This new live disc from Hawkwind was recorded on their 50th Anniversary tour. Having seen Hawkwind live several times, I can tell you that I don't think there is ever a disappointing Hawkwind show.
Given the subtitle on this, you’d expect it to be a chronological compilation with detailed liner notes. Well, if you want that you need to get Epoch Eclipse.
Canterbury Fayre, 2001 Review by Bruce Stringer Hawkwind are one of those bands that fans tend to gravitate (or levitate) toward a particular era or period. My own favourite being the Levitation-era (with Ginger Baker on drums) followed closely by any of the 1980's material graced by genius guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton.
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Choose Your Masques Review by Gary Hill I've read a lot of reviews of this CD where Hawkwind fans trash it. Personally, I have always really enjoyed this one a lot.
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The music contained on this new double disc vinyl set has only previously been released on one fairly rare CD set. I don't own that release, so I'm glad to have this.
Doremi Fasol Latido Review by Gary Hill While I like every Hawkwind album a lot, and often for different reasons, of the early discs, this one might be my favorite. Don’t get me wrong; I love In Search of Space and the self-titled debut.
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Epoch Eclipse Review by Gary Hill Chronicling the entire career of the band, this box set really is a wonderful collection. It shows the diversity of Hawkwind in all their varying styles. More...
Family Tree Review by Gary Hill Family Tree or Friend and Relation albums are always weird things. It seems that many times the isolated parts have no where near the style or power of the whole.
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Hall of The Mountain Grill Review by Gary Hill Hall of the Mountain Grill probably represents the apex of Hawkwind's popularity in the US, arguably being their best-known album in that country. Arguments can also be made that it is the most straight progressive rock release they have done.
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Hawkwind’s debut album is really much different from the rest of their catalog. For one thing it’s more psychedelic and much of it shares a lot of ground with Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd.
In Search of Space Review by Gary Hill In Search of Space (sometimes referred to as X – In Search of Space) was Hawkwind’s second album released in 1971. It found the band working through a lot of the same tribal chant oriented sounds as the self-titled predecessor, but also gave rise to the incorporation of some of the more progressive rock oriented textures that would become more common in their sound.
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In Your Area Review by Gary Hill One part live album, one part studio, In Your Area shows Hawkwind doing space rock as they are the experts in doing. The album includes several long time Hawk favorites, and several new cuts. More...
Into the Woods Review by Gary Hill I have to make full disclosure here and say that Hawkwind is one of my favorite bands. In fact, they make my top three.
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Levitation Review by Gary Hill Jim Lascko from Strange Trips, the US source for information on Hawkwind, describes space rock as being "characterized (by)(but certainly not limited to) spacey keyboards, driving guitar... More...
I'm not sure when this double CD live set was recorded, but the bulk of the material comes from 1995's Alien 4, and it was released in 1996, so that narrows it down.
This compilation is really only so important. On the one hand, were it not for “It’s So Easy,” every track on the set would have been released on album previously.
Palace Springs Review by Gary Hill Coming from a band with seemingly a million albums under their belt, this is really one of their best live discs. It captures a great, if quite short, period of the band and does so with a style and texture that really is incredible. More...
If you’ve never owned this live CD from Hawkwind (or even if you have, now is the time to get it). This newly remastered edition sounds better than the original release to my ears.
I previously reviewed the two United Artists compilations from Hawkwind. I figured since those were the first two comps from the band, I should do the third, this one on Charisma.
This is arguably one of the most divisive releases in Hawkwind's catalog. Let me lead off by saying that I land in the group of people really won over by it.
Sonic Assassins Review by Gary Hill This fine CD, another of the year 2000 releases of previously unavailable Hawkwind music, is a great compilation. The recordings presented here are from several different sources. More...
Sonic Attack Review by Gary Hill Many probably think this disc is another Hawkwind compilation. It’s not, though.
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Space Bandits Review by Gary Hill The only studio album to feature this lineup, this one leaves me wishing they had done more. It is difficult with the incredible amount of material this band have released to really pick out one or two best albums, but this one would definitely be in the running.
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Space Ritual Collectors Edition CD / DVD Review by Bruce Stringer EMI has released a series of special edition CDs for collectors, which include many rare recordings and some with video material. This edition of Hawkwind’s live psychedelic freak-out, Space Ritual, comes with the complete show of full-length versions of tracks (as some were previously issued in edited form to fit the vinyl format).
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Space Ritual Volume II Review by Gary Hill Originally when this was released on vinyl, Space Ritual Volume I and II didn't exist, only one multi disc set "Space Ritual". When released on CD it was culled into two separate albums.
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Spirit of the Age Solstice Remixes Review by Gary Hill Here we have an EP from Hawkwind that includes four different mixes of the same piece, that being “Spirit of the Age” which originated on Quark Strangeness and Charm. More...
This is kind of a cool set. While Hawkwind fans might well have these songs on various albums they already own, they will probably find a few things here they don’t have – at least not these exact versions.
Take Me To Your Leader Review by Gary Hill It's got to be hard to be Hawkwind. With a massive catalog that last time I checked (including compilations and live albums) boasted well over a hundred official releases, it must be very difficult to try to please your fans with each new release.
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The Chronicle of the Black Sword Review by Gary Hill Hawkwind had a friendship with the science fiction author Michael Moorcock – he actually joined the band at one point. It should seem no surprise, then that they would do a concept album based on his Elric series.
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When it comes to a band that has been around since the 1960s and released somewhere in the neighborhood of three dozen studio albums, it seems natural that a trademark sound would emerge.
This new three CD set assembles three Hawkwind albums released from 1981-1982. I'm a huge fan of the third of those discs, Choose Your Masques, but I actually like all three.
The Weird Tapes Number 4-Live ‘78 Review by Gary Hill This disc, just released in 2000, is a great testament to the live presence of this legendary, if obscure, band. The CD features some of the finest live recordings of Hawkwind that I have ever heard. More...
The Xenon Codex Review by Gary Hill I’ve seen some less than stellar reviews of this disc, but for my money it’s a great album and well in the upper percentile of Hawkwind releases. More...
This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic Review by Bruce Stringer One step on from the classic, yet volatile, Levitation line-up this release is a collection of tracks highlighting their performance of 1981's Stonehenge festival, re-sequenced and sounding at their most energetic since the days of Lemmy.
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Weird Tapes 2 - Hawkwind Live and Hawklords Studio Review by Gary Hill In terms of number of albums released, Hawkwind is arguably the most prolific rock band in history. I once read a listing of all Hawkwind releases from several years ago and the number was somewhere in the 80’s. More...
Hawkwind - Classic Rock Legends DVD Review by Bruce Stringer Another video from the Classic Rock Legends archives and this time it's the Space Bandits line-up of the mighty Hawkwind. Alan Davey (bassist) has claimed this to be one of his favourite periods and, given that it is a mixture of older as well as new talent, one can see a fresh injection of energy in the band's live sound.
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Hawkwind - Knights of Space DVD Review by Gary Hill This DVD captures a show from Hawkwind from December 2007. The band does an annual Christmas show, and that was this show.
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Hawkwind - Out of The Shadows DVD Review by Bruce Stringer Of all the Hawkwind visual records this is the best quality and includes a classic stunning Rodney Matthews cover illustration and a slightly odd collection of songs. Performed at Newcastle's Opera House in the UK it was one of, if not the, last performance of Huw Lloyd-Langton with the group on this tour.
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Hawkwind - Live at NEARFest, June 2007 Review by Julie Knispel Hawkwind concerts in the United States are as rare as hen’s teeth these days. Following an all too brief tour in 1997, the band attempted to perform at the 1998 incarnation of the Strange Daze space rock festival in Ohio...only to see founder Dave Brock and bassist/vocalist Ron Tree detained at the US/Canada border due to visa problems.
Hawkwind - Live In London, 2002 Review by Bruce Stringer H had originally planned to see Hawkwind play Birmingham during the December mini-tour, however - due to cancellation - I ended up heading down to London's Walthamstow Assembly Hall, in the north-east to see them play their yearly Christmas show.
Doro - 20 Years A Warrior Soul DVD Review by Gary Hill I've been a fan of Doro since the Warlock days. For my money that band (and Doro solo – which is really the same thing, but that's a long story) have always represented metal perhaps better than just about any act.
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Spirits Burning - Alien Injection Review by Gary Hill I reviewed the Spirits Burning and Bridget Wishart CD in the last issue of Music Street Journal. This CD is the album Spirits Burning record about the same time as that one.
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I remember back in the old days when a lot of the best metal coming out was on these small underground labels, often unknown except for the hardcore real metal fans.
Alan Davey - Bedouin Review by Bruce Stringer For those unaware, Bedouin is Alan Davey's outlet for material that is otherwise unsuited to Hawkwind, yet - ironically, is very Hawkwind-like. The songs are very bass driven and tend toward the Middle-Eastern influence that Hawkwind were known for with songs like Assassins of Allah (re-invented when Alan joined Hawkwind in the mid-80's).
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Motörhead - Better Motörhead Than Dead Review by Gary Hill Motörhead are really an amazing band. Very few outfits can take a sound and essentially beat it into the ground and pull it off.
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It seems that Spirits Burning’s sound is a very diverse thing. With this album the more familiar space rock elements are joined with jazz, psychedelia and even dance club music.
This is a new reissue of an album from Tim Blake. Blake is best known for his work in Gong and Hawkwind, but he also built a name for himself with a series of keyboard albums.
Doro - Calling the Wild Review by Gary Hill In the 1980’s Doro Pesch fronted the German metal band Warlock. That band is no more, but Doro has kept her career and love of metal alive through the years. This new disc is her first release in the US in many years, but she has continued releasing albums in Europe the entire time.
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Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters is a 1974 album from Robert Calvert. Calvert was best known for his time with Hawkwind, and the album included appearances from quite a few Hawkwind members including Dave Brock, Nik Turner and Lemmy Kilmister.
Alan Davey - Captured Rotation Review by Gary Hill This solo album from former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey has been out of print for a while. It’s been known to fetch some outrageous amounts of cash on internet auction sites
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While not everything here lands under progressive rock, there is a lot of prog in this set. There is also a lot of artsy soundtrack music that fits under the prog banner.
Mooch - Dr. Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band Review by Gary Hill This is a double disc set from Mooch and while you might be reminded of The Beatles’ Sergeant Peppers… by the title, I don’t get the feeling this is any kind of massive concept album. Instead it’s a series of slices of electronic space rock with a strong emphasis on the “space” part of that moniker.
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Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart - Earth Born Review by Gary Hill Since this disc features performances from a number of people who have been involved with Hawkwind (most notably Wishart herself) comparisons to that band are obvious. A lot of the music lives up to that. In fact a good deal of this disc reminds me of a more pure progressive rock oriented Hawkwind with some serious jazz thrown into the mix.
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I've reviewed a box set of this band in the current issue of Music Street Journal. In addition, I'm doing individual retro reviews of this album and the first one.
I have to admit to not being all that familiar with Arthur Brown's work. Sure, I know about the stuff he did with Hawkwind and Robert Calvert and things like that.
Alan Davey - Four Track Mind Volume 1 Review by Gary Hill These recordings from former Hawkwind bassist, singer, keyboardist and songwriter are all essentially home recordings done on a 4-track recorder. They are items he’s had sitting around for a long time and has chosen to put together on a series of discs and release.
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Alan Davey - Four-Track Mind Volume 2 Review by Gary Hill A new disc of tracks that Alan Davey (best known for his work in Hawkwind) produced on a four track in his home. These were really not intended for release as they are, but the thing is, there’s no reason they couldn’t have been.
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I had no idea what to expect here. Well, I had ideas that it would be a space rock set, and some of it is, but I really didn't grasp just how much territory this album would cover.
Anyone coming into this video looking for a concert film is likely to be disappointed. Also, anyone offended by nudity and/or drug use should probably steer clear.
Motörhead - Hammered Review by Mike Korn Just when you thought it was time to stick a fork in Motörhead they come roaring back with "Hammered", and again we doubting Thomases must bow our heads in shame. The venerable band's previous effort "We Are Motörhead" was pretty generic stuff, sounding tired and under-produced, but "Hammered" corrects those faults and gives us a vibrant, meaty-sounding slab of head-crushing rock bristling with all the Motörhead trademarks.
Headcat 13 is a new band, but in some ways it isn't. The band HeadCat consisted of Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) and rockabilly legend Danny B. Harvey (Rockats).
Alan Davey - Human on the Outside Review by Gary Hill Alan Davey’s latest solo disc shows a lot of Hawkwind-like sounds. That’s natural as Davey played bass, provided keys and some vocals along with writing a lot of the music for Hawkwind for a good many years.
Motörhead - Kiss of Death Review by Gary Hill When you put on a new Motorhead album you always have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Throughout the group's long history their sound has not changed much.
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Girlschool - Legacy Review by Gary Hill In the last issue of Music Street Journal I reviewed the latest Bang Your Head DVD and it featured Girlschool. I saw the band years ago and their performance on that DVD was every bit as potent as they were in their early years.
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This new anthology from Tim Blake is quite a nice release. You get three CDs of music, some of which is previously unreleased along with a DVD of a French TV special.
Motörhead - Live in Chicago February, 2011 Review by Greg Olma Motorhead is more than just a heavy metal band.After recording and touring for over three decades, it’s safe to say that they are an institution.
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Motörhead - Live In Dekalb, 2002 Review by Mike Korn The peaceful farming community of Dekalb, IL, was rocked to its very foundations by the devastating 1-2 punch of Motörhead and Morbid Angel on May 7, 2002. When these veterans of the metal scene finished their assault, the cornfields surrounding Dekalb probably resembled the scorched earth of a battleground more than anything else.
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Huw Lloyd Langton - Live Newcastle-under-Lyme April 11th, 2003 Review by Bruce Stringer Sometimes, against all odds, there are people who not only manage to perform well in their given field but offer unique insight into their developed techniques. Last Friday's Lloyd-Langton Group gig, just outside Stoke-on-Trent, was indeed an event of insurmountable obstacles and bad timing.
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When you consider that Dave Brock kind of is Hawkwind – at least he’s the one guy who’s been in Hawkwind through every lineup change – it might seem that a Dave Brock solo album would be a lot like Hawkwind.
I really wish I'd gotten this CD a month or so earlier. It would have been a perfect fit in our October issue because it definitely has a spooky angle to it.
Motörhead - Motorizer Review by Gary Hill I’ve always loved Motorhead. You know, they might not be the most original band, but there’s just something about them
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This band was such an interesting outfit. Of course, for some the main claim to fame for them was the fact that Ginger Baker was the "Baker" of the group's name.
Huw Lloyd Langton - On The Move Review by Gary Hill This album by Hawkwind alumni Langton is a great rocking release. It has no weak material and quite a bit that is very strong.
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Space Ritual - Otherworld Review by Bill Knispel Being a Hawkwind fan these days almost feels like being a Marillion fan at the end of the 1980’s. With two decidedly different factions, one led by founder Dave Brock and maintaining the Hawkwind name, and the other led by founder Nik Turner under the name Space Ritual, fans have the benefit of twice as much music while perhaps bemoaning the fact that the two men simply can no longer get along.
Ozzy Osbourne - Prince of Darkness Box Set Review by Patrick Hennen I'm here today to let you know about the new 4-disc box set by Ozzy Osbourne, entitled, appropriately, "Prince Of Darkness".
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Probot - Probot Review by Mike Korn It seems a sad fact that many artists forget the music of their younger days when they "mature". It's not unusual to find a successful musician trying to deny or belittle his time in punk, heavy metal or hard rock bands.
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It's hard, in retrospect, to understand the importance of King Crimson's debut album. It really did set a new standard for what would be known as progressive rock.
Robert Calvert - Revenge Review by Gary Hill This disc by the late Calvert appears to be a compilation of various demos. The music on the disc, with the exception of one track, does not really resemble his Hawkwind work at all.
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This brand new three-CD set is all class. It gathers together the three studio albums from Baker Gurvitz Army released from 1974-1976, but you probably get that from the title.
Star Nation - Star Nation EP Review by Bruce Stringer The first thing to get my attention to this EP was the card CD sleeve design: didn't I see this in Chariots of the Gods? Dressed up as an independent CD single with lyric card inserts, this is a very interesting disc and a pity that it will probably never get the release it deserves.
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I've reviewed this album, and another from this group, in this issue of Music Street Journal. They are also both part of a box-set, reviewed in the same issue.
The latest disc from Hawkwind founder Nik Turner, this has some definite links to the sound of that band. The space rock drives this, but it's not the only game in town either.
The quick story is that this is an album with a lot of Hawkwind alums providing their talents. The longer tale is that it was assembled by Alan Davey with various parts coming from sessions recorded over the years.
Astralasia - The Hawkwind Re-Mixes Review by Gary Hill I’ve got mixed feelings about remixes. For bands that I really enjoy, like Hawkwind, it lends a chance to experience familiar songs in new ways. More...
The Meads of Asphodel - The Mill Hill Sessions Review by Mike Korn Every once in a while, a vague, undefined thing comes shambling out of the darkness and into the sterile, pre-packaged music scene. Yes, even in the world of extreme metal, where cookie-cutter bands are a lot more prevalent than hardcore headbangers would like to admit.
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This is an unusual release. It's also an unusual entry in the Omenopus catalog. I would not consider it one of my favorites of their stuff, but it does have its charms.
Mooch’s latest CD is a concept album that delivers the pagan year as 8 tracks each corresponding to one of the 8 major festivals of the pagan calendar.
This retrospective box set from Girlschool really captures the various flavors of the band. I know I said, "box set," but it is called a book set because it comes in a cool book, rather than a gravitational box.
Star Nation - The Silver Age Review by Bruce Stringer Hawkwind drummer Richard Chadwick and ex-Hawkwind guitarist Jerry Richards play alongside musicians Steve Hayes, Alex Hart, Steve Taylor and scribe Sophie Knight on this album of industrial, post-punk, space-rock. The Silver Age is a thematic CD with many a surprise in stall for the listener and many interesting lyrics to puzzle over.
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One of the problems with doing book reviews for Music Street Journal is that the deadlines for making the issues mean that I don't have a lot of time for reading.
This album was released just before Cosmic Horror III: Stella Polaris but recorded during the same sessions as that album. This one lands a bit less metallic than that album.
Motörhead - We Are Motörhead Review by Mike Korn Motörhead is a band I've enjoyed and respected for over 20 years. They have never compromised on their raw blues-soaked heavy metal.
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This four-CD set has some great music contained within. We get some of the bigger prog acts in terms of songs from Renaissance, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Electric Light Orchestra, Procol Harum and Yes.