Hawkwind thread.

[J Ed]

so the other day I added Robert Calverts 1st two solo albums to my collection
the 1st: Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters is a very dense and zany concept album based on the true story of the German Luftwaffe purchasing inappropriate military aircraft from the US in the 1960s and thus costing many pilots lives
features all of Hawkwind plus Vivian (Bonzo) Stanshall and others doing funny spoken word bits linking the toons, sort of like Space Ritual meets Firesign Theatre
the 2nd: Lucky Leif and the Longships is a looser concept album about What If? the vikings had decided to colonise America, featuring such results as a Beach Boys pastiche called Lay of the Surfers
this ones produced by Brian Eno, and parts of it actually sound like they could have been off of Another Green World
apparantly this one was supposed to have spoken word links too but Eno nixed that

both pretty impressive, considering I havent really been able to get into the late 70s new wave Hawkwind when Calvert was again fronting the band

[Sonic Destruction]

The Hawkwind Thread lives!!!

Musically I think "Lockheed" absolutely rocks! However, I find most of the spoken word pieces quite irritating after repeated listens, and I would skip them completely if I had a CD copy.

"Leif" is far less enjoyable from a musical standpoint, but still quirky enough to have some interest.

I liked the Calvert albums "Hype" and "Freq", but neither have got much spacerock on them. "Freq" is all about the Thatcher-era miners strike, and so is sort of reminiscent of Roger Waters' political rantings from the 1980's, although even more minimalistic (if that is possible).

According to a recent live ad in Mojo, there are two Hawkwinds currently in existence. Dave Brock is still the legal holder of the band name, but Nik Turner has collected about eight old Hawks (including long time Brock associates Harvey Bainbridge and Alan Davey ) to form The Hawklords. Set the controls for the heart of the law courts.

[2066]

I really like Captain Lockheed. I find the chacterisations in the spoken bits really funny. The vinyl cover has little embossed planes on it. The music is pure Hawkwind. Arthur Brown certainly gives a good over-the-top performance!

[Stephen]

Yes I do like those spoken parts too. Here are a couple of them:

Voices of two test pilots. High speed. Manic. Jets landing and taking off.

Pilot 1: How does she handle?

Pilot 2: Pretty good. I found I could balance a glass of beer on my oxygen mask, while I was flying it in a slow roll.

Pilot 1: Really.

Pilot 2: Well I did spill a bit on the first try. Air turbulence, actually.

Pilot 1: Still...it's not bad.

Pilot 2: Yes. I could go into a loop, light a cigarette, peel a banana and thread a needle at twenty five thousand feet.

Pilot 1: Hmmm.

Pilot 2: Go into a dive, do the three card trick, write my name backwards, catch a peanut in my mouth and juggle my eye-balls from one socket to the other.

Pilot 1: Sounds like a pretty nifty kite.

Pilot 2: (pause) I've seen worse.

and this one :

INTERVIEW Officer and New Recruit

Officer: So. You want to be a fighter pilot.

Recruit: A Starfighter pilot sir.

Officer: And why particularly the Starfighter?

Recruit: Because sir I am in love with this aircraft. This magnificent engine of steel and gleam.

Officer: That's very poetic. Please continue.

Recruit: This aerodynamic Delilah. Its uptilted wings and sidewinder rockets. Its clear curving cockpit cover, the whirling of dials and needles. The illustrious uniform of the Federal German Air Force. The click of heels in salute, the flare of the jacket, the wide, long-skirted hang of it, and oh, the low shiny peak of the cap.

Officer: I think that's enough.

Recruit: But sir, the danger, and the glory of death. A young and dashing life gone up in flames. Blonde maidens weeping. To die for one's country. To set forth in a silver lance to joust with the forces of darkness.

Officer: They don't always crash you know.

Recruit: It would be an honour to crash in such a plane.

Officer: To be mangled and scorched?

Recruit: To be hideously mutilated beyond the recognition of one's own mother.

Officer: Is that makeup you're wearing?

Recruit: No sir.

Officer: Are you sure that's not makeup.

Recruit: Makeup sir?

Officer: Makeup. Makeup. You know what makeup is. It's what ladies wear.

Recruit: Not all ladies wear makeup sir.

Officer: Well what's that black stuff around your eyes. Is that mascara?

Recruit: All right. I can see it's no good lying to you. I confess. It is mascara. Only a little bit.

Officer: What on Earth for?

Recruit: It's my mother sir.

Officer: Your mother?

Recruit: You see my mother was the first woman to fly the Atlantic in a (pause) Gaseo Glider.

Officer: A Gaseo Glider?

Recruit: A machine of my father's invention. You see he was too much of a professional aeronautical inventor to actually fly it himself, so my mother took it, and tried to fly it singlehanded across the Atlantic.

Officer: What happened?

Recruit: She...she crashed. Spun down into the sea and was never seen again. They found only her false eyelashes, floating. And so, you see, ever since I have worn mascara in her sacred memory.

Officer: I see.

Recruit: Well sir. Do I get a plane?

Officer: In view of the confession you have just made, which must have taken a great deal of courage, I consider you an ideal type for the job. There's a plane waiting for you on the runway. The sergeant will give you an instruction manual on the way out. Oh, and by the way, Von Trippenhopf...

Recruit: Sir?

Officer: Don't let the CO catch you wearing makeup on duty. At least not in uniform, you understand.

Recruit: But sir...

Officer: Alright then. But very subtly applied is that clear?

Recruit: I understand sir.

Officer: Right Oh, Von Trippenhopf

Recruit: Righty Oh sir.

[oz1701]

i quite like both albums , but why oh why did they bugger up michael moorcocks bit on the lucky leif cd - the lp version was so much better.

[2066]

Yes I do like those spoken parts too.

Hahaha. Thanks for posting that, man. The spoken bits are so well done that, to me anyway, they're not unlike Monty Python bits that keep getting funnier all the time.

[Massed Gadgets]

The new Atomhenge re-issues are quite good. They've acquired the entire Hawkwind catalogue from 1976 onwards. I picked up recently Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music; Quark, Strangeness & Charm; and P.X.R.5...They all have extensive liner notes and bonus tracks, in fact QS&C is a double disc, with bonus stuff on the first disc and whole second disc of bonus music including alternate versions, studio run-throughs, live tracks, studio jams and unreleased songs.

The shop I was at also had the re-issue of Live Chronicles from 1985, which restores the Michael Moorcock narration and songs like Assault & Battery which are missing from most previous CD releases, but I have the Griffin re-issue from '94 which has the full track listing, same as the new Atomhenge re-issue, so I passed on this one. Still, if you are a Hawkwind (or Michael Moorcock) fan, this one is definitely worth getting. It's a live version of Chronicle of the Black Sword, which is a musical re-telling of Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné saga that Hawkwind did in the 80's. I personally prefer the live version presented on Live Chronicles (so does Michael Moorcock), as it adds extra songs like the fabulous Moonglum as well as a few classics (a really kick ass version of Master of the Universe).

[Sonic Destruction]

Yes, I really liked the "Live Chronicles" version as well, much better than the studio "Chronicle Of The Black Sword", although the latter is still a great album.

I bought both the double vinyl and video versions of "Live Chronicles", and have since bought the Griffin CD version and the DVD.

Now that it has finally been released in an unedited form (ie with the Moorcock poems, "Assault & Battery" and "Sleep Of 1000 Tears"), I suppose I will need to buy the ******* thing again!

[Idisaffect]

I have a question....

Is there a post-'74 Hawkwind song that is better than You shouldn't do that? If so, what album is it on?

[Sonic Destruction]

I have a question....

Is there a post-'74 Hawkwind song that is better than You shouldn't do that? If so, what album is it on?

Well, I like a lot of their later things, like "Damnation Alley", "Moonglum", "Levitation", "Utopia 1984", "Uncle Sam's On Mars", etc. I wouldn't like to say whether they were better or worse than "You Shouldn't Do That" though; it is all down to taste.

Post 1974 albums I really like include "Live Chronicles", "Live 79", "Levitation", "Stonehenge", "Quark Strangeness & Charm", "Warrior On The Edge Of Time", and "PXR5".

For my money, there haven't been any albums since the mid 1990's that can compare to the glory days, but still some decent music nonetheless.

Albums I would probably avoid (unless you are a hardcore fan) are "Sonic Attack", "Distant Horizons" and (sadly) their most studio recent one "Take Me To Your Leader". The latest live album "Knights Of Space" is pretty disappointing too.

[Idisaffect]

Albums I would probably avoid (unless you are a hardcore fan) are "Sonic Attack", "Distant Horizons" and (sadly) their most studio recent one "Take Me To Your Leader". The latest live album "Knights Of Space" is pretty disappointing too.

Okay, Pat. Thank you. I know I need to check out some more Hawkwind. I heard a pretty weak cd that sort of made me misunderstand their later period for a while. I don't remember the name of it but the songs just didn't have "it". I know there must be more good stuff! This thread has got me curious again.

[Massed Gadgets]

I have a question....

Is there a post-'74 Hawkwind song that is better than You shouldn't do that? If so, what album is it on?

Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) is an amazing album, with the song Assault & Battery/The Golden Void being one of my all time favourites. There are a lot of great tunes from the Robert Calvert era as well. The thing is, Hawkwind were taking different directions by the mid-70's, becoming more song-oriented and less jam-oriented. So I guess it depends on your taste, but if you are accepting of the new direction, there are plenty of great songs post '74. A few of my favourites include Steppenwolf, Damnation Alley, Fable of a Failed Race, Jack of Shadows, Robot, High Rise, Psi Power, Levitation, Motorway City...the list goes on. As far as the mid-90's onward go, I would agree with Pat, though I really like the album Electric Teepee (1994).

[Sonic Destruction]

I like "Electric Tepee" too. Very techno, though, which may be a turnoff for some.

Nothing they did after Lemmy left really sounds like the early Hawkwind, so maybe try before you buy, idiseffct.

Good luck.

Another one to avoid: "Hawkwind In Your Area" - perhaps their lowest ebb ever.

[Idisaffect]

Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) is an amazing album,

I agree. I have that one.

I think I'll try Live '79 and Levitation first and go from there. I appreciate the tips. I've read this entire thread and you guys have convinced me that I need some late 70's , early 80's Hawkwind.

I'm gonna go put on Psychedelic Warlords and search for some of those albums you and Pat suggested.

[Sonic Destruction]

Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) is an amazing album,

I agree. I have that one.

I think I'll try Live '79 and Levitation first and go from there. I appreciate the tips. I've read this entire thread and you guys have convinced me that I need some late 70's , early 80's Hawkwind.

I'm gonna go put on Psychedelic Warlords and search for some of those albums you and Pat suggested.

"Live '79" is a fantastic live disc, and the first HW album I ever bought. It has just been re-released by Cherry Red with a couple of extra live tracks, which were the A & B sides of the single that came out at the same time. It is one of the few HW albums I haven't got on CD (or at the very least on CDR) and is at the very top of my wants-list. My only gripe is that it is too short, and I had hoped the Cherry Red release might have had more extras on it. There is a 2CD thing called "Complete 79", but it is apparently just bootleg quality, and doesn't do the band justice at all.

"Levitation" is also excellent, although I was initially a little disappointed that the sound was a lot "cleaner" and more refined that the dirty metal freakouts of "Live 79". In time I have grown to love it, and it represents an interesting period in the band's history when they hired ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker and former Gong synth player Tim Blake . I am hoping that "Levitation" will soon be re-released by Cherry Red with the non-album (and most excellent) B-side "Nuclear Toy". Even if there are no other extra tracks, I will definitely be picking it up.