It's okay
Joseph L. Kolb | harris, mn USA | 04/17/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"i'm glad this release is available again! there are some great songs on it; PSI Power, 25 Years On and the Only Ones are my favorites. the remastered version doesn't sound all that different from the previous release. the bonus tracks on disc one are: PSI Power, Death Trap, and 25 Years On. they are all single remixes, and not that good. disc 2 has some live material that has been released before. and the various demo's aren't that interesting. overall, it's not that substantial of a change and the bonus material doesn't add up to much. if you don't have the cd, i still highly recommend it. but if you have it and think this will be an improvement, you'll probably be disappointed. it does have an informative booklet though. problem with hawkwind is that their material gets rehashed over and over again."
Ap
Art L. Pippert | 06/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A must album Best album in the Hawkwind collection (and my all time favorite album of any group). If you are a Hawkwind collector you best have this release."
Possibly Calvert's Rock Opus
Fritz Gerlich | admin@audioetc.info | 12/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"****************Personnel
Robert Calvert - lead vocals, acoustic guitar (track 7)
Dave Brock - acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Harvey Bainbridge - bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve Swindells - keyboards
Simon King - drums (tracks 4,7,8), Congas (track 6)
Martin Griffin - drums (tracks 1,2,5,6)
Simon House - violin (tracks 6,7,8)
Henry Lowther - trumpet (track 1)
Les McClure - whisper voice (track 4)
*************Technical Info:
I have the 2009 Cherry Records/Atomhenge remaster, and the 1989 Virgin/Charisma master. Neither suffers from any of the 'loudness war' problems that plague modern rock remastering. There is no clipping or mastering induced distortion, and there is very little in the way of dynamic range compression. Both issues are fantastic remasters. The eq of the two versions is surprisingly similar. I would buy the 2009 version though has more clarity and separation of the instruments. This probably comes down to better digital equipment and more computing power today than 20 years ago.
Once again, thanks Cherry for not screwing this up and for giving us fans the best possible product.
***************Music
Because of a legal challenge over the name Hawkwind, Brock dissolved Hawkwind and started Hawklords. It is essentially a Hawkwind album though, as the name change was not motivated by creative reasons, but only as a legal strategy.
The music on this record like the previous "Quark, Strangeness, and Charm" is not what one thinks of when the name Hawkwind is seen. It is tight, professional, focused, and very New Wavey; and not at all fuzzy jamming space prog. The production and recording were like-wise top notch.
Calvert again takes the lead, writing some of Hawk's best lyrics, touching on telepathy ("Psi Power"), sky diving ("Free Fall"), drug misuse ("Flying Doctor"), heroism ("The Only Ones"), espionage ("The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid"), and the dehumanization of the industrial age "The Age Of The Micro Man". It is a real tour-de-force of writing.
The 2009 bonus material is really nice addition this time around. The first three tracks are the least interesting of the material, featuring single versions of "PSI Power", "Death Trip", and "25 Years".
Then we get the "Sonic Assains" impromptu gig headed up by Calvert and Brock, great stuff, and Mad Bob is in full rotation here. This is the best sounding version of that gig.
Next is a wonderful acoustic version of "The Only Ones". There is a demo version of "The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid", that has a great raw feed sound. Alternate versions of "Flying Doctor", "25 Years", "Freefall", "The Age of Micro Man", and "Automoton" are included. They are all different enough from the final versions to make them interesting. "Assassination" (Some People Never Die) from "The Church of Hawkwind" makes an appearance. Ending the 2 disc set is "Digger Jam", which is a stream of consciousness lyrical flow from Calvert overtop of a great improv jam by the Lords.
And if that wasn't enough, you get the tour booklet with the manifesto of Pan Transcendental Industries.
*******************Summary
This album is not space-prog, and some say it is not Hawkwind. Whatever the case, the music is top shelf, and the lyrics are some of the best rock lyrics you'll hear.
The 2009 remaster is the version to get. It has the best sound and the best packaging and the best bonus cuts."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1