Hawkwind - new album

[bigcumba]

One for all the old crustys on the forum....:D

Brand new studio album out called "Take Me To Your Leader" - it's a cracker! Starts with a new version of Spirit Of The Age with Matthew Wright (yep, off the telly) on vocals and he does a great job. Second track is a really trippy instrumental called "Out Here We Are", which is very much classic Hawkwind, then the next "Greenback Massacre" is a raw almost punky riff, to me a classic track already! There are a couple of other standout tracks like that on the CD, including a couple sung by old Arthur Brown of the 60's "Crazy World of Arthur Brown". Second last track is brilliant - called "Angela Android" and the last part of that is sung by Lene Lovich - remember her from years ago! The band are still the main 3 piece of Dave Brock, Alan Davey and Richard Chadwick, plus an excellent new keyboards player, and the guest spots I've mentioned, with ex member Simon House playing on a couple, and some very nice jazzy trumpet (yes you heard that correctly - trumpet on a Hawkwind album!) plus sax and flute from another very talented young guy called Jez Huggett.

If you're quick you can pick up the album with a free DVD (limited to 2000) with interviews with Dave, Alan and Richard, and the promo video for the Spirit single, and 4 live tracks.... now this is where it got really special! First live track is a recent version of Silver Machine with none other than Lemmy guesting on bass and vocals.... very tasty!

All in all the album is probably the best they've done in years - as Dave says, the start of a new chapter for the band.... :)

[piggy]

i went to watch them in about 78 And they couldn't remember what planet they were on never mind what chord they were in one of the worst concerts iv'e ever been to.

[bigcumba]

They were in the middle of a rough time back then, the band were falling apart, Bob Calvert was in and out of the psychiatric wards with ever worsening manic episodes...lots of in fighting, no money.... Brock actually disbanded them at one point and formed the Hawklords for a good few months, yet despite all that they did produce some damn good music that year - the Hawklords 25 years on album is class - even the punks liked it!, and Hawkwind's PXR5 are both really good... after that Huw Lloyd-Langton came back on guitar and they made classic after classic album....

Sadly Calvert is no longer with us having died of a heart attack in the late 80's (he was only 47)... but as long as Dave's still around there will always be a Hawkwind... and over the last 25 years I've been following them they've almost always been brilliant live - just one iffy gig in the mid 90's with a weird bloke called Ron Tree on vocals.....thankfully he didn't last too long! Alan Davey on bass is a real star though - he actually got the job after pestering Dave Brock with demo tapes back in the early 80's.... he had learned every Hawkwind bass line so they gave him a try out, and a few days later he was playing his first gig at Stonehenge talk about in at the deep end. He's a major Lemmy fan - plays the same sort of Rickenbacker bass for that growly sound - been with the band 21 years now which I guess must have won him a long service medal given the dozens of others that have come and gone!

[Win2Win]

So this would be their 3,213,093 album then? :D

Always found the gigs great, been to around 10 of them. Haven't seen them for a few years now though, they don't organise the gigs around the racing!!

I've just called the Flying Doctor

[bigcumba]

So this would be their 3,213,093 album then? :D

only around 100 of them are official releases... the rest are bootlegs, illegal compilations etc.... I've got about 110 of them in all....

[Win2Win]

Isn't their a box set of their stuff? Must be bloody heavy :D

[bigcumba]

There have been a couple of box sets, but only 3 Cd's worth in each... they've been with so many different record companies over the years , doing a full set of all the albums would be impossible because of all the legal hassles... plus the ex members can't agree on anything, especially with Dave Brock - a few love the guy, a few hate his guts - apparently Nik Turner is sitting on tapes of the 30th anniversary gig from Brixton Academy - that night they had just about everyone who had ever been in the band (and was still alive and sane!) on stage at some point - I gather it lasted about 4 hours.... but Turner won't release the tapes because he reckons Brock will nab them and make a mint from them and not pass the dosh around..... I have 4 CD's worth of bootleg stuff from the gig - some is really good, some a bit messy sounding, didn't actually get to go though, was a bit skint that month because of our trip to Florida the next month... maybe I'll make the 40th party

[Win2Win]

......maybe I'll make the 40th party

That'll be supporting Status Quo then :D

[bigcumba]

Only 5 years to go.... it'll be Zimmer frames at dawn!

[alianzalima]

Cheers BigC. I will try to find this one. I used to be mad on this band in the late 70's and early 80's and saw them loads of times. Did you ever get to Stonehenge? I went to the 1984 one which was brilliant as they did a set in the evening then came back at dawn for more. If you have a bootleg of that I would pay good money for a copy! I remember seeing Inner City Unit once and they were seriously weird yet brilliant.
Iain

[bigcumba]

Hi Ian,

here's a link to Amazon for the new CD+DVD - £9.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...385614-4066236

I never made it to Stonehenge at all, wish I had though! That 1984 gig is available on DVD though - I have an old video from the gig with 20 minutes each of the Hawks, The Enid and Roy Harper -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...385614-4066236

and here's the list of available DVD's

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...385614-4066236

Let me know if you get the CD and what you think of it... the interviews are pretty good - interesting to hear a few hints from Alan Davey about some ex members he's obviously not too keen on - no names are mentioned, but one is obviously Nik Turner.... he comments on the new sax player being a brilliant musician instead of the racket they had before!

[Win2Win]

Oh you mean BUY!!! :D They would be the Amazon links with my ID on wouldn't they?

[bigcumba]

They would be the Amazon links with my ID on wouldn't they?

Erm.. ahem... I er.. sort of forgot.... well I've been up since 6 yesterday morning.... I'm allowed to get a bit forgetful... Fred