Hawkwind – The Atomhenge Reissues (So Far...)
Posted by: Nick Lees on 04 April 2010
I’m a twice-forsworn Hawkfan – firstly after Doremi/Space Ritual ( I found the subsequent albums- Hall Of The Mountain Grill, Warrior On The Edge Of Time, Astounding Sounds - a bit tepid in comparison) whereupon I was knocked out by the leaner, punkier Quark, Strangeness and Charm, and Hawklords albums, only to drift off again.
In the succeeding years, I’ve gone back and picked up some gems here and there, but the main problem has been that most of the albums from Warrior On The Edge Of Time in 1975 through to the mid 90s were out of print or available only through pirate editions.
That has changed over the last year as Atomhenge, a subsidiary of Cherry Red, are doing the mid-Hawkwind period proud by releasing (it seems) just about everything in that missing period. I’ve been tagging along, filling in gaps, giving in to temptation and on the way discovering some gems amongst the forgotten years. I’ve found that, although there is some dross and a fair amount of unevenness in the later Hawkwind catalogue, there’s also a lot that should be better known and I hope to spotlight a few here.
I’m not touching the previous stuff (as if you don’t know In Search Of Space, Doremi Fasol Latido and Space Ritual then go sit at the back of the class until you do).
A general note: the remastering is very good though on the whole don’t expect hi-fi demo recordings as Hawkwind didn’t really do those. Bonus tracks (and CDs in some cases) are mostly good to excellent.
Atomhenge start with Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (1976) - Warrior On The Edge Of Time is still not available as it is rumoured that the original master tapes have been lost.
I can see now why I lost interest at the time. The wall of sound had gone and the quality of the songs wasn’t very even, but this has some good stuff on it such as Reefer Madness and Steppenwolf. Calvert is strong and you can hear the foundations of the next two great albums. Good but not amazing.
Quark, Strangeness And Charm (1977)
On the other hand is a stonker. Calvert and Brock in great shape and a very high level of song-writing with all-time classics like Spirit Of The Age, Damnation Alley, Hassan I Sabba and of course Quark itself. Leaner, punkier, but buy no means lacking in balls. Classic Hawkwind.
Hawklords (1978)
Sometimes mistakenly called 25 Years On, it came next as a side-project when Calvert and Brock wanted a break from the past and hooked up with Devon-based band Ark, who morphed first into the Hawlords and then Hawkwind itself.
Very much in the same mould as Quark, the songs and performances are again top notch, with rippers such as Psi Power, 25 Years (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid etc. Equally classic.
Hawklords – Live ’78 (1992)
Previously released as Hawklords Live with a cover based on Doremi, the Atomhenge version is cleaned up and now includes the whole of the available concert instead of inserted Hawkwind cuts from another gig. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from the band at this point in their career – it’s very good, just don’t expect Space Ritual!
PXR5 (1979)
This was a contract-filler as the band broke up and Calvert committed himself to solo work. It’s a bit of a hodge-podge of stuff, some excellent (Death Trap, Robot), some not. Not really recommended.
Live Seventy-Nine (1980)
Calvert gone but Huw Lloyd-Langton (from the very first Hawkwind album) back and Tim Blake from Gong in this is a fine live album, mixing old and new Hawkwind styles. Good but not in the top league of live Hawkwind albums.
Levitation (1980)
Pretty much the same line-up as Live Seventy-Nine with the astonishing addition of Ginger Baker on drums (not quite up there with Tony Iommi being in Jethro Tull, but hey). This is another very good studio album, with stand-out tracks Levitation, Motorway City, Who’s Gonna Win The War (and more). Baker’s drumming works, sort of. Atomhenge do a limited edition box that adds two disks of this line-up Live At Lewisham Odeon 1980 which is well worth forking out the extra for. Recommended – especially the box edition.
Sonic Attack (1981)
Another splintering of the group saw Blake and Baker leave. This is a mixed bag – Sonic Attack WHY? – but Rocky paths and Angels of Death are very good. Some lyrics and a vocal appearance from Michael Moorcock… Not top Hawkwind though.
Atomhenge have not yet released the next two – Church Of Hawkwind and Choose Your Masques so I skip to…
The Chronicle Of The Black Sword (1985)
This is another excellent album with atmospeheric intrumentals linking a great bunch of songs – Sea King, Needle Gun the lovely Zarozinia. All based around the Elric legends of Moorcock. The CD comes with the very good e.p. Earth Ritual Preview and I’d recommend everyone to get it except…
Live Chronicles (1986)
…they went on tour with Chronicles, mixing in the best bits of the studio album with some appropriate oldies plus perhaps the best Hawkwind song never to make the studio – Huw Lloyd-Langton’s stunning Moonglum. As is usual with Hawkwind the live performances have an extra edge and this is a sharp, punky performance all-round so unless you’re going to get both, this is the way to get the best out of the Black Sword. Get this.
Skipping over the un-released and pretty dreadful Out And Intake…
The Xenon Codex (1988)
This album saw the first contribution from Alan Davey (bass and keyboards) who’s up there with Lemmy for me in Hawkwind bass guitarists. Again a mixture of drifty synth instrumentals and good songs (e.g. The War I Survived), it’s not quite as good as The Chronicle Of The Black Sword but well worth while.
Skipping over the un-released Space Bandits…
Electric Tepee (1992)
Now down to a trio (Brock/Davey/Chadwick) the formula is similar to Xenon Codex, but the standard’s higher (though Calvert should have been there to sing The Secret Agent). Good, but not first rank.
Skipping over the un-released It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous…
Alien 4 (1995)
I don’t have this, and probably won’t get it. Not because I don’t think it would be very good, but it suffers from the same problem as The Chronicle Of The Black Sword…
Love In Space (1996)
This double CD is Alien 4 taken on tour, again with some older stuff successfully worked into it. By this time Brock had added a front man for the first time since Calvert split – the splendidly named Ron Tree. His theatrical sense comes pretty close to Calvert and his voice isn’t too far off either, even if very occasionally he sounds a bit like Eddie Izzard (no really).
You wouldn’t believe there are just the three instrumentalist playing here as both Brock and Davey use pre-programmed keyboard fills to fool the ear. The songs from Alien 4 (e.g. Xenomorph, Sputnik Stan and the fantastic Alien (I am)) stand up well against the older (Death Trap, Robot, Assassins, good old Silver Machine) plus you get one of Brock’s best ballads (alongside Chronicles’ Zarozinia) Love In Space which at the time hadn’t been released on a studio album.
For me this album is up there on a par with Live Chronicles and just below Space Ritual.
I shall report on any others from the series that I get.
Foot Note:
Canterbury Fayre 2001 (2002)
This is Hawk Records release and strictly speaking doesn’t belong here, but as we’re talking Hawkwind and I recently got it…
…this is double live CD with a line-up of Brock/Lloyd-Langton/Kniveton/House/Davey/Chandwick with Arthur Brown on Silver Machine. A very good recording of the band in full flight and well worth it at sale price
Big Toe Note:
Space Ritual – Otherworld (2007)
Esoteric (sister label to Atomhenge) have released the album by ex-Hawkwind members under the name of Space Ritual (Brock banned them from being xHawkwind). So here you get Nik Turner, Dave Anderson, Del Dettmar, Terry Ollis and some other gents, playing songs mostly written by Anderson and Dettmar with lyrics by Turner and good old Michael Moorcock.
It’s very good – it doesn’t sound like a Hawkwind rip-off or tribute band and Anderson can write good tunes. Otherworld itself and Sonic Savages are excellent and would have graced any Hawkwind album.
Little Toe Note:
OK, seeing as we’ve strayed off this far…
Amon Düül (UK) - Die Lösung (1989) and Fool Moon (1989)
In the 80s, two early Düül members. John Weinzierl and Dave Anderson (he was on Yeti) got together in Wales as Amon Düül but are usually referred to these days as Amon Düül (UK). They jammed up four albums, mostly based around Anderson’s songs.
The last two of the series (above) featured Robert Calvert on vocals, and they’re pretty good if you forget the Hawkwind/Düül connection – in some ways they remind me sonically of the Psychedelic Furs! Worth checking out if you can catch them cheap.
In the succeeding years, I’ve gone back and picked up some gems here and there, but the main problem has been that most of the albums from Warrior On The Edge Of Time in 1975 through to the mid 90s were out of print or available only through pirate editions.
That has changed over the last year as Atomhenge, a subsidiary of Cherry Red, are doing the mid-Hawkwind period proud by releasing (it seems) just about everything in that missing period. I’ve been tagging along, filling in gaps, giving in to temptation and on the way discovering some gems amongst the forgotten years. I’ve found that, although there is some dross and a fair amount of unevenness in the later Hawkwind catalogue, there’s also a lot that should be better known and I hope to spotlight a few here.
I’m not touching the previous stuff (as if you don’t know In Search Of Space, Doremi Fasol Latido and Space Ritual then go sit at the back of the class until you do).
A general note: the remastering is very good though on the whole don’t expect hi-fi demo recordings as Hawkwind didn’t really do those. Bonus tracks (and CDs in some cases) are mostly good to excellent.
Atomhenge start with Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (1976) - Warrior On The Edge Of Time is still not available as it is rumoured that the original master tapes have been lost.
I can see now why I lost interest at the time. The wall of sound had gone and the quality of the songs wasn’t very even, but this has some good stuff on it such as Reefer Madness and Steppenwolf. Calvert is strong and you can hear the foundations of the next two great albums. Good but not amazing.
Quark, Strangeness And Charm (1977)
On the other hand is a stonker. Calvert and Brock in great shape and a very high level of song-writing with all-time classics like Spirit Of The Age, Damnation Alley, Hassan I Sabba and of course Quark itself. Leaner, punkier, but buy no means lacking in balls. Classic Hawkwind.
Hawklords (1978)
Sometimes mistakenly called 25 Years On, it came next as a side-project when Calvert and Brock wanted a break from the past and hooked up with Devon-based band Ark, who morphed first into the Hawlords and then Hawkwind itself.
Very much in the same mould as Quark, the songs and performances are again top notch, with rippers such as Psi Power, 25 Years (Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid etc. Equally classic.
Hawklords – Live ’78 (1992)
Previously released as Hawklords Live with a cover based on Doremi, the Atomhenge version is cleaned up and now includes the whole of the available concert instead of inserted Hawkwind cuts from another gig. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from the band at this point in their career – it’s very good, just don’t expect Space Ritual!
PXR5 (1979)
This was a contract-filler as the band broke up and Calvert committed himself to solo work. It’s a bit of a hodge-podge of stuff, some excellent (Death Trap, Robot), some not. Not really recommended.
Live Seventy-Nine (1980)
Calvert gone but Huw Lloyd-Langton (from the very first Hawkwind album) back and Tim Blake from Gong in this is a fine live album, mixing old and new Hawkwind styles. Good but not in the top league of live Hawkwind albums.
Levitation (1980)
Pretty much the same line-up as Live Seventy-Nine with the astonishing addition of Ginger Baker on drums (not quite up there with Tony Iommi being in Jethro Tull, but hey). This is another very good studio album, with stand-out tracks Levitation, Motorway City, Who’s Gonna Win The War (and more). Baker’s drumming works, sort of. Atomhenge do a limited edition box that adds two disks of this line-up Live At Lewisham Odeon 1980 which is well worth forking out the extra for. Recommended – especially the box edition.
Sonic Attack (1981)
Another splintering of the group saw Blake and Baker leave. This is a mixed bag – Sonic Attack WHY? – but Rocky paths and Angels of Death are very good. Some lyrics and a vocal appearance from Michael Moorcock… Not top Hawkwind though.
Atomhenge have not yet released the next two – Church Of Hawkwind and Choose Your Masques so I skip to…
The Chronicle Of The Black Sword (1985)
This is another excellent album with atmospeheric intrumentals linking a great bunch of songs – Sea King, Needle Gun the lovely Zarozinia. All based around the Elric legends of Moorcock. The CD comes with the very good e.p. Earth Ritual Preview and I’d recommend everyone to get it except…
Live Chronicles (1986)
…they went on tour with Chronicles, mixing in the best bits of the studio album with some appropriate oldies plus perhaps the best Hawkwind song never to make the studio – Huw Lloyd-Langton’s stunning Moonglum. As is usual with Hawkwind the live performances have an extra edge and this is a sharp, punky performance all-round so unless you’re going to get both, this is the way to get the best out of the Black Sword. Get this.
Skipping over the un-released and pretty dreadful Out And Intake…
The Xenon Codex (1988)
This album saw the first contribution from Alan Davey (bass and keyboards) who’s up there with Lemmy for me in Hawkwind bass guitarists. Again a mixture of drifty synth instrumentals and good songs (e.g. The War I Survived), it’s not quite as good as The Chronicle Of The Black Sword but well worth while.
Skipping over the un-released Space Bandits…
Electric Tepee (1992)
Now down to a trio (Brock/Davey/Chadwick) the formula is similar to Xenon Codex, but the standard’s higher (though Calvert should have been there to sing The Secret Agent). Good, but not first rank.
Skipping over the un-released It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous…
Alien 4 (1995)
I don’t have this, and probably won’t get it. Not because I don’t think it would be very good, but it suffers from the same problem as The Chronicle Of The Black Sword…
Love In Space (1996)
This double CD is Alien 4 taken on tour, again with some older stuff successfully worked into it. By this time Brock had added a front man for the first time since Calvert split – the splendidly named Ron Tree. His theatrical sense comes pretty close to Calvert and his voice isn’t too far off either, even if very occasionally he sounds a bit like Eddie Izzard (no really).
You wouldn’t believe there are just the three instrumentalist playing here as both Brock and Davey use pre-programmed keyboard fills to fool the ear. The songs from Alien 4 (e.g. Xenomorph, Sputnik Stan and the fantastic Alien (I am)) stand up well against the older (Death Trap, Robot, Assassins, good old Silver Machine) plus you get one of Brock’s best ballads (alongside Chronicles’ Zarozinia) Love In Space which at the time hadn’t been released on a studio album.
For me this album is up there on a par with Live Chronicles and just below Space Ritual.
I shall report on any others from the series that I get.
Foot Note:
Canterbury Fayre 2001 (2002)
This is Hawk Records release and strictly speaking doesn’t belong here, but as we’re talking Hawkwind and I recently got it…
…this is double live CD with a line-up of Brock/Lloyd-Langton/Kniveton/House/Davey/Chandwick with Arthur Brown on Silver Machine. A very good recording of the band in full flight and well worth it at sale price
Big Toe Note:
Space Ritual – Otherworld (2007)
Esoteric (sister label to Atomhenge) have released the album by ex-Hawkwind members under the name of Space Ritual (Brock banned them from being xHawkwind). So here you get Nik Turner, Dave Anderson, Del Dettmar, Terry Ollis and some other gents, playing songs mostly written by Anderson and Dettmar with lyrics by Turner and good old Michael Moorcock.
It’s very good – it doesn’t sound like a Hawkwind rip-off or tribute band and Anderson can write good tunes. Otherworld itself and Sonic Savages are excellent and would have graced any Hawkwind album.
Little Toe Note:
OK, seeing as we’ve strayed off this far…
Amon Düül (UK) - Die Lösung (1989) and Fool Moon (1989)
In the 80s, two early Düül members. John Weinzierl and Dave Anderson (he was on Yeti) got together in Wales as Amon Düül but are usually referred to these days as Amon Düül (UK). They jammed up four albums, mostly based around Anderson’s songs.
The last two of the series (above) featured Robert Calvert on vocals, and they’re pretty good if you forget the Hawkwind/Düül connection – in some ways they remind me sonically of the Psychedelic Furs! Worth checking out if you can catch them cheap.
Church Of Hawkwind (1982)
This sits in betwenn Sonic Attack and Choose Your Masques and was an abrupt departure from normal Hawkstuff, being principally electronic with only a few "songs".
To be honest it's only so-so. The songs are not of the first (or second) water and much of the electronic stuff sounds a bit like like jammed filler, though it may have sounded more innovative at the time - especially with the use of sampled speech (e.g. live commentary from the murders of Bobby Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald).
It's not bad, but not great by any means.
Meanwhile, if I can encourage anyone to try the excellent Love In Space live album, here is a link to a video of the first 20 minutes or so. Mostly Ron Tree, fire-eaters and dancers (but sadly no Stacia) included. If you like this, the album just gets better and better after this point.
Love In Space video
This sits in betwenn Sonic Attack and Choose Your Masques and was an abrupt departure from normal Hawkstuff, being principally electronic with only a few "songs".
To be honest it's only so-so. The songs are not of the first (or second) water and much of the electronic stuff sounds a bit like like jammed filler, though it may have sounded more innovative at the time - especially with the use of sampled speech (e.g. live commentary from the murders of Bobby Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald).
It's not bad, but not great by any means.
Meanwhile, if I can encourage anyone to try the excellent Love In Space live album, here is a link to a video of the first 20 minutes or so. Mostly Ron Tree, fire-eaters and dancers (but sadly no Stacia) included. If you like this, the album just gets better and better after this point.
Love In Space video