DAVE'S DIARIES

The idea if this section is to give you the visitors an little insight into what Hawkwind stuff I'm listening to at present and my current thoughts on it. My job is a lorry driver so consequently listen to a lot of my music while I'm on the move, not always the best place to hear music, but for me often the most convenient. I usually pick up a handful of CD's before I leave home and whilst this selection will include many other acts covering a wide variety of musical styles, rarely a day passes without a Hawkwind album making up part of that selection.

14.05.03 - It was my birthday last Saturday and with some of the money I received I treated myself to the recently re-released "Epoch Anthology" 3 CD set, mainly for disc 2 which contains some of the highly sought after Charisma material. I'm not usually a fan of "best of" collections preferring wherever possible to get tracks on their original albums. Personally I like to see where a band was at, at a given time in their career and consequently the odd track here and there on such a package doesn't really fulfil that. In this case though I must make an exception as this whole set is utterly stunning. It cost me £16.25 which first off makes it superb value for well over 3 hours of music, the track selection is top notch, sure there are a few "duffers" on their, but then again that's only my opinion, the booklet is informative and whilst there seems to be minimal "playing around" with the tracks themselves they all sound bright and airy. This would make an ideal introduction for anyone not familiar with the band as it covers such a wide variety of material from across the years, but similarly it's also a great compilation for old timers such as myself (well I am another year older!). It's a shame that a lot of the other release under the Hawkwind banner over the latter years do not come up to the same standard as this!

15.05.03 - On the same expedition that I picked up Epoch, I also chanced upon a second hand copy of "Space Bandits". I guess this is confession time but the aforementioned album can take a special place in my musical dynasty, for it is one of the few records that I have taken back and exchanged, simply because I didn't like it. When I first heard it back around 1991 it was fair to say that it was a bit of a shock to the system, my tastes were not as broad as they are now and being brought up on a diet of Levitation, Chronicle etc, this was to my ears a definite down turn in quality. Listening to it now, I have to say it still leaves me cold. It has it's moments, "out of the shadows" for one, but in my mind it lacks cohesion and whilst I can't see me selling this copy, neither can I see it deteriorating through over use!

16.5.03 - Being the night before the FA Cup Final, I mainly listened to the radio, but still succumbed to the delights of Hawkwind, and for tonight's treat it was back to disc 2 from "Epoch". The words "everyone's a winner" come to mind and how can you go wrong with the likes of Magnu, Quark and PSI Power, the simple answer, you can't!

19.05.03 - Have got a piece to write for the museum, of which more shortly, so for a bit of inspiration listened to disc 2 of the Canterbury set. Whilst personally I'm not sure we need quite as many live albums from the band, when they are as good as this one they're an absolute must. The only thing I can't really work out is why disc 2 is so much shorter than the first, but what do I know?. If any of the band read this, seeing as I didn't see this gig if you ever feel like playing the same set with the same line-up then don't let me stop you!

20.05.03 - Turned into a bit of a "Hawkfest" today. Listened to Electric Tepee, which I have to say, if ever their was a Hawkwind album of 2 halves then this is the one. A find a lot f it drifts past quite insignificantly (which I think is the idea, very "new age" and relaxing) there is also a couple of absolute corking space rock tunes to boot. LSD has in my opinion some of Alan's best bass work, but the real clincher for me is "Right to Decide", although I'm sure many will see it as maybe a bit "commercial", for me this would probably rate as one of my all time fave Hawkwind tracks. It song's such as this that highlight what great songwriters they can be when they are really focussed and with the right promotion I feel this particular number could have been a hit! (if only!)

Also dug out Weird tapes vol5, primarily because it features "Where are they now" which the band played a Cambridge on  Sunday night. Have to say though, it was a pleasure listening to it, an interesting recording that combines worthwhile reworking's of old classics (Brainstorm) as well as some of the best live recordings of mid 70's material, also in a strange way the radio ad from the states works really well. To finish of my day of intense Hawkwind therapy it was back to the "Epoch" set with both discs 2 & 3 getting an outing!

21-23.05.03 - Missed an entry yesterday, so I'll combine 2. Gave Yule Ritual a spin and whilst I know many are critical of the bass sound on this I still think it's a good selection with plenty of numbers rarely given a live outing. Special mention must go to Hurry On Sundown, not only should this be the band's theme tune in my opinion, why it has never been a hit mystifies me, people such as Noel Gallacher from Oasis would chop off their right arm to write a tune of this quality.

Next out of the starting blocks was another live one in the form of Live Chronicles. I'm not an expert on recording techniques and such like and have my suspicions that it may have been overdubbed, but that doesn't detract from it being an absolute corker and a band that's really on form. The playing is tight and powerful, with a special mention going to the rhythm section of Alan Davey and Danny Thompson that makes for a fine backbone to the performance and lets the rest of the band excel. If Huey's playing got any hotter he'd combust!

Finally it was the turn of Astounding Sound to come under the microscope. If ever an album was to leave Hawkfans scratching their collective heads it has to be this one. It's not a favourite of many and certainly was a complete departure from anything they had done before, or for that matter after. My own theory for what it's worth is that it is the one album the Dave appears to completely lose control of the direction of proceedings. Back in those days Mr rock was playing far less synths and keyboards than he does today and to me it comes across as he really doesn't understand the direction the rest of them are taking Hawkwind in, and a lot of the time didn't have a huge amount to contribute. When a more traditional Hawkwind number such as Kerb Crawler comes along his playing to me , at least becomes far more relaxed and far more Dave Brock, but at the end of the day, what do I know. 

03.06.03 - No I haven't forgotten about this page, it's just I've been so busy with other business that it's had to take a back seat, add to that the fact I've been trying to make a conscious effort to listen to some other stuff as well as Hawkwind, then I'm sure you'll understand to brief  lull in proceedings!

So what Hawk gems have I been listening to then?. Well I gave Warrior a spin before going to work yesterday evening, what's not already been said about this album, it's a bloody classic and still sound as fresh and cutting edge today as it did when it was originally released some 27 or so years ago (hard to believe it's over a quarter of century old). If I'm honest I personally could dispense with the narration pieces which I'm sure would horrify many (including my co-curator Simon) but the rest of the album is so darn good I'll let it go. Just one more thing, why does Dave not get the acoustic guitar out more, he's just as good with the mellow stuff as he is with the rockier moments!

Also getting an outing last night was what many people would consider the last proper "new" Hawkwind album (lets not get into an argument at this point!) "Alien 4". I must confess that I'm really not as clued up on material after Chronicle of the black sword as I should be so this album falls into this category. To me it's a strange affair, whilst it's certainly a return to more traditional territory after projects such as "It is the business", from my point of view I have to say I'm not totally convinced by it. Sure it has all the trademarks, rocky guitar pieces combined with swirling synth patterns and "Sputnik Stan" is classic "cyber punk Hawkwind", I have to say a lot of it leaves me cold. Perhaps it's me but a lot of it comes across as being a bit " heavy handed" in approach and lacking in those subtle touches that can make Hawkwind so special. I suppose being if you like "old school" I can't really get my head around Ron Tree, sure he does a good job playing the Calvert role, and lets say hear and now that they're not easy shoes to fill, but there was only ever one Bob and his initials aren't RT. Maybe it's me but in my opinion it tries too hard to be classic Hawkwind without really succeeding, saying all that though it without doubt got the band back on track in a lot of fans eyes!

05.06.03 - Well I have been listening to other stuff as well as hawkwind (some 60's psychedelia, Syd Barrett, Air and  Porcupine Tree amongst others), but fear not the hawks have also featured in my playlist.

Starting with one I should have mentioned the other day, have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to Palace Springs. That may sound like a bit of a strange thing to say but to me this has never been an essential in the bands vast arsenal, more of a case "well it's a hawkwind album, so I've got to have it", consequently it's not one of my "regularly played" discs. What I particularly enjoyed was the "earthy" feel of Dave's guitar. By that I mean it sound really natural and unprocessed, in certain passages it even reminds me of another of my faves Neil Young, in so much as it sounds nice and pure, yet heavy at the same time!

It's a shame that I can't heap so much praise on my next two selections, namely Xenon Codex and It is the business..... I think it's fair to say that I will never really get what these albums are all about, as both of them leave me cold. If I had to make a choice out of the 2 it would have to be Xenon, simply for no other reason than it at least has some proper songs, a couple of which really aren't too bad. Personally I don't necessarily think that it's the writing that's the problem, if anything I think it's the production that sucks! For once the band bought in a name producer in the form of Guy Bidmead, who if memory serves me right worked with Motorhead as well as a plethora of 80's rock and metal acts. I just get the impression that he really didn't know what to do with a band like Hawkwind, who it has to be said have a sound all of their own.

As for It is the business....., well I'd really like to say something positive about this album, if for no other reason than to try and succeed where others have failed, or to put it another way, to finally work out where this album is coming from. For what it's worth I see it like this. For starters it's very much a 2 headed beast with the first half the "ambient instrumental" pieces. I don't know if they have a conceptual theme running through them, if they do then it still doesn't do it for me. I sometimes think Hawkwind try a little to hard to be all things to all people and whilst I'll stand up for them, gladly telling those who will listen that they are without doubt one of the most influential acts to have ever walked the earth, perhaps they should really leave the whole techno ambient thing to those who understand the genre. saying all this the second half of the album fairs no better in my opinion, it's more song orientated for sure but what do we get, a couple of re-workings of older songs with new backings, yet more incursions into techno territory and of course the bands interpretation of the Rolling Stones classic "Gimme Shelter". I'm sorry I wish I could say or find something positive with this album, but the honest truth is "I can't", a saying my mother always said did not exist, well sorry to prove you wrong mum but it does!!

11.06.03 - Well almost a week since the last entry, so now is as good a time as any for an update. Really have been trying to make an effort to listen to plenty of other stuff at the moment so the Hawkwind quota has been down a bit this week. Warrior has been getting a regular airing in the kitchen but you already know my thoughts on that one.

No my main Hawk listening this week has been Weird Tape 5, the free festivals one with Stonehenge, a flying saucer and a wizard on the cover, what a dam fine recording it is too. If anything the mix comes across as a bit bass heavy but I actually think on this occasion that it really works as the playing is superb (I assume it's Adrian Shaw ?). This led me on to thinking how good a lot of the bass work is on Hawkwind albums and whilst not the most glamorous of instruments I feel hawkwind have, over the years employed some of the most under rated exponents of the four string plank. I mean you have lemmy who is a complete one off, the aforementioned Shaw who comes across as technically brilliant and how could we not mention Alan Davey. I have a theory that one of the reasons why he has developed into such an awesome bassist is that by being one of the more, shall we say, regular members of Hawkwind he often can't be sure who he will be playing with, often from one gig to the next, let alone one tour to another and hence must have to alter his playing on a regular basis, at times having to fill out the sound, whilst on other occasions having to give others more space!

still back to the album itself, another thing I really like about it is the keyboard sound, whilst never dominating the soundscape and so giving plenty of room for Dave's guitar, it is very prominent and for a lot of the time has an almost "Doors" like quality to it. It sound like a band that is really "gelling" and is totally convincing, all in all another "cracker"

19.06.03 - My, how time flies when your having fun, or put it another way, I've been so chuffing busy with work, family commitments as well as running the site that a further week has passed, so let me bring you up to date.

I'd like to mention a couple of albums that I've listened to this week, starting with a complete break in tradition and something that I do not intend making a habit of I want to talk about a record that on the surface has no connection with hawkwind whatsoever. Off the top of my head and therefore look forward to being corrected the closest link the two acts have is that a certain saxophone player with the initials NT guested with this other band whilst one of it's members was temporarily unable to perform due to being held at her majesties pleasure. Any Ideas? well the answer I'm looking for is The Stranglers and the album I'm referring to is the 1979 masterpiece "The Raven". So why mention it here, well if like me your a big fan of Hawkwind's "Charisma" period (mid to late 70's) then if you are not already I would wholeheartedly recommend that you acquaint yourself with this release. The reason? well in my opinion it's the overall feel of the record, especially highlighted with songs such as the title track, just for a moment forget that this is the stranglers your listening to and you could easily be forgiven for thinking that it's Bob Calvert who is delivering the lyrics in that almost whispered style that he made his own. Elsewhere I'd defy people to say the track "Nuclear Device" couldn't just have easily have turned up on the hawklords album. Then there's Shah Shah a Go Go, true it's not a hawkwind song in the true sense of the word, but with it's heavy middle eastern overtones (by now, very dated as it concerns itself with the over throw of the shah of Iran) I have a sneaking suspicion that a certain track by the name of "Assassins of Allah" may have been a starting point in the songs development. Another track "Meninblack" in many ways, and somewhat bizarrely pays the compliment back, as few would deny that this could have appeared on Alien 4 and no one would have butted an eyelid. I must also mention the ballad "don't Bring Harry", I'll concede that this is indeed along way from Hawkwind territory it is a beautiful song all the same, concerning itself with the perils of heroin usage, it none the less has one of the sublime piano riffs (if that's what you call them!) that I've heard. I really cannot recommend this album strongly enough, if your not a fan of the stranglers I'd still ask that you give this one album a go, suspend any pre conceptions you may have and just listen! (mind you if you hate it, don't blame me, it's just an opinion!)

Right back to more traditional territory , and to that end I'll finish this entry by mentioning an album that I have to admit to not being very well versed with, the 1992 release "California Brainstorm". This was one I missed on release ( I was taking my hawkwind sabbatical at the time) and had to blag this copy off of my work colleague Tony (cheers mate). From what I can make out it's basically a show that was recorded for radio stuck on a disc, and whilst it's not bad in the "Yuri Gagarin" sense I still wouldn't call it an essential purchase other than for the real die hard. That said it does have some interesting moments and the version of Reefer Madness is, in my opinion "blinding". This is also the album that fellow webmaster starfarer suspects that Dave was playing his guitar though a flanger. I'm no expert in these matters (understatement) but have to concede that the sound is different and to my ears a lot less rhythmic than most of his playing. My own little theory is that with the recording being made in 1990, whether Dave was still trying to create that 80's sound when Huw was   in the band. Still who know!

24.07.03 - A couple of entries ago I apologised for not updating in over a week, well that's pretty good compared with this time as it's been over a month. In a way of an excuse all I'll say is that I've been very busy and have also been trying to make a conscious effort to listen to some other bands as well as Hawkwind. Needless to say though, I haven't been able to go this long without having a little delve into the collection and so it was without any hesitation that I gave the album "Hawklords Live" a spin and have to say it certainly is an interesting little number! Released back in 1992 on the DOJO label, the same folks who released the only issue of "Warrior" on CD in the UK (so far!). Details are scarce, only saying that it was recorded in 1978, I'm not what you'd call an encyclopaedia when it comes to Hawkwind, just someone who loves them as a band, so whether it was from one show or culled from a number I can't say, although I'm sure many of you out there could fill me in! What I do know however is that it says the band are most definitely firing on all cylinders. Firstly, I've never heard Dave on such sparkling form when it comes to his guitar playing. It may come as no surprise to you that Mr Brock is one of my favourite guitarists, but I'll also be the first to concede that he is not the greatest when it comes to lead work, but where I think he excels is on the rhythm front. There's something about his playing that when he locks into a particular riff it becomes almost hypnotic and very powerful. Let's however also be honest and say that I doubt that the likes of Eddie Van Halen and his ilk loose much sleep at night over the captains playing. What I am trying to say (and by the looks of it, not particularly successfully) is that on this album really is away with the mixer. I'd say there's more solo's and lead playing on this album than most of the others put together and he really sounds as if he's having a whale of a time being the guitar hero. As well as this the album also benefits from having real live and raw sound and it's pretty obvious that the recordings have had the minimum amount of tampering, which is really driven home with the power cut sequence during "Death Trap". For those not familiar with this album, the band are running through an energetic version of the song when it literally dies as you are listening, I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who thought their stereo was playing up the first time I heard it! after a short delay, Bob announces the trouble and then the band surge back in where they left off, very impressive. Add to this probably my favourite version of "Sonic Attack" (sorry, never been a fan of this song!) and you've got a hell of a product. One oddity is that tacked on the end is the Sonic Assassins, "Over The Top", the same version that appeared on the Weird Tapes and also on Independent Days. Again classic Hawkwind related material, but quite where it fits in here, I'm not sure, even with this cut, it only clocks in at little over 40 mins, so I'll bet on the fact that it's simply making up numbers. In conclusion, I'd imagine it's quite hard to find a copy these days (mine came from Italy), but it's well worth tracking down!

02.10.03 - it seems that everytime I go to make a new entry, I'm always apologising about the length of time it's been since the last and promising that I'll not leave it so long in the future. I've made a conscious descion here and now that I'm not going to bother in future as it's been almost two months since my last piece so lord only knows when the next will appear. However let me at least try and explain myself, I've once more changed my job and although overall I'm much happier with my lot it does mean that rather than having a cab to myself all night and hence being able to play whatever music I want to all night (primarily hawkwind!), I now work in a warehouse so instead have to put up with that most despicable of media's - local radio. It's no wonder that bands such as the hawks and a raft of other quality acts don't get anywhere these days if people are prepared to put up with this crap, but put up with it they do. Anyway if I'm not careful this'll develop into one big moan about woeful radio stations and there even worse presenters so I'll stop here and now (didn't they support Hawkwind in years gone by?)

All that said, I have to be honest and say that I've listened to very little Hawkwind recently, but I did put that right on Sunday when I played the first disc of the "Ambient Anarchist" compilation that was released on the Snapper music label back in 1997. I remember picking this up a few years ago and was if memory serves me correctly was one of the first Hawkwind CD's that I purchased. The first thing that you notice about the packaging is that basically it's a re-hash of the Quark album cover, in fact on the inside sleeve of the accompanying booklet it's reproduced exactly and in it's entirety. As ever when hawkwind are concerned nothing is ever straight forward though as you maybe lead to believe that said album would be well represented in the track selection - WRONG, only Forge of Vulcan makes it onto the double CD collection! That said it's actually a pretty good cross section of tracks and as such steers clear of the "usual suspects" that invariably make up a Hawkwind compilation, put another way there's no Brainstorm, Master or Silver machine. With an opening salvo of a live Urban Guerrilla quickly followed by Right to Decide and the general vibe of the album is soon set out, or put another way a lot of it, is the bands more commercial yet less well know material. One thing I must mention though is that I doubt if this went through stringent quality control before it was released on an unsuspecting public as there are a plethora of mistakes throughout. As early as track 3 we're told by the cover to expect High Rise, but instead we're treated to PXR5 whilst if played through your PC the tracks listed to appear on disc 2 are all over the shop, still I'm a firm believer that Hawkwind fans en masse would be highly disappointed if everything was as it should be, I mean what would we have to talk about then!

One thing that listening to this did make me think was that with tracks such as PXR5 and  Forge of Vulcan appearing, then add to that the stuff on the  Epoch collection there is actually quite a bit of the Charisma era stuff out there on CD in their original form, so why oh why can we not get hold of these albums in their original form on CD. I guess it's all down to licensing arrangements and other complicated legal stuff that is far and beyond my humble brain, but all the same it does make you think. The only way of getting these releases is invariably by paying way over the odds on E-bay (you're looking around the £45 - £60 mark for a CD Quark in my experience), but what else does that prove - market forces are dictating a high price because the demand is there!

07.10.03 - Right I'm getting back into this and in this little piece I'd like to talk about not one but two Hawkwind albums that I've been listening to recently, namely "In search of space" and "In your area", admittedly they have the word "In" in common but with a gap of some 26 years between the two recordings that's about all they do have in common. Saying that these are a couple of albums that I've always found hard to get my head around, finding them both heavy going, that is up until now, I think I've sussed the way for me to enjoy both of them - use the skip feature on the CD player!, let me explain further.#

Starting with "in search" first, up until now I've always had the theory about this album that with the track "You shouldn't do that" Hawkwind produced one of their best tracks ever, not only that but in my opinion is without a doubt a prototype dance track, trouble is I've always found that the rest of the material a bit of a let down compared to this track. Sure it has the original (and certainly the "funkiest") version of "Master of the universe" but with the number of times that it's turned up on live albums it's not as if you don't get plenty of chances to hear it elsewhere. Now here's the punchline to this little tale, I played this album the other day and decided to skip straight over "Do that" and instead chose to concentrate on the rest of the material and I have to say it's quite a revelation (it's probably at this point your all thinking "why is this bloke running a Hawkwind web site!). I think what I am trying to say is that as much as I love the aforementioned track it does drag on a bit, clocking in at over 15 mins. However take it out of the equation and you've got a nice little mini album. Whilst it does sound like a band that are still trying to find their niche, unsure as to whether to take the rock or folk direction (I think they took the former!) this in itself makes for interesting listening as I feel that their is more "light and shade" or put another way a lot of different feels to the various songs, far less bombastic than the material that was to follow. One last thing before I finish with this album is that I must make mention of Dave Brocks acoustic guitar playing, I'm no expert (understatement) but in my opinion it's simply sublime and begs the question as to why he no longer favours this instrument, coming from someone who first and foremost loves Hawkwind "the rock band" and not Hawkwind "the ambient band" or "the reggae band" etc, etc I'd still love to see some of this style of playing splashed over some new material. (hope you read this and take note Dave!)

So over to "In your Area". I'm sure your all familiar with this one but just in case your not this a part live part studio album, al la PXR5 and was released by the American Griffin label back in 1997. Across it's 14 tracks it features three lead vocalists, namely Dave, Ron Tree and Capt. Rizz as well as the usual suspect Richard Chadwick (this was when Alan Davey had left to concentrate on Bedouin) ably assisted by Crum and Jerry Richards. With 3 tracks solely credited to Dave i.e he not only wrote but also plays all instruments I think it is fair to call them solo efforts and their I think that you have the crux of the problem, it comes across as a hotch potch of ideas cobbled together rather than a fully formed album that flows nicely from one track to another. That's not to say that it doesn't have it's moments, opening with a guitar heavy "Brainstorm" things are looking good if a bit "we've been here before (often)", however several minutes into this Wind classic it segues into another track called "Hawkwind in your area" which is basically a reggae jam and in my opinion far from convincing. I'm a believer of playing to your strengths and Hawkwind's strength is playing great rock music, Bob Marley made great reggae music, leave it to him and his peers. Normal service is resumed fairly quickly though as this little experiment once more becomes Brainstorm. Also worthy of note is the live version of "Aerospaceage inferno" which for some reason now has writing credits for both Tree and Chadwick (?) and a pretty impressive and well rounded song that goes under the name of hippy. One other thing I'd just like to mention is that I really have a problem getting my head around Jerry Richards guitar playing, for me it's just too "Heavy Metal" and far more suited to a straight ahead hard rock act, I guess part of the problem is that both Dave and Huw have their own styles and it's only when you compare them with someone like Mr Richards you realise what unique sounds and tones that they have and hence give Hawkwind that special sound!

13.10.03 - Well I feel that I can now give the Museum the attention that it deserves after having to take my "Eye of the ball" (pun intended) with the somewhat pressing matter of the England V Turkey game at the weekend. From a purely personal point of view I got the right result (apologies to any Turkish hawkfans out there reading this!) and now feel that I can once more concentrate on the site.

So what's new, well a new album that's what, no not a new Hawkwind product in the true sense of the word but you won't get much nearer to that than the new Tribute album "Daze of the underground" and it's this that I'd like to concentrate on here.

Released on the independent GODREAH label and having been previously advertised elsewhere on the site you should already be aware that this is a double CD (apparently there's also a triple vinyl version but I don't have the details on that) featuring 27 tracks and featuring amongst the artists Hawks Alan Davey, Tim Blake, Harvey Bainbridge and Huw Lloyd Langton so with that pedigree alone I feel that it has to be a must for all hard core Hawkfans everywhere. I'll say here and now for the most comprehensive review take a look at this page on STARFARER'S SITE there's nothing else I can really add to his views so instead I'd like to take to take a slightly different track and put over a few additional points.

First up, well done to those at Godreah for not only getting this whole project together but also the professional way that the end product looks. The accompanying booklet is most informative with both a brief history of Hawkwind as well as a short piece about each Band \ act that appears on the 2 discs, add to this a comprehensive list of prominent web sites that includes the museum no less (thanks guys) then it really is a little goldmine of information.

So enough of the cosmetic niceties, the most important issue with this CD as well as any other is of course the music contained therein. With so many acts involved you wouldn't expect this to flow as well as conventional albums but I have to say that it actually works pretty well for the most part and although all these bands are paying homage to Hawkwind there styles vary greatly from the out and out Death and Thrash metal of Meads of Asphodel and The Enchanted via more Iron Maiden inspired straight ahead metal from Amorphis through to the far more experimental tones of Harvey Bainbidge and the Acidmothers Temple and plenty more in-between. Obviously the one thing that unites all these bands is their love of Hawkwind but that is where I think in a bizarre way the project falls down. Now this may just be my take on the whole thing but many of those involved are trying just a bit to hard to be Hawkwind rather than themselves. I don't know if it's down to the production but there seems to me for there to be a tendency to go a bit overboard with the synthy spacey sounds that the Hawks are renowned for. My counter argument is that whilst this is without a doubt one of the reasons that give the band their unique sound they also know when to play it straight and at the very least lower these sounds in the mix when they feel that it's appropriate. Personally I'd have liked to have seen a bit more experimentation at times, not to the extent of the "Future Reconstruction's" project but maybe take some of these songs in different directions. The fact of the matter is that a good song is a good song regardless of who's performing it or the genre and Hawkwind have a plethora. As a slight aside I was only thinking about this yesterday, now I know hoe Dave dismisses much of the Charisma era output as Hawkwind in "lounge coat and slippers mode" (I don't think they were his exact words but I'm sure he wouldn't disagree with that description) but I for one actually think that from a songwriting point of view this was some of the strongest, I'm not talking about "powerful" or "heavy" as they patently weren't when you compare them with what had gone previously, but what they lacked in those departments they more than made up for in quality and I'm sure that had another band with a higher profile recorded them those songs would have gone on to be far better known than they are today. But what the band was also doing at that time was experimenting and diversifying their sound to the extent that they were alienating a lot of there established fans who found the new material hard to digest. To me however that shows both balls and courage and maybe that's what I'd like to have seen a bit more on this tribute album. A good canvas or in this case a good song allows the artist to create something a bit special and at the same time maybe add something different to the original.

So what about highlights, well only having listened to it once all the way through the stand out's at this point would have to be
1 - Meads of Asphodel - Utopia, not only as we find Huw appearing on a Death metal track and it has to be said equipping himself very well in the circumstances but the "slight" reworking of the lyrics where "bored mindless in utopia"   becomes "bores sh**less in utopia" all delivered in a pseudo Slipknot stylee. I'll state at this point that I'm not a fan of this style of music but in a weird way I find it quite amusing which I'm sure wasn't the intention but for those behind it you can take it as a compliment as you've got me listening to a track that in normal circumstances I would probably have dismissed as a non starter.
2 - Huw Lloyd Langton - Moonglum, This track which I believe was premiered on the Black Sword tour of 85 and since then has never been committed to tape in a studio environment (it of course appeared on the Live Chronicles set) is one of those case in points that I was mentioning in the previous paragraph - this is a seriously good song in it's own right and doesn't need layers and layers of various effects to mask any shortcomings and that's exactly how it's presented here. Whilst I feel that both the production itself and Huw's voice are both a bit on the weak side here (whilst he's no natural vocalist I always remember his voice being stronger than this, mind you we are talking 18 - 20 years ago) but none the less it's great to hear his guitar playing in top form once more and towards the end of the song he really starts to let rip with some of his work reminding me of Andy Sumners formerly of the Police.
3 - Acid King - Motorhead, I've heard that bands such as Queens of the Stone Age are massive Hawkwind fans and whilst I could see it to a degree this version really brings it home. With a riff that wouldn't be out of place on the "Songs for the Deaf" album and a  nice sludgy, almost lazy feel to the mix I can now see clearly where the references are coming from.

So there you have it, considerably longer than my usual entries in this section but I just felt it a worthwhile excercise. If your reading this and you one of the bands appearing on the album, sorry if I didn't mention you, it's nothing personal, as I said earlier I wanted to present more of a general overview rather than a precise examination of each and every offering!

16.10.03 - From a part of the museum that had become stagnent up until recently, all of a sudden it's one of the busiest sections and here we go with yet another instalment.

Under the microscope today is a "Golden Oldie" and having listened to it 3 0r 4 times over the last couple of days I'd even go as far to say as it's one of my all time faves!", the album in question Hall Of The Mountain Grill.

To a lot of you this may come as no supprise as it undoubtedly comes from what many would consider "the golden age of Hawkwind", i.e - the early 70's, but from a personal point of view I have to say that this one has been a bit like a good wine - "it's got better with age." Let me try and explain further. I could if I wished actually tell you the exact date that I original brought this album but just to say that it was a Friday in 1984 (I also went to see Status Quo at Hammersmith on the same day, that's how I can remember). I'd already purchased a fair few "Wind" albums by know and thought that I was getting my head around what they were  about (if that's ever possible) but when I played Mountain Grill I was once more thrown into confusion. I've already mentioned the "Quo" and other favourites at the time, apart from Hawkwind were Iron Maiden, Saxon, Thin Lizzy etc, etc - I think you'll get my drift "Hard and Heavy" something that this latest offering from Brock and co patently wasn't and for that reason alone the disc probably got one or two spins at the time and was then quietly placed back in both the inner and outer sleeves (most important with vinyl!) and that's where it stayed and it was only when my interest in the band was once more re-ignited a couple of years ago and the fact that I got hold of a CD copy that I really started to appreciate what a fine record it really is.

Nowadays it's real strength is the problem that originally alienated me from it all those years ago, it's lack of "Heaviness" which whilst is a bit disappointing for a young lad of 17 is quite a bonus for somebody now 19 years older and wiser. It's one of those albums where the strength of the songs are such that they do the talking, not only is everyone a winner but also the shear diversity of material is unparalleled, which when you talk about Hawkwind has to mean that it's something a bit special considering the number of musical "bases" that they've touched over the years. From the word go it's an absolute classic with the swirling riff that is Psychedelic Warlords building and building until the song proper bursts forth. At this point I have to say "why the hell do they not play this song these days", it'd make a pleasant change from Silver Machine or Assassins of Allah and is easily of the same calibre (well actually it's a lot better IMHO) and also one of Brocks best riffs EVER. From there on we're taken on a musical journey that takes us towards near classical territory of both Wind Of Change and the title track, the Tour de Force that is D-Rider which for me is probably Nik's finest contribution to the band, a seriously good pop tune in the shape of Web Weaver which to me is crying out to be a single, through Lemmy's cheeky Lost Johnny and it's only really with the final track Paradox that the band begin to resemble the act that recorded Space Ritual less than two years previously.

So why is this album so strong, well I'd put it down to a couple of factors, firstly it's really well produced and mixed or should I say it sounds as though it was at least given the once over by someone who was pretty straight and not absolutely "off there head". Whilst the previous albums are all classic's in their own right they do leave a bit to be desired in this department, although many would argue against this point  and the reasons that I quote would be a negative for Mountain grill as opposed to the others from this era, but hey we;re all entitled to our opinions. Secondly I would say that Dave Brock, Simon King and the "new boy" Simon House are all at the top of their game. The captains playing is  versatile, fluent and a joy to behold whilst Mr King does exactly what's required, keep it simple when that's what the song needs but at the same time he adds some nice fills where space allows and as for the "latest recruit", I'd say he's never had such a hold over a Hawkwind album as this, his first. He really lets rip especially in the Keyboard department with plenty of top notch tinkling over many of the songs, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that he uses a Mellotron quite a bit on this which to me give some of the material a bit of a Prog Rock feel, a la Genesis, which in my opinion is an added bonus!

A CLASSIC, nuff said!

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