Aural Innovations Issue #6 — Hawkwind and Related
Aural Innovations was a magazine and website on space rock and related genres, offering reviews, interviews, and general articles. It ran from 1998 to January 2016. The website is no longer active, and all articles are being imported into DPRP, to keep everything available for everyone. Read Aural Innovations — A Brief History, written by AI founder Jerry Kranitz.
Aural Innovations Issue #6 contained a collection of reviews on Hawkwind and related albums.
Hawkwind — In Your Area
(Griffin Music 1998, GCD 740-2)
Keith Henderson
Well, the best thing about "In Your Area" is that it marks the return of Rob Godwin's Griffin label back into the spacerock universe after a two- or three-year absence. Griffin has always showed great attention to detail in the packaging (something other labels - that I won't mention by name - fail to achieve), and the booklet art presented here is really very well done. Another thing is that this is the first ever North America-exclusive Hawkwind release, I believe, and that makes my European Hawkfriends particularly jealous. Ha! They deserve it for a change.
As they've often done in the past, Hawkwind have mixed together live recordings with new studio tracks, and so it's only really fair to compare In Your Area with others of this variety (e.g., Zones, Palace Springs, PXR5) rather than true original studio efforts. And in that sense, this one rates above average. But compared to the HW'97 disc (which shares many of the same tracks), the sound on In Your Area is more subdued and takes a lot of the energy out of the tunes. In some instances, this smoother mix might have been preferable, but considering this Richards/Tree line-up, I prefer the rawer and punchier sound on HW'97.
The In Your Area version of "Love in Space" is edited down though, which made me happy since I'm getting tired of this song already. And Ron Tree's bass playing (something I still have not witnessed in person) was actually quite impressive, particularly during "Brainstorm."
Some Hawkfans will complain about the recycling of lyrics again in "First Landing on Medusa" (originally Robert Calvert's "The Awakening"), but it's well done by Brock so I won't be one of them. A number of these new songs are pretty forgettable, but not "Hippy." This is one of the coolest tunes Hawkwind has done in years, perhaps since "Treadmill." Written by Richards/Tree/Chadwick, we get a different kind of riffing style than from Baron Brock and I like that originality, and Ron Tree's vocals sound great also.
The pretty ambient piece, "Prairie," continues the strong showing by the *other* HW songwriters, and shows off a delay guitar technique that reminds me of Adrian Belew - really different. And most amazingly of all, Brock's "Diana Park" reminded me of the Scorpions ballad style, despite it being almost pure electronica. In the end, though, the album depends heavily on the current exclusiveness of "Hippy" alone, and since HW'97 is the better full archive of this particular tour, I'd recommend that one first (if you can get it).
Hawkwind — Hawkwind 1997
(Ltd. release 1998, UK, HAWKVP999) 
Keith Henderson
Available only to Hawkwind Earth Visitor Passport holders (you know who you are), this exclusive CD (not CD-R) was a very nice gesture by the band to all its fans, and if it helps defeat the efforts of bootleggers out for a quick buck, well then that's great also. Taken from seven different gigs on the 1997 UK tour, Brock and Company have selected particularly strong versions of most of the tunes performed. The lineup includes the four regulars Dave Brock, Jerry Richards, Ron Tree, and Richard Chadwick, plus guests Capt. Rizz+ on vocals/jump-ups, Crum on keys, and Mr. Dibs (of Spacehead) on bass during "Ejection."
As you might expect, we get yet one more version of "Brainstorm," "Love in Space," "Sonic Attack," "Ejection," and "Reptoid Vision." All credible versions of course, and I'd say this version of "Ejection" is the best in quite awhile. Alan Davey sang it for years, and I never thought his voice was right for this song. Whoever sings it here (Ron Tree?) sounds more appropriate, and there's even a bit of "Over the Top-style" ranting (á la Calvert) that adds a nice touch.
But the best reasons for tracking down a copy of HW'97 are tracks like "Phetamine St.," an odd, disjointed punkish number that just didn't come out right on "Distant Horizons." I've heard that the Leeds show was the only performance of this song (it being Ron Tree's home crowd), and that's too bad as I love hearing Chadwick get a chance to loosen up and let her rip on the skins. "Wheels" and "Alchemy" set the stage for Richards to crank out some of his own unique riffs.
For serious blanga fans, "Blue Skin" blasts through with a twin-guitar attack, almost too much sound as Brock's glissando guitar bits are nearly buried. But my very favorite moment on HW'97 is the finale, Part II of Calvert's "The Gremlin." Wonderfully crazed psychedelia and excellent guitar work by Richards - too bad it's so short, but what a great finish!
Well, with Hawkwind fandom, there are those who have everything and those looking for just the items that are absolutely necessary. That's a real hard task, given the enormous volume of stuff available from which to choose. And as this item requires a bit of effort to acquire, you might not be bothered to go out of your way to get one, especially if you've already got "In Your Area." That I think, would be a mistake. This is a great live album, and the roughness around the edges gives it a truer feeling. And don't take that to mean it's bootleg quality... it has really excellent sound.
Hawkwind — In Your Area
(Griffin Music 1998, GCD 740-2)
Hawkwind — Hawkwind 1997
(Ltd. release 1998, UK, HAWKVP999)
Paul Ward
The latest two releases from the Hawkwind camp are very similar in many respects, both containing live material recorded during 1997 tours, and both marking notable events in this band's long and productive history. The first release marks the comeback of Griffin Music, an event which should make Hawkwind fans happy indeed. Having emerged from their legal woes of the past few years, it is good to see this label which has done so much for the band (and others) back on track. The second release is the first of various goodies which fans holding "Hawkwind Passports" can get hold of directly from the band. I hope this scheme works for them!
So which release to buy (if not both)? A difficult question indeed. Hawkwind '97 is entirely live, recorded over a number of gigs in the UK in October and December 1997. The recording quality is quite good, but has not been overly re-worked in the studio (unlike the last few live releases), so overall a good raw live sound is presented. The track list is a good cross section of material, including material from the previous studio album Distant Horizons, some new material, and one or two classics - fairly typical for a Hawkwind live release.
The tracks taken from Distant Horizon all show (as expected?) a level of 'completion' which wasn't evident in the studio versions. In particular, Reptoid Vision has been transformed from it's almost annoying beginnings into a great live track, especially with the segue in and out of the central spoken Keeper of the Reptoid section. This reminds me VERY much of some of the craziness of which Harvey subjected us to so well in the late 80's ... absolutely marvelous stuff! The others (Wheels, Phetamine Street, Alchemy, & Love in Space) are all pretty much the same as before, but definitely work a lot better on stage than in the studio.
The older tracks, are pretty much standard fare, however I must say that Aerospaceage Inferno absolutely rocks. When Ron Tree first joined Hawkwind I really wasn't too sure about his attempts to take on the Calvert role - it just didn't work for me at all. Now that he's settled in (and taken on the Bass) I think he tries a little less to mimic, and somehow through this he succeeds quit well! Ejection, Sonic Attack & Blue Skin are all great as well, but we have heard them all before.
Gremlin Pt II is at least as good a way to end a gig as Welcome to the Future. 'Nuff said. The final 'classic' is Brainstorm, which as it stands is fine, but the segue in and out of the "new" track, In Your Area, does nothing for me I'm sorry to say. There's nothing wrong with the addition of Capt. Rizz to add a new element to Hawkwind's sound, but this whole cheery reggae-inspired thing just isn't SpaceRock (despite the cosmic sounds in the background). And how many times can this music be transformed? It started out in 1981 as Living on Knife Edge, then morphed into The Camera that could Lie in 93. What will the fourth generation of it be like in a few years time?
One of the other new tracks, Fantasy, is not too bad at all, but in my opinion is tarnished by silly lyrics. In the 80's, Night of the Hawks worked well without sounding self-centered. In the 90's neither Fantasy nor In Your Area do. "The Hawklord's are flying through your galaxy" may well be true, but let's drop it from the lyrics ok? Having sounded more critical than I intended, I have to say that this is still a fine recording.
It won't be in the player as much as some others, but rates way above Distant Horizons and is about equal to the Love In Space tour CD. It flows well, has that "full" Hawkwind sound which fans love, and both Tree and Richards are definitely showing their worth (as is Crum on keyboards, and despite my criticisms, Rizz as well).
The track list on In Your Area is slightly different, being a combination of live tracks and new studio pieces (unfortunately with messed up track indexing - so you'll just have to listen to the CD as a whole :-). The opening Brainstorm/In Your Area/Brainstorm is a little different to that on HW 97, as is the Love in Space/Rat Race/Love in Space segue. Neither disk is better than the other on this score. The same could be said for Alchemy and Aerospaceage Inferno (though I lean towards the HW'97 version of the later).
If you need a reason to choose HW'97 over In Your Area based on the live tracks, then I am the Reptoid is it. For some reason they have included only the central section (Keeper on HW'97) on this disc! While it works really well as part of the "complete" track, it's little more than filler here. Sigh. The final live track on In Your Area is First Landing on Medusa which is a fine reworking of The Awakening from Space Ritual (which was originally Calvert penned text in the Hawkwind Log which came with X - In Search of Space in 72).
The similarities between the disks concludes with the studio track Your Fantasy. For some reason I much prefer this to its live counterpart on HW'97. Go figure! Of the 6 studio tracks on this release, 4 are instrumental, reminiscent of instrumentals on the last few albums - a little disappointing. The surprisingly brief The Nazca is an interesting enough combination of noises with a female dialog, but the following piece, Hippy, is what does it for me on this album.
A slow yet powerful track, it reminds me so much of early PIL you could be excused for thinking you had the wrong disc in the player! There's sufficient background whooshes and swirls to stamp it as Hawkwind, yet both the vocals and bass line could have come straight off any one of Lydon's better creations. (Hawkwind PunkCast anyone?). I'm surprised by how much I like this, and I think you will be too. Prairie is a 'nice' enough instrumental with a middle ages feel, but sadly Luxotica and Diana Park come across as near meaningless electronic filler. Not the strongest way to end the album.
In summary, I guess mileage will vary. You need at least one of these albums, and if you've read this far you are a Hawkwind fan and will probably buy both. Go on and do it - I did. You'll only be disappointed if you're expectations are too high - both albums show signs of a strengthening Hawkwind, which can only be a good thing. I look forward to whatever comes next with the usual anticipation!
Hawkwind — In Your Area
(Griffin Music 1998, GCD 740-2)
Hawkwind — Golden Void 1969-1979
(Purple Pyramid 1998, CLP 0471-2)
Jerry Kranitz
The new Hawkwind release (and the return of Griffin Music) is a half live, half new studio tracks affair from Brock, Chadwick, Tree, Richards, Rizz, and assistance from Crum on keyboards. The live tracks are from a Belgian concert and opens with a fiery "Brainstorm", which also contains the Reggae inflected "Hawkwind In Your Area" in it's mid-section. Brainstorm, in my opinion, never gets old though the band was wise not to clutter up the disc with old classics we've heard a million times before.
The Jerry Richards penned "Alchemy" is a short, but hard driving metallic space rockin' instrumental. This is heavy spacerock at it's finest and I would have loved to see this tune extended and developed more. Instead, it moves too quickly into "Love In Space". Now the song "Love In Space" has never really grabbed me, but it's more ballsy here as they incorporate the song "Rat Race" into it. Rizz sings "You're the rat race, You're the human race" to pounding music and some nice guitar work. The band return to Love In Space for just a moment before launching into the kick ass rockin' "Aerospace Age Inferno".
The studio tracks begin with "First Landing On Medusa", an old Calvert/Brock penned tune that apparently has only been on compilations and a special release tape series. The song is less than two minutes and leads into the screeching, freaked out "I Am The Reptoid". One of my favorite tunes on the disc is "Hippy", which is as spacerock as Hawkwind can get, and has bits of trippy chanting and Middle Eastern guitar. Hey, it's called Hippy right! The band maintains this theme with the laid back "Prairie", which has simple but enjoyable duel guitar melodies to the beat of tablas. The band is really into the tasteful and cool sounding guitar work as we're treated to even more on "Luxotica" and the closing number, "Diana Park".
Hawkwind's history is too long and their catalog too extensive to say whether new releases are their best or worst ever. Rather, I think it's more useful to determine whether Hawkwind is still relevant and whether as a band they've "still got it". I can confidently say that the creative spirit is alive and well on In Your Area, and it's a solid release by a tight band that still rocks straight into the cosmos.
The other new Hawkwind release is yet another compilation, this time a 2-CD set from the folks at Purple Pyramid. Hardcore Hawkfans will probably have heard most of this stuff. But I suppose one of the values of this disc is that Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid CD's are relatively easy to find in stores in the U.S. so fans who aren't accustomed to mail order can hear a few rarer tracks and a 30-minute Dave Brock interview that was originally a bonus disc in The Official Picture Log Book box set from 1987.
The set includes the early Hawkwind Zoo demo tunes, "Hurry On Sundown" and "Sweet Mistress Of Pain", several Hawkwind tunes including "Kings Of Speed", "Motorhead", and "Spirit Of The Age", four Sonic Assassins tracks, "Valium Ten" and "Time Of..." from the Hawklords, the 4-song Earth Ritual Preview EP from Hawkwind, and the Brock interview. Several of these tracks are live.
"We Do It" is classic early Hawkwind with it's ten minutes of driving jams. The beat is constant and relentless accompanied by Nik's sax and Dik Mik's wandering synths. "Earth Calling" is a total space freakout that combined with "We Do It" puts to rest any doubts as to where the term SpaceRock came from. I mention these in particular because in the interview Dave mentions how they were big Can and Neu fans and that the extended Hawkwind jams fell firmly into the same [Krautrock] mold as those bands. The rest of the tracks travel through Hawk history and does a fair job a reflecting the different styles Hawkwind's various incarnations have explored over the years.
Hawkwind — The Elf & The Hawk
(Black Widow 1998, BWRCD 026-2)
Jerry Kranitz
This 78 minute CD from Black Widow includes nearly (The Competition is missing) the entire Hawkfan 12 album from 1986, which was actually issue 12 of the Hawkfan zine. Also included is Alan Davey's 1987 The Elf solo EP, plus new tracks from Dave Brock, Alan Davey, and a band called PXR 1 which claims Spacehead's Phil Howard as a member.
Hawkwind does a typically rousing version of "Ejection". And "Ghost Dance" is a wild tribal tune. I don't mean as in just tribal percussion beats, but chanting dancing around the campfire tribal. The Brock track, "Burn Me Up", is a very good thumping, rockin' track. Great space guitar and shooting synths. Michael Moorcock's Deep Fix does "The Tale Of The Entropy Tango" which is something of a novelty track. The music alternates with Brian Tawn telling the story of the how the tune came to be recorded.
There are also four non-Hawkwind bands here, three of which were on the Hawkfan 12 album. Dark Empire, now defunct, contributes an electronic tune. Nothing special though it creates a cool haunting atmosphere. Syndrone, also defunct, is right up the Hawkwind alley. A little raw but I would have liked to hear more from them.
The third non-Hawk band on Hawkfan 12 is Underground Zero, who did continue to record. This is one of the best tracks on the whole disc playing excellent space rockin' music with an aggressive female vocalist. PXR 1 is the new band who offer up a 12 minute cover of "Spirit Of The Age". And a damn good one at that. Hope to hear some original material from these guys.
For my money, some of the best moments on this disc are the Alan Davey tracks. It's apparent how Davey caught Dave Brock's attention and ended up as a band member. The music is pure spacerock. Davey has a really good sense for melody (most notably on "Cosmic Dawn") and can play heavy and light equally well. I really like his electronic explorations and he can rock hard on top of those as well.
"Ode To A Bass Assassin" lays down a driving, almost techno, beat while guitar blazes along with. "Fractal Hunter", one of the newer tunes, is along the same lines though it rocks out even harder. A really great track. Certainly a nice disc of archival material with some new gems as well.
Hawk-U.S. — Time & Space #7 - Strange Daze '98
(Compilation CD-R 1999, HAWKUS01)
Keith Henderson
A couple of fine folks (Bob Lennon and Kevin Sommers) decided to make their own archive of the magical events at the Strange Daze '98 festival here in the Buckeye State (i.e., Ohio), and then went off and self-produced CD-R's to go with their own Hawkwind fanzine. Great idea! Jerry and I were discussing the need for US space rock compilations for promotional efforts, and this CD-R means we don't have to do it!
All 13 artists that performed over the three days are represented here and in the order that they appeared, so that it really does play back like an audio diary. Hence, locals Kid From Cleveland kick off the album with a brief instrumental piece "It's Time." I would have liked to have heard their version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" again (which really delighted me), but I understand the potential copyright problem there.
Canis Minor then provide some cerebral progressive music in the form of "Le Moons" - one for Chapman Stick lovers. Pressurehed's "Black Mantra" is wonderfully psychedelic, and you can actually hear the vocals clearly (don't know how they managed that feat). I just wish I could see Rob Jacobs' fabulous cartoon movies again as I spin this disc.
From Day Two, we start with Quarkspace's very interesting piece "Prince," which hasn't yet appeared on an official CD. Sampled voices ("Attention Alien Aircraft") and tape loops introduce this unusual tune (is that 7/8 time I hear? Freaky, man). The mix is slightly uneven, but Dave Wexler's excellent guitar soloing shines through nicely.
Next, ST 37 and F/i contribute a tag-team of bass-heavy space-punk numbers and then Melting Euphoria throws in a quick rendition of "Summer Starchild." A little loose-sounding, but I liked the cascading riff and phased guitars. Alien Planetscapes offer "Mr. Sparkle," one of many blazing freakout numbers they performed that glorious evening.
Finally, the so-called "StrangeWind" version of Hawkwind came forth to debut their "Starfire Mountain Dreaming," a track written on site just for us. Capt. Rizz+ proclaims, "It's your heart, it's your soul... It's you - It's all about you...It's all because of you." The sound quality is excellent here, and the intro seems to be what eventually was lifted for "Hippy" on "In Your Area." So I imagine that this item will become a real collector's item for Hawkfans in the future.
Thom the World Poet wakens up Day Three accompanied by Drumplay, and tells us why we're all here today... as if we didn't already know. ArcMet then gets their chance in the sun a day or two later than expected, but does add their unique gothic touches to this psych-fest with "Sur le Tour."
Born to Go cranks through "Millennium Crash," one of my favorites but unfortunately a little light on the all-important bass guitar on this recording. The festival-on-a-disc ends with Nucleon's "Green Acid," the proper choice for sampling their crunchy, space-doom sound. Having this item really helps keep fond memories alive...
I look forward to playing it between sets at this year's Strange Daze and reminiscing about the great time we all had at the Ledges. Thanks to Bob and Kevin for being such great fans.
Starfire — Starfire
(Self-Released 1996, STF-CD-001)
Jerry Kranitz
This CD only recently came my way and is a Hawkwind family tree disc of sorts that many fans may not be aware of. Starfire is a project lead by Doug Buckley who wrote the lyrics for "Out Of The Shadows" (from Space Bandits) and includes some heavy spacerock that Hawkwind fans will love. From Spokane, Washington, the band consists of Buckley on bass, synths, and vocals, Kevin Dodson on drums, Guy Gardner on guitar, Kaaren Kirmaier on synthesizer, and David Cook on effects.
"Space Traveller" starts off innocently with a pulsating synth that is quickly joined by a crunching guitar and pounding bass/drum rhythm section. I mean it when I say pounding... Dodson's drumming is furious and really helps keep the adrenalin level high. Once the vocals hit, singing of time, space, and phasing in and out of reality, it's clear that this is 100% pure heavy-hitting spacerock.
The instrumental sections are extensive with the guitar blazing and the synths swirling everywhere. Buckley's vocals have a distinct sound and may not appeal to everyone though after several listens I think they fit the music well and certainly contribute to establishing the Starfire sound. One review I read compares him to Geddy Lee, though not quite as high pitched and I think that pretty accurate.
"Across The Land" is a similar song with great guitar work. Gardner isn't a flashy technical guitarist. Rather, like so many great Hawkwind tunes he wails and crunches his space metal chords and riffs along with the rhythm section and synths as one part of a greater whole. Starfire also does it's own version of "Out Of The Shadows". The five minute track from Space Bandits has been expanded to a nearly 15 minute tour de force of space metal. The song utilizes its length though to alternate the heavier sections with quieter segments. "Welcome To Now" is a shorter tune and much like the previous tracks.
Now we do a complete 360 degree turn. The final track, "Electronica", is 27 minute pulsating synth exploration by Buckley. When I told Doug that I enjoyed the track and liked the contrast with the previous full band tracks he responded, "I've gotten mixed opinions there. I'm a big Tangerine Dream fan as well, and I felt the need to address that aspect of my musicality when issuing the CD". While this is certainly Tangerine Dream style electronica, I wouldn't call it an easy going journey after the heavier full band tracks. The music has a pulsating rhythm that gives the music an intensity that doesn't let the listener relax too much.
In summary, Starfire is a must have for those who like the more hard driving metallic side of Hawkwind. Along with Born to Go, these guys are the best example I've heard of a current American spacerock band playing the truly heavy stuff. Buckley says he is currently working toward a new Starfire release.
Dr Hasbeen — Prophetic Obscurities
(1998, DRHAS004CD, CD-R) 
Jerry Kranitz
England's Dr Hasbeen wears it's Hawkwind influences on their collective sleeves and makes no bones about it. Their music is heavy synth-laden Hawk-style spacerock with vocals that sound just like Krel's "Ad Astra". The guitar is prominent and, though not particularly exciting, solos frequently in a trippy psychedelic fashion that makes it work well within the whole of the music. Dr Hasbeen performances have been highly visual events featuring extensive lightshows, dancers, and jugglers.
The band was formed in 1995 as the Space Bandits and changed their name to Dr Hasbeen in 1997. Prophetic Obscurities is the third release from the Hasbeen camp and consists of founder Martyn Needham on vocals, guitar, synths, and keyboards, and Daz Fletcher on vocals, guitar, and guitar synth.
The band does what they do well though there isn't a lot of variation across the songs. Among the standout tracks is "The Seers Song" and "Meet Thy Maker" which make up one 12-minute track that opens with pulsating, gurgling synths and soon settles into a throbbing groove. Before long it starts to rock out and the rest of the tune is a solid space jam.
"Soul Sacrifice" was another track I enjoyed with it's pounding rhythm, wind blowing synths, and freakout guitar. "Curtain Of Time" is a more overtly electronic tune that maintains a steady repeating beat and synth lines while the guitar solos along.
Hawkwind fanatics will enjoy this though I'll wager these guys are far more exciting live than on disc. And while they manage to make it succeed I still think the guitar is the main weak spot. It sounds great, but seems to fumble along too much.
Dr Hasbeen — Spirit of Brock
(Self-released/Foundry Studio 1998, DRHAS 007CD CD-R)
Keith Henderson
No, it's not Dave Brock himself at work on this one, but rather one Martyn Needham (of Derby, England) who has 'appropriated' the Hasbeen moniker for himself. From what I've heard, he's also released two earlier CDs, entitled "2125" and "Prophetic Obscurities." On "Spirit of Brock," vocalist/guitarist/synth-master Needham and his cohorts (Daz Fletcher on lead guitar, Sue Annable on drums/vocals, and Jake Billington on bass) quickly crank through six space-rockers very much in the Hawkwind vein.
Funky synths and a bit of guitar fanfare kick off "Beyond Control," and although some chant-style vocals chime in eventually, this isn't really a fully-fledged tune. But a nice opening statement nonetheless. Heavier rhythm guitars start off "Mugs of War" with that effects-laden sound that Pressurehed use so often. The problem here is the vocals, bass, and drums are all mixed down well below the twin guitar tracks.
"Why Syb" is a tad better in this department, and is a nice astral journey with ebbing-and-flowing synth tones and syrupy vocals offered by Annable. Sequenced electronic pulses lead into "Man's Greatest Enemy," where Fletcher demonstrates his chops on guitar and Needham contributes echoed poetic vocals over the spacey-synth backdrop. Truly the "Spirit of Brock."
In fact, the title track follows next, and is a true tribute to the Hawkwind baron. I can't pick out all the lyrics, but there's no doubt who their heroes are. "Mugs of War (Part 2)" bears little resemblance to the earlier track, relying on more layers of pulsating and swirling synths and Fletcher's melodic leads.
This is pretty good material, but doesn't stray too far from the time-honored tradition of 70s space rock. Whether Needham's truly a 'hasbeen' or not I can't say, as I'm not certain where he came from. But I'd like to hear more from this quartet anyway, especially since this disc only runs about 23 minutes. And I'm not so happy with the quality of the mix here. The lower-end rhythm section needs to be brought out more, a mistake that Brock himself would never make.
Big Amongst Sheep — Space is a Lonely Place
(Monolith Records 1982-85, 1999, MR-001 CD-R)
Keith Henderson
This band must be one of spacerock's best kept secrets, as their three recordings (the LP "Terminal Velocity" and EP's "Astropop" and "Hearts on Fire") now reissued on CD-R (ltd. edition, no doubt) all date from the dark ages of space rock awareness. The quintet's style falls into place amongst Hawkwind (e.g., "Levitation") and Eloy of the same period, with rich melodies and symphonic-style keyboards.
Hence, Big Amongst Sheep's twin synth masters (Judith Bone and Gavin Bull) are key to the fullness of the sound. Stuart Macfarland's guitar leads and solos are crisp and clean, and nestle into the open cracks rather than jutting out over top of the remaining instruments. Ian Bone's vocals are strongly-delivered, and are oddly accented and make it difficult to determine his ethnic heritage. Big Amongst Sheep is labelled as a UK-band, though I wonder if the Bones are really Scandinavian.
"Dunmail Raise" is one of the strongest tracks, and benefits greatly from the flute soloing by none other than Nik Turner himself. Two other tunes ("Stone Circle" and "Radioactive Daffodils") also find Turner playing his saxophone in a quite favorable (i.e., less-than-honking) fashion. "Terminal Velocity" on the other hand, is one for fans of the ICU-era Nik, a punkish affair with a touch of the 'squawks.' Don't get me wrong...I found it a bit of fun.
"Out of this World" is truly a first class song, and sounds very much like DarXtar. "Tranquility Zone" is one of several tracks when Ian Bone offers some sci-fi spoken passages that are true to the Hawkwind form, and a welcome addition.
There's a lot of music here (16 tracks totalling over an hour), and most of it is high quality material. A shift from more symphonic material to a 'punkier' (but not-so-aggressive) style is evident through the album. And since "Space is a Lonely Place" compiles music from over a three-year period, I can see that the band went through a bit of evolution. It's obvious from the "Astropop" chorus..."Big Night Out in the Big, Bad Universe" that after their earlier, more serious work, Big Amongst Sheep were ready to party in space. Time for that Pan-galactic gargle blaster, then. In fact, make it a double.
Archaeopteryx — Flight In Space
(self-produced CD-R 1997)
Keith Henderson
Ah, the wonders of modern technology. Nowadays you can just produce your very own album in the comforts of your own home. And if you're talented enough to play multiple instruments, you don't even need a band. That's apparently what David Graham concluded, as he's taken the do-it-yourself approach to the extreme.
But then, being sequestered from civilization on the gulf coast of Mississippi, perhaps he just never found any partners willing to join in on his spacerock adventures. So be it. "Archaeopteryx" is something to be proud of - 11 original tunes and 4 Hawkwind covers, over an hour of interesting music that could be a demo version of a very fine album if Graham chose to pursue it further.
The success of the individual tracks relies heavily on the quality of the recording/mix and the sound of the synthetic-drum programming, both of which vary quite a lot throughout the album. There is a central theme of an astral journey looking for alien life and finding 'love in space,' not coincidentally the same sort of trip the Hawks themselves have been on lately. Of the covers, two worked for me and two didn't..."Spirit of the Age" was nicely done, choosing to emulate the Live '79 version rather than the original.
In the process, Graham adeptly performs two guitar solos, one each in the style of Lloyd-Langton and Brock. But his version of "Nuclear Drive" is the real winner...the extended pulsing-synth intro adds something to the original, and the overall sound is full and complete here. However, his attempt at "Assault & Battery/The Golden Void" is an impossible task, and the most important part (i.e., the beautifully-cosmic segue) is too abrupt and awkward here. The more recent "Xenomorph" is faithfully-done and has a nice sound...I just don't like this particular tune very well.
The original tunes have some nice moments as well. "Manticore Offering" shows off Graham's impressive chops on the keys in his tribute to Keith Emerson (and no, it doesn't sound out-of-place). Also, an interesting mix of heavy fuzz guitar, cool synth-bass, and various space noises all add up to a nice "Fugue Feeling" later on. Particularly nice solo synth playing is also featured on "Flight Through Space" and the finale "Cretu City." "Alien Girl" is the one vocal track written for the album, a fun, bouncy tune where Graham's voice resembles short-term Hawk vet Keith Hale.
Overall, the "Archaeopteryx" has the general characteristics of early 80's Hawkwind, around the time of "Church of Hawkwind" or "Zones." Like those albums, this one is also a tad uneven, mainly because some of the mixes are off...too much drum here, too much vocal there. But if Graham chose to take these tracks to a professional studio with a full contingent of musicians (really just himself, a bassist, and a drummer is all), I'd imagine that he could make an album that would truly shine.
