Hawkwind, an appreciation.

[TheH]

^ Glad to hear!

And in more good news, the new Hawkwind album is out.

YEEEAHHH

[Hour Candle]

YEEEAHHH

Autobuy!! Sounds fantastic

[JKL2000]

I placed an order straight away after reading this and got the album the other day. Wow! I can't believe how insanely great this one is! I can't thank you enough.

I also ordered the brilliant Live Chronicles

Is this from The Business Trip tour?

[JKL2000]

If you can find it, Coded Languages is an excellent live album from '82 when Nik Turner was back in the band (I assume somewhat surprisingly and, I'm also guessing, somewhat unhappily). "Warriors on the Edge of Time" into "Choose Your Masks" is a killer tune.

This is on Spotify! Woot!

[TheH]

Warriors on the Edge of Time is also spoken by Moorcock himself not Turner as credited (on Coded Languages)

[Hour Candle]

Is this from The Business Trip tour?

No, this is a concert recorded live on the Chronicle of the Black Sword tour back in 1985 and originally released in '86. The original CD release omitted Moorcock’s onstage narration and contribution, but on this re-release from Atomhenge you get the complete concert and all of the narration. Highly recommended!

[yesstiles]

Which cd release of Space Ritual has the best mastering? I’ve never owned this and I don’t want a no-noised or compressed mess. Thanks!

[Geoff O'Donoghue]

Man I really like that Starship (One Love One Life) song. I'm not sure exactly what it is about it that's so appealing but certainly that bassline is one of the factors. The track is a really nice blend of their more electronica endeavours with their metronomic rock songs. Will have to check out the rest of the album.

[polmico]

Listening to the new album now. If you’ve heard the last two, you’ve got a good idea what to expect here. That’s not a bad thing.

[Jacob]

No, this is a concert recorded live on the Chronicle of the Black Sword tour back in 1985 and originally released in '86. The original CD release omitted Moorcock’s onstage narration and contribution, but on this re-release from Atomhenge you get the complete concert and all of the narration. Highly recommended!

Do you know if the re-release on Atomhenge is different from the Griffin release? I bought it years ago .

[TheH]

Do you know if the re-release on Atomhenge is different from the Griffin release? I bought it years ago .

The Griffin issue with the Elric Cover should be identical as it was the only release of the album with the Moorcock contributions before the Atomhenge one. Otherwise not sure about mastering or mixes are differnt.

[polmico]

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/hawkwind...nY0QBQhWVC76bt

New Stephen Tayler stereo and 5.1 mix. Please take my money now.

[Jacob]

In the 70s I was really into Robert Calvert ..particularly his lyricism/storytelling which was sometimes disturbing because it often dealt with what would occur in the future. Perhaps the 2000s.

At first his messages or odd subject matter felt natural and a lot of that can be attributed to his theatrical writing presentation flowing perfectly with the chord progressions Hawkwind played.

Quark, Strangeness & Charm sounded very tight. The production was decent and the album had characteristics to it that held my attention. The intro to Spirit Of The Age . In a strange way reminded me of a wave of EVP or a distorted voice on a shortwave radio.

My first wife ( RIP) kept reminding me to listen to the lyrics. She insisted that he was predicting the future. I was familiar with other writers who were already doing that. It seemed that Bob Calvert could capture a concept and present it theatrically. . Hawkwind played the Tower Theater in Philadelphia...late 70s. I couldn't go because I was traveling. I also missed the 1999 Party Tour which featured Hawkwind and Man. That was 1974 .

I didn't actually see them until Xeon Codex tour in the U.S. I was disappointed when I discovered that Huw Lloyd Langton was no longer with them. I watched them play 2 songs and I walked out.

The second time I saw them with Bridget Wishart and that show was excellent! It's been so long I can't recall if Simon House was there...but it was the Space Bandits line up. She really brought Calvert to life...with her masks and her dancing. She spoke his words with feeling and articulation.....I wasnt exactly thrilled over the way other Hawkwind members in the past...covered Robert Calvert songs vocally. I felt like she was the only one that could bring on his spirit.

I liked Robert Calvert mostly in Hawkwind. I liked Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, but not so much his solo discography as a whole. Certain songs from Test Tube Concieved and Freq would have made great Hawkwind numbers...for example...if Acid Rain had been altered a bit. Telekinesis was really Hawkwind material. Some people in the past had labeled him as an ideal candidate for psychiatric treatment. He was brilliant in Hawkwind

[Derk]

It’s a bit pricey , £57.99 for 2 CDs and Blu-ray compared with say Jethro Tull and Marillion box sets. A book is included with the Hawkwind log, but I still think it’s overpriced !!

[polmico]

In the 70s I was really into Robert Calvert ..particularly his lyricism/storytelling which was sometimes disturbing because it often dealt with what would occur in the future. Perhaps the 2000s.

At first his messages or odd subject matter felt natural and a lot of that can be attributed to his theatrical writing presentation flowing perfectly with the chord progressions Hawkwind played.

Quark, Strangeness & Charm sounded very tight. The production was decent and the album had characteristics to it that held my attention. The intro to Spirit Of The Age . In a strange way reminded me of a wave of EVP or a distorted voice on a shortwave radio.

My first wife ( RIP) kept reminding me to listen to the lyrics. She insisted that he was predicting the future. I was familiar with other writers who were already doing that. It seemed that Bob Calvert could capture a concept and present it theatrically. . Hawkwind played the Tower Theater in Philadelphia...late 70s. I couldn't go because I was traveling. I also missed the 1999 Party Tour which featured Hawkwind and Man. That was 1974 .

I didn't actually see them until Xeon Codex tour in the U.S. I was disappointed when I discovered that Huw Lloyd Langton was no longer with them. I watched them play 2 songs and I walked out.

The second time I saw them with Bridget Wishart and that show was excellent! It's been so long I can't recall if Simon House was there...but it was the Space Bandits line up. She really brought Calvert to life...with her masks and her dancing. She spoke his words with feeling and articulation.....I wasnt exactly thrilled over the way other Hawkwind members in the past...covered Robert Calvert songs vocally. I felt like she was the only one that could bring on his spirit.

I liked Robert Calvert mostly in Hawkwind. I liked Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, but not so much his solo discography as a whole. Certain songs from Test Tube Concieved and Freq would have made great Hawkwind numbers...for example...if Acid Rain had been altered a bit. Telekinesis was really Hawkwind material. Some people in the past had labeled him as an ideal candidate for psychiatric treatment. He was brilliant in Hawkwind

I agree about Calvert's prophetic nature. He was the perfect vocalist/lyricist for Hawkwind, and the Calvert-era albums are some of my favorites though, like you, I find his solo albums lacking.

Pretty sure Brock handles most of Calvert's vocals these days (and has for a while). He does a good job (who am I to question anything Brock does???), but there's only one Calvert. Playful and bitingly satirical, lyrical but not obtuse, his lyrics hit a pretty nice sweet spot for me. It doesn't hurt that I like his delivery, too.

I'm guessing you have the Palace Springs set, yes? It captures two shows from the Wishart era, one of which features House. Of course, the memories are better. Hawkwind are another one of those bands that there seems little chance of me seeing live. Yet Gong are coming to America this year. Rule nothing out, I suppose . . .

[Nijinsky Hind]

In high school (around 1974 or so) my classmate Audie Desbrow, (now long time drummer for great white) brought Hawkwind albums around. Those years there was a lot of pot going around and a bunch of us would get high in his or other friends garages and listen and trip out. We don’t get high anymore but I’m still a big fan of Hawkwind. Quark and hall of the mountain grill my favorites.

Robert Calvert did a song called “Hero with one wing”. Still one of my favorites songs of his solo album.
https://youtu.be/dAW3N5Xxd-g?si=ZDZAYNm1h_DNnYRi

[Jacob]

I agree about Calvert's prophetic nature. He was the perfect vocalist/lyricist for Hawkwind, and the Calvert-era albums are some of my favorites though, like you, I find his solo albums lacking.

Pretty sure Brock handles most of Calvert's vocals these days (and has for a while). He does a good job (who am I to question anything Brock does???), but there's only one Calvert. Playful and bitingly satirical, lyrical but not obtuse, his lyrics hit a pretty nice sweet spot for me. It doesn't hurt that I like his delivery, too.

I'm guessing you have the Palace Springs set, yes? It captures two shows from the Wishart era, one of which features House. Of course, the memories are better. Hawkwind are another one of those bands that there seems little chance of me seeing live. Yet Gong are coming to America this year. Rule nothing out, I suppose . . .

Yes the 2-cd set of Palace Springs is pretty good. Bridget Wishart briefly worked with Karda Estra . I love Karda Estra and I'd like to collect their entire discography.

Certain Hawkwind titles go out of print rather quickly . Adrian Wagner Distances Between Us contains the track "Steppenwolf" which features Robert Calvert on vocals backed by a Synthesizer playing low octaves... It comes across like Electronic Music. The rest of the album doesn't thrill me.

Basically I bought many Hawkwind cds decades ago that were deleted ...never reissued...and are up for astronomical prices. Some are ridiculously expensive and if I had to buy them again I'd pass on it... I don't believe that any cd/vinyl is worth buying for that price.

I was lucky to find Love From Planet Gong box set on sale for $117.00 back in 2020. Now I've seen it for 4 and 5 hundred in certain places. The most I'd spend on it is 2 hundred. I wouldn't pay 4 or 5 hundred for a winged pegasus