Hawkwind - Share your views

Posted by: Not For Me on 25 September 2003

Rather than being butried in the last album thread, I think this issue deserves a wider airing..

quote:
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Originally posted by David Slater:
Dozy, I am rediscovering Hawkwind again, after giving them up after 'Levitation' and rejoinging them at Solstice remixes.

Can you (or anyone) recommend the best bits of the period in between?

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Mmm - post Levitation, there are a number of good ones, a number of indifferent ones and a number to avoid.

I would recommend:

From the studio:

Xenon Codex
Space Bandits
Alien 4 (difficult to get hold of)
Distant Horizons (difficult to get hold of)

I haven't heard Spacebrock yet so can't comment on that.

Live recordings:

Canterbury
Astoria - Yule Party
Nottingham 1990
Business Trip Live
Live Chronicles
Stonehenge - Do Not Panic

Possibly:

Choose Your Masques
Zones

Avoid:

In Your Area

Given your taste for things electronic me thinks you will like Distant Horizons and Alien 4 in particular.



Any more comments ?

DS
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by Not For Me
Michael,

I see you recommend the ones that are difficult to get hold of!

I always love a challenge!

DS
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by MichaelC
quote:
Originally posted by David Slater:
I see you recommend the ones that are difficult to get hold of!
DS


They pop up on Ebay every now and again. Given the relatively low number of pressings the output from the eighties and particularly the nineties can command quite hefty prices.

Indeed the releases on cd of some of the early albums eg Hall of the Mountain Grill, Warrior on the Edge of Time plus the Calvert/Charisma years fetch very high prices.

Tip - use Ebay.com - even with postage costs it is cheaper than here in the UK.

Now I have made it too easy Wink

All the best

Mike
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by MichaelC
Following on from my earlier post I went as far as pulling out "Intake & Outake" for a quick spin - I would add that to my list of possibilities.

Another positive recommendation is the Dave Brock solo album "Strange Trips and Pipe Dreams" which includes an unusual reworking of Space is Deep.

Happy hunting.

Mike
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by matthewr
"I saw them at Stonehenge in 1984"

My Dad filmed that gig. And he filmed them on the Elric tour complete with Michael Moorcock reading sections of the Elric books.

Matthew
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by Rasher
I bought In Search of Space, Space Ritual & DoReMi on CD a couple of months ago, and was happy to find they are still listenable. It could have gone either way I guess, as these things sometimes do.
Posted on: 25 September 2003 by Not For Me
What about the..

Friends and Relations series

and

Independent Days series ?

Worth looking for ?

DS
Posted on: 26 September 2003 by MichaelC
quote:
Originally posted by David Slater:
What about the..

Friends and Relations series

and

Independent Days series ?

Worth looking for ?

DS


David

I found both series disappointing. The Friends and Relations include a number of Hawkwind offshoots which ... well, in my view were not that good. I also found some of the recordings on the Independent Days series to be of sub-standard quality.

I personally quite like the Rob Calvert solo's in particular Captain Lockheed & The Starfighters (includes Ejection) and Freq (much more "eighties").

If you like a more raw rock/punk variation then I strongly recommend Nik Tuner - Punkadelic, worth it alone for the track "Gas Money". That almost became a signature song for my friends and I way back when we had our first cars... but that's another story.

Cheers

Mike
Posted on: 27 September 2003 by Not For Me
Mike,

thanks for the words.

I have Captain Lockheed & The Starfighters, and one of the Friends & Relations.

I must follow up the Nik Turner angle - was he the eklectronicsist or did he play sax for the 'Wind ?

DS

OTD - A&E Dept - And the Rabbits Name was....
Posted on: 27 September 2003 by Kevin-W
I used to be mad on Hawkwind, but kind of lost interest after the PXR5/Levitation era.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the jokey Charisma-era albums, Astounding Sounds... and the unutterably superb Quark, Strangeness & Charm , which, in the title track and "Spirit Of The Age" has some of the finest lyrics and couplets of all time ("Einstein was not a handsome fellow/Nobody ever called him Al/He had a long moustache to pull on, it was yellow/I don't believe he ever had a gal" and "Oh for the wings of any bird/Other than/A battery hen" respectively).

I'll also put in a vote for the mighty Warrior On The Edge Of Time which has to be owned in the gatefold sleeve which folds out into a shield. Also: Dore Mi.. Space Ritual Mountain Grill and tthe Hawklords record and the Bob Calvert solos.

Kevin
Posted on: 27 September 2003 by Not For Me
Kevin,

I agree with your assessment, I rate all of those albums, and would add the first LP, 'Hawkwind', 'Space Ritual' etc.

I like you, lost touch after Levitation (some coincidence here?) and wonder about the wasteland years, and which of the vast array of live and studio albums, compliations, best ofs, spin off, spin outs and other connected material are worth looking out for.

I had a look for some more today, but only saw albums I already have, or live albums or compliations.

Still I will track down the ones Michael C has mentioned.

DS

ITC - V/A - Mutant Disco
Posted on: 27 September 2003 by MichaelC
quote:
Originally posted by David Slater:

I must follow up the Nik Turner angle - was he the eklectronicsist or did he play sax for the 'Wind ?

DS

OTD - A&E Dept - And the Rabbits Name was....


Sax.

With a, shall we say, unique style particularly in concert.I did like those fetching dayglo skeleton suits!

Mike
Posted on: 27 September 2003 by MichaelC
On the subject of favourite Hawkwind albums I would say:

Space Ritual
Hall of the Mountain Grill
Warrior on the Edge of Time
Quark Strangeness & Charm

A compilation of the Charisma years entitled "Spirit of the Age" on Virgin, although it omits "Damnation Alley".

Alien 4
Distant Horizons

Plus the various live recordings mentioned earlier.


Mike
Posted on: 03 October 2003 by MichaelC
Have just added to the collection:

Nik Turner - Space Ritual

This is a live recording from San Francisc0 in 1994 featuring Pressurehead, Helios Creed, Del Dettmar and Alan Powell. It featrures a number of early Hawkwind numbers plus Nik Turner numbers. Playing now as I type this and first impressions are good.

Mike