space cd and the version of Sputnik Stan stomps all over the studio version.
     
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  13. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    Indeed; Xenomorph is better, too.
     
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  14. Valen2260

    Valen2260 Forum Resident

    They were one of those bands that you tended to take for granted, touring the UK every year, and I was indeed lucky that they came so far north (Aberdeen, Scotland) each time, because so many bands stopped at Edinburgh and that was it. So I saw them on the Masques tour 1982, Earth Ritual tour 1984, Black Sword tour 1985, Xenon codex in 1988, Space Bandits in 1990, and Electric Tepee (1991?).

    I know they've had problems getting promoters to help them tour the US because of legal hassles created by Nik Turner promoting himself as Hawkwind and fans leaving gigs feeling cheated. The article was a couple of years ago, but Dave Brock was pretty angry at Turner for making it impossible for them to tour the US.

    Unfortunately, the band haven't issued much in the way of official concert dvds, so I guess you just have to let your imagination do the rest. I'd steer clear of recent Youtube footage - I had a look out of curiosity and it sounds terrible.
     
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  15. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    Love In Space

    Wiki Says:

    Love in Space is a 1996 live album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. It was recorded during the group's 1995 tour to promote the Alien 4 album. It was re-issued in 2009 with bonus tracks taken from the Love in Space EP.

    Tracklist:
    CD1
    1."Abducted" (Ron Tree, Dave Brock) – 2:53
    2."Death Trap" (Robert Calvert, Brock) – 4:42
    3."Wastelands" (a.k.a. "Wastelands Of Sleep") (Brock) – 1:35
    4."Are You Losing Your Mind?" (Tree, Brock, Alan Davey, Richard Chadwick) – 3:08
    5."Photo Encounter" (Brock) – 2:16
    6."Blue Skin" (Tree, Brock, Davey, Chadwick) – 6:56
    7."Sputnik Stan" (Davey) – 10:20
    8."Robot" (Calvert, Brock) – 7:38
    9."Alien (I Am)" (Brock) – 8:52

    CD2
    1."Xenomorph" (Tree, Davey) – 5:16
    2."Vega" (Davey) – 3:33
    3."Love In Space" (Brock) – 9:43
    4."Kapal" (Brock, Davey, Chadwick) – 6:05
    5."Elfin" (Davey) – 2:09
    6."Silver Machine" (Calvert, Brock) – 3:35
    7."Welcome To The Future" (Calvert) – 2:10
    8."Assassins" (a.k.a. "Hassan-i-Sabah" (Calvert, Paul Rudolph) / "Space Is Their (Palestine)" (Brock)] – 8:40

    Atomhenge CD bonus tracks
    9."Love In Space" (Brock) [Studio Version]
    10."Lord Of Light" (Brock) [Live]
    11."This Is Hawkwind Sonic Attack" (Michael Moorcock, Brock) [re-mix]

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


    My Take:
    Another tour, another live album– rinse and repeat. This set is a nice sounding live representation of their theatric Alien 4 tour. You may miss the dancers and fire breathers, but the music here is almost a complete set-list from the tour (omitting only The Golden Void). It includes most of the best tracks from the Alien4 album (except for Festivals), and in each case the songs are improved in their live incarnation. For example, Sputnik Stan gets an extended instrumental work-out, Blue Skin has a spoken word poem inserted into the groove and Xenomorph has better, more-up front, vocals and harder driving bass. Alien (I Am) also benefits from a clearer vocal mix (whether added in the studio or live, I don’t care). The live version of Love in Space smokes the studio counterpart by including additional guitar and an extended middle section with a Calvertesque poem insert delivered by Ron. Other highlights include the resurrected Silver Machine and Assassins of Allah / Space Is Their Palestine –a stormer. Robot is also included and is a pretty strong update, though again I prefer Calvert’s original here.

    Ron Tree acquits himself well as the new guy and front man. He has the energy in spades and his spoken pieces are reminiscent of Bob Calvert’s tenure, but alas his poetry is not at Calvert’s high quality level. This would be Alan Davey’s last tour with the band for several years. His presence here is strong as usual and it is no wonder he was always Lemmy’s favorite Hawkwind bassist. So an excellent collection here that is highly recommended. In fact, it almost makes Alien 4 a redundant album –except that you still need Festivals from that album. The bonus tracks include the studio Love in Space which is good, but sounds a bit like lounge music from the Starship Enterprise. The live version of Lord of Light helps to round-out the complete ’95 setlist and is actually a pretty good version of this Hawkwind classic. I can’t remember whether I liked this version of Sonic Attack –I don’t recall hating it, so there’s that.

    Purchase and listen in confidence.
     
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  16. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

     
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  18. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    Distant Horizons

    Wiki says:
    Towards the end of 1996, Jerry Richards, who had been contributing lead guitar to some live dates and recording sessions, joined the group permanently. Dissatisfied with the musical direction of the group, long standing bassist Alan Davey chose to leave at the end of 1996. His bass playing duties were picked up by singer Ron Tree. Rastafarian toaster Captain Rizz and keyboardist Julian "Crum" Crimmins began contributing to live dates, although neither would appear on this record. The album's release was preceded by the "Love In Space" EP, although the lead track differs remarkably from the album version, having vocals and being produced by Zeus B. Held.

    The group undertook a 32 date UK tour from September through to November to promote the album, followed by three Netherlands/Belgium dates. Some shows were recorded and issued as In Your Area and Hawkwind 1997, and some shows were professionally filmed by punkcast, but as yet unreleased.

    Track listing
    1."Distant Horizons" (Dave Brock, Richard Chadwick) – 5:19
    2."Phetamine Street" (Ron Tree) – 5:42
    3."Waimea Canyon Drive" (Brock) – 4:53
    4."Alchemy" (Jerry Richards, Chadwick) – 3:14
    5."Clouded Vision" (Brock) – 3:49
    6."Reptoid Vision" (Tree) – 7:39
    7."Population Overload" (Brock, Chadwick) – 6:51
    8."Wheels" (Richards, Chadwick) – 6:24
    9."Kauai" (Brock) / "Taxi for Max" (Brock) – 2:51
    10."Love in Space" (Brock) – 4:51

    Atomhenge CD bonus tracks
    11."Archaic"
    12."Kauai" [alternate take]
    13."Morpheus"


    Personnel
    Dave Brock – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
    Jerry Richards – electric guitar
    Ron Tree – vocals, bass guitar
    Richard Chadwick – drums


    My take:
    An album the band felt rushed to finish and release, but the results sound pretty good to these ears. More mix of ambient, techno, thrash and space rock. The addition of Jerry Richards did provide more focus on lead guitar than previous releases. Alan dubbed him “Huw Lloyd Hillage” and was not a fan of his playing -his entrance was the final nail that led to Alan leaving Hawkwind in ’96. Alan’s strong bass playing is missing here as Ron Tree is not in the same league. The title track starts well with a techno groove; is that Captain Rizz adding some cool vocal “samples” similar to what he did in Festivals on Alien 4? Phetamine Street is punkish and thrashy and is definitely something “new” for the band. Waimai Canyon Drive is probably my favorite song on the album. The guitar is mixed just right, and count me a fan of Jerry’s tone here. I also like Dave’s vocals, a real link to past Hawkwind sounds. Alchemy is next and is essentially a platform for Jerry to riff and crank out some guitar. It drives hard and is another highlight on the album. What next? A ballad called Clouded Vision a minimalist affair that picks up the pace when Jerry’s guitar chimes in –pretty good. Reptoid Vision is another punky –thrashy affair and is not a favorite of mine. Some techno and ambient instrumentals follow that are nice, if not too exciting. I nice instrumental version of Love in Space ends the original cd on a high note. The first bonus track, Archiac, is a rocker with some fine drive from all involved –glad they included it! Morpheus is essentially a Dave Brock solo song –I don’t hear anyone else playing on it and it’s not the most consequential of songs, but I’m glad to have it for the tasty guitar outro.

    Not their strongest outing by a long shot, but not the disaster some critics have labeled it either. Absolutely worth a listen.
     
  19. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    This is the second post 83 album I bought. I don't have much of an impression of it because I've only listened to it twice a couple of years ago. I'll listen again so I can comment.
     
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  20. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    "Alan dubbed him “Huw Lloyd Hillage” and was not a fan of his playing"

    Sounds like a compliment to me! What's his beef?!
     
  21. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    He didn't think Jerry had an original style. He liked him personally.

    I'm huge Hillage fan too!
     
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  22. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    Until the Atomhenge remaster was released a few years ago, This was one of the hardest hawkwind disks to acquire.
     
  23. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    Live 97 was a limited Hawkwind Passport "members only" release compiled by Ron and Jerry and is supposedly a pretty good representation of their '97 live shows. I have not heard it and can't comment. Several songs from the tour are included in the next album to be reviewed ("In Your Area").

    Track listing
    1. "Wheels (Your World)" (Richard Chadwick, Jerry Richards) – The Garage, Glasgow, 19 October
    2. "Phetamine Street" (Ron Tree) – The Irish Centre, Leeds, 27 October
    3. "Your Fantasy" (Captain Rizz, Tree, Dave Brock, Chadwick, Richards) – University Of East Anglia, Norwich, 8 October
    4. "Alchemy" (Chadwick, Richards) – The Centre, Newport, 6 November
    5. "Love In Space" (Brock) – The Centre, Newport, 6 November
    6. "Aerospaceage Inferno" (Robert Calvert) – The Empire, Liverpool, 23 October
    7. "Sonic Attack" (Michael Moorcock) – The Empire, Liverpool, 23 October
    8. "Blue Skin" (Tree, Brock) – Charter Hall, Colchester, 10 October
    9. "Brainstorm" (Nik Turner) / "Hawkwind In Your Area" (Rizz/Brock) – The Empire, Liverpool, 23 October
    10. "Reptoid Vision" (Tree) – The Empire, Liverpool, 23 October
    11. "Ejection" (Calvert) – Festival Theatre, Paignton, 5 November
    12. "The Gremlin (part 2)" (Calvert) – Festival Theatre, Paignton, 5 November
     
  24. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

    [​IMG]
    In Your Area


    Wiki says:
    The live side was recorded during the group's 1997 tour to promote the Distant Horizons album. The studio tracks were recorded during 1998. The group had ceased business dealings with former manager Douglas Smith who had been running the record label Emergency Broadcast System Records, and as a consequence found themselves without an outlet in Europe for their recordings. They had, however, a long-standing deal with Griffin Music in North America for licensing the EBS material, so this album received a North American release in January 1999, but no European equivalent. Later, in 2000, as Brock started to make archive material available for release in the UK through Voiceprint Records, it received a belated UK release.

    Track listing
    1."Brainstorm" (Nik Turner) / "Hawkwind In Your Area" (Dave Brock, Captain Rizz) / "Alchemy" (Richards, Chadwick) – 11:08
    2."Love in Space" (Brock) – 2:46
    3."Rat Race" (Brock, Rizz) – 5:51
    4."Aerospace Age Inferno" (Robert Calvert) – 5:32
    5."First Landing on Medusa" (Calvert, Brock) – 1:41
    6."I Am the Reptoid" (Tree) – 3:19
    7."The Nazca" (Brock) – 0:44
    8."Hippy" (Tree, Richards) – 5:45
    9."Prairie" (Tree, Richards) – 2:39
    10."Your Fantasy" (Tree, Brock, Chadwick, Richards) – 5:04
    11."Luxotica" (Tree, Chadwick, Richards) – 3:09
    12."Diana Park" (Brock) – 4:21

    Personnel
    Dave Brock – electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
    Jerry Richards – electric guitar
    Ron Tree – vocals, bass guitar
    Richard Chadwick – drums

    with:
    Captain Rizz – vocals
    Crum (Julian Crimmins) – Keyboards

    My take:

    In Your Area was one of the few later-day Hawkwind disks still available cheap when I discovered the band in 1999. Now it is a bit rare and often listed for around $30. It was not included in the Atomhenge reissues –they ended at the previous album Distant Horizons. This album is another hit and miss patchwork that should be no one’s introduction to the band. A half-live, half studio affair that feels cobbled together with no great forethought. Oddly, the artwork and notes in this package are first-rate. The live material is taken from the ’97 tour which was no standout as it lacked a killer rhythm section and had no overall theme to hold it all together. The recording quality of the live material is just fine, though the editing around Rat Race seems to be significant. These qualifiers aside, there is still some interesting and killer material to be found here.

    Brainstorm / Hawkwind In Your Area starts things out strong. The space-rock drive of this classic is present right till the song morphs into the reggae portion (In Your Area). Some momentum is lost, but I like Captain Rizz’s delivery and though Hawkwind will never be a competent reggae band, this interlude is easy for me to take (others will hate it). A nice live version of Alchemy is next, it rocks hard. The Love In Space is just an intro edit to Rat Race and an outro edit. Rat Race is another Ron Tree attempt to update Bob Calvert’s sound. It has some potential but feels unfinished here. Aerospace Age Inferno and First Landing on Medusa (a reworking of The Awakening) are two excellent additions to a completest collection. The listener is then subjected to I Am A Reptoid which does nothing for me, sorry Ron.

    The studio tracks start with the brief Nazca instrumental and moves right into this album’s strongest track: Hippy. This song is my favorite late 90s Hawkwind creation and has both drive (Ron’s bass work is strong on this one) and some interesting vocal work. This song makes the album a “must buy” for any Hawkwind fan as Hippy is not available anywhere else. Prairie is a strong instrumental that gives Jerry a nice space for his guitar work. The following three songs really showcase the eclectic and varied sides of Hawkwind. Diana Park feels like a Dave Brock solo piece, but it’s a good one.

    So there you have it –a few good live tracks and a few interesting studio tracks with one killer song found nowhere else. It feels directionless as I suspect the band was a bit rudderless during this period –so an accurate product of the time. I’m glad to have it in my collection.
     
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  25. Pete Puma

    Pete Puma Forum Veteran Thread Starter

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