Hawkwind - PXR5 Hawkwind - Levitation Hawkwind - In The Hall Of The Mountain Grill Hawkwind - Warrior On The Edge Of Time Steve Miller- Circle Of Love Mouse On Mars - Autoditacker
More Hawkwind retrospection this week - after the fantastic prog epic Warrior On The Edge Of Time Hawkwind reinvented themselves with a new record label as a more modern new wave rock band for a series of late '70s albums fronted by eccentric singer Robert Calvert. The final of these (four) albums was PXR5 released in 1979. The results throughout the series were mixed with shorter poppier songs which occasionally hit the mark but missed out on the mind expanding space rock experimentation of the early albums. A far cry from Space Ritual this period, for me at least, does not represent Hawkwind's finest hour.
However at the turn of the decade Hawkwind changed again. With a new crack line up, which welcomed back slick lead guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton (who appeared on the debut album), plus ex Cream legend Ginger Baker on drums and ex Gong keyboardist Tim Blake, the band produced a series of more heavy metal based albums beginning with Levitation in 1980.The album is almost brilliant, the first two or three songs are fantastic demonstrating a renewed energy and vigour and brilliant playing. Just checkout how hot this band were:
Unfortunately it does n't quite maintain its momentum as the album runs a little out of steam. The follow album up Sonic Attack (although lacking both Baker and Blake)is more consistently heavy. Sonic Attack, although not necessarily a regular fan favourite, is particularly significant for me being the first Hawkwind album I heard. I saw the band when touring the album as reported here >>
The Steve Miller album Circle Of Love is most renowned for the side long groove of Macho City which was an innovative track at the time (as was the ending of 2 minutes plus of rain and thunder sound effects).
Deeper we go into my old heavy rock roots this week. I follow up Led Zep's debut album with another listen of the classic IV. I pick up on a relatively little known Canadian rock band. I reacquaint myself with Black Sabbath's most progressive album, and dive into possibly Hawkwind's greatest two albums. Carly Simon retains some calm from last week's playlist.
Led Zeppelin - IV April Wine - Harder...Faster Hawkwind - In The Hall Of The Mountain Grill Hawkwind - Warrior On The Edge Of Time Black Sabbath- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Carly Simon - No Secrets
Led Zep's IV has a great balance of heavy rockers and acoustic whimsy. Black Dog is a powerhouse of blues rock - incorporating one of Page's greatest riffs and Plant's call and response moans. I'd never heard anything like it on first hearing. Now, years later, I still think it's pretty unique. Then you've got the Tolkien influenced Misty Mountain Hop and The Battle Of Evermore (with Sandy Denny). The Bonham showcase When The Levee Breaks and the hippie flower power Going To California. And Stairway To Heaven of course which is a little tired but I still love the jaunty middle section with it's "bustle in the hedgerow".
April Wine were alright. Attempting the monumental 21st Century Schizoid Man was probably not a wise move though - it has none of the show stopping power of the original.
Brilliant stuff from Hawkwind. I love both these two albums which both follow a similar pattern with alternate rock anthems and instrumental or spoken word interludes. The rock tunes are often based on just 2 or 3 stuttering guitar chords with Lemmy's heavy bass underlay. The interludes are simple piano figures, crude synthesizer effects, sawing violin, or, in the case of Warrior, spoken monologues from sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock (who also wrote lyrics for The Blue Oyster Cult).
In The Hall Of The Mountain Grill (the band's fourth album) is the more basic and less polished album. Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke) is a classic Hawks tune. There are a couple of tracks on the band's fifth album Warrior On The Edge Of Time that approach some of the best progressive rock of the mid '70s, namely Assault and Battery / Golden Void and Magnu, where the band present monumental walls of sound. One of the most intriguing tracks for me when I first heard this album was the heavy motorik beat instrumental Opa-Loka which foretold my interest in krautrock. Surprisingly the band changed their sound after Warrior choosing to go down a more "new wave" road. The line up changed too with Lemmy, who had described Opa-Loka as "fucking rubbish" and Warrior generally as "a fuck up", moving on to form Motorhead.
Although many people will be familiar with the Bonzo Dog (Doo-Dah) Band’s biggest hit Urban Spaceman (produced by Paul McCartney under the name Apollo C. Vermouth!) and the anarchic The Intro and the Outro (where the band members plus notable guests are introduced with their bizarre instruments) the comprehensive Cornology collection brings together five fully fledged albums and a selection of solo offerings in a sumptuous 3-CD box set.
The three CDs each have subtitles. Volume one is entitled The Intro and contains the original albums Gorilla and The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse. Volume two is subtitled The Outro and contains the albums Tadpoles and Keynsham. Volume three is entitled Dog Ends and contains the band's final original album Let's Make Up and Be Friendly along with early Bonzo Dog singles, odds and ends and solo material.
The band are fondly remembered for their silly humour and dandy tailoring which most obviously influenced Monty Python but aside from the comedy they were also accomplished musicians being masters of a range of genres.
Drawing largely on their unique readings of trad jazz standards (pumping tubas) and music hall novelties (plumy English accents) the Bonzo’s repertoire is supplemented by eccentric front man Vivian Stanshall’s own comic observations and Neil Innes’ finely crafted Beatlesque pop songs.
He was wearing Billy Bunter check trousers, a Victorian frock coat, black coat tails, horrible little oval, violet-tinted pince-nez glasses, he had a euphonium under his arm, and large rubber false ears. And I thought, well, this is an interesting character.
Neil Innes on meeting Stanshall for the first time.
The Bonzos were admired by contemporaries of London’s swinging 60s scene sharing a residency at the famous London UFO club with Pink Floyd and appearing in the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. Despite such exposure lasting commercial success eluded them and they remained an underground cult band on the fringes of the art school circuit. Their quintessentially English brand of madcap humour lampooning colonialism, the upper class, and seaside holidays, didn’t travel well and a badly managed American tour was aborted; “there’s a good chance we won’t get into the country again” said Stanshall. By 1970 it was all over aside from a brief reunion for the self explanatory Let’s Make Up and Be Friendly album.
The most accessible stand alone CD for beginners is probably Tadpoles which includes some of the Bonzo’s best known songs like the singalong Hunting Tigers Out in Indiah and children’s favourite Monster Mash, as well as Space Cowboy. However this is to overlook the surprising depth displayed across the less celebrated of these 72 songs as demonstrated on this particular album by the delicate By a Waterfall and brilliant variations on traditional forms in Dr Jazz and Laughing Blues. Tadpoles ends with Stanshall’s rather apt Canyons of Your Mind resplendent with Elvis vocals and a guitar solo so terrible it is very funny:
So if you fancy something completely different, that the kids will love on long car journeys, and is guaranteed to raise a smile, take a punt on at least one of the Bonzo albums. Before long you will be singing the chorus to Hunting Tigers out loud at the office water dispenser.
Bonzo mainstay Viv Stanshall died in a house fire in 1995
The Intro and the Outro:
Hi there, nice to be with you, glad you could stick around.
Like to introduce `Legs' Larry Smith, drums
And Sam Spoons, rhythm pole
And Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, bass guitar
And Neil Innes, piano.
Come in Rodney Slater on the saxophone
With Roger Ruskin Spear on tenor sax.
I, Vivian Stanshall, trumpet.
Say hello to big John Wayne, xylophone
And Robert Morley, guitar.
Billy Butlin, spoons.
And looking very relaxed, Adolf Hitler on vibes.
Nice!
Princess Anne on sousaphone.
Mmm.
Introducing Liberace, clarinet
With Garner "Ted" Armstrong on vocals.
[Jazzy scat singing]
Lord Snooty and his pals, tap dancing.
In the groove with Harold Wilson, violin
And Franklin McCormack on harmonica.
Over there, Eric Clapton, ukulele.
Hi Eric!
On my left Sir Kenneth Clark, bass sax.
A great honor, sir.
And specially flown in for us, the session's gorilla on vox humana.
Nice to see Incredible Shrinking Man on euphonium.
Drop out with Peter Scott on duck call.
Hearing from you later, Casanova on horn.
Yeah! Digging General de Gaulle on accordion.
Rather wild, General!
Thank you, sir.
Roy Rogers on Trigger.
Tune in Wild Man of Borneo on bongos.
Count Basie Orchestra on triangle.
[CBO:] (Ting!)
Thank you.
Great to hear the Rawlinsons on trombone.
Back from his recent operation, Dan Druff, harp.
And representing the flower people, Quasimodo on bells.
[Q:] Hooray!
Wonderful to hear Brainiac on banjo.
We welcome Val Doonican as himself.
[V:] Hullo there!
Very appealing, Max Jaffa.
Mmm, that's nice, Max!
What a team, Zebra Kid and Horace Batchelor on percussion.
A great favourite and a wonderful...
Also in the magazine this week we have what I consider Hawkwind's best album Warrior on the Edge of Time. This is probably their most "prog" album. I love the cover too. It's a simple illustration yet manages to convey the atmosphere of the album.
Bear's Den are not particularly original being another of those lo-fi acoustic groups from the Fleet Foxes school but they are definitely one of the best. Islands is full of melodic numbers beautifully sung in harmony.
I'm not sure about Coldplay. I think they are good but they also annoy me. I don't know why. Maybe their music just seems a bit earnest and possibly overrated? Good at what they do but not particularly original or exciting. I'm new to the X&Y album and on early listens it seems quite heavy which is a good thing in my book. One to return to another time.
More raw americana from Green on Red this week including a solo effort from their guitarist Mr Chuck Prophet, local loveliness from acoustic duo Scott and Maria, an early album from the ever consistent Beck, a psychedelic classic from space rockers Hawkwind, and a frankly bonkers album of clicks and beats from electronic veterans Autechre!
1. Green on Red -Here Come The Snakes
2. Chuck Prophet - Homemade Blood
3. Scott and Maria - Bright Star
4. Hawkwind - In the Hall of the Mountain Grill
5. Beck - Mutations
6. Autechre - Untilted
Chuck on Red
Unfortunately following the roaring success of Here Come The Snakes last week my filing system has failed to uncover any further Green on Red albums (so far) but consolation arrives in the form of one of their guitarist's solo albums - Chuck Prophet's Homemade Blood released in 1997.A cool title, a cool cover, and by the way a cool name Mr Prophet too.
Green on Red guitarist Chuck Prophet on vocals
A good solid rock guitar album which could be Green on Red, except, of course, the vocals aren't the same. If a Green on Red hadn't come before, Prophet's smoother voice would not suffer from comparison with Dan Stuart's compelling bark.
Those Psychedelic Warlords
Here we have a mid 70s Lemmy infused Hawkwind demonstrable through the heavy distorted bass and most obviously where Lemmy takes lead vocals - Lost Johnny a case in point and a clear sign post to Motorhead who actually went on to cover this very track.
Classic track is the opener The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke) - this title pretty much sums up what Hawkwind were all about and could have been their calling card if it hadn't have been for the single success of Silver Machine. DaveBrock's driving rhythm guitar riffs on two chords over Lemmy's three note bass (this period Hawkwind seemed to be almost entirely devoid of electric lead guitar with melodic breaks provided by synthesizers, sax or flute).
The longer guitar driven tracks are interspersed with some beautiful instrumental passages courtesy new member Simon House excelling on violin and keyboards.
Early Hawkwind with Lemmy on location with Game of Thrones
The title is an obvious riff on Greig's famous classical piece of similar name - the Mountain Grill was apparently a West London cafe frequented by the band. The image couldn't be further from the brilliant album art work by Barney Bubbles depicting a crashed spaceship grounded in the sands of time.
275 Portobello Road
Beck Mutates
Beck's albums are consistently good. They draw on various styles, usually between albums rather than within the albums themselves. Was n't he another one of those hailed as a new Hendrix or Dylan when he burst upon the scene with Odelay (the one with the shaggy dog doing the high jump)in 1996? Mutations came just two years after that breakthrough and reminds me of the Beatles - mostly the more psychedelic John Lennon stuff like Tomorrow Never Knows. Great melodies and even some harpsichord! Take the very 60s feel of Lazy Flies as an example.
Golden Boy Beck
The Yes of Techno
After listening to Autechre I feel a bit like I did with Yes last week where I wrote:
What to make of them? Are they musical geniuses or just random noodlers? Does their music have structure and form or is it all over the place without any context or continuity?
That statement can pretty much apply to their Untilted album. It is pretty full on. Very industrial techno recorded at a breakneck bpm.
It's rather like being locked in a cold dark shipping container whilst being repeatedly hit over the head with a metal baseball bat.
So like Yes the music is seemingly random on first hearing but all the more interesting for that. And like all interesting music it does something odd to your mind. I would start with small doses though - the whole album in one sitting is quite a challenge.
Autechre's Anti Criminal Justice and Public Order Act EP
Remarkably the apparent randomness has a deliberate provenance. In 1994 Autechre released the track Flutter as part of their Anti EP in protest against the new Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of that year. The Act prohibited "raves" which were defined as gatherings of 9 or more people where music characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats was played. Autechre responded with the notice that Flutter had been programmed in such a way that no bars contain identical beats and can therefore be played under the new law. However they also advised DJs to have a lawyer and musicologist present at all times to confirm the non repetitive nature of the music in the event of police harassment!
Rochdale duo Booth and Brown of Autechre
There are quite a lot of duo electronic artists out there - Boards of Canada, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Chemical Brothers etc. I don't suppose they necessarily need two to record the music, but maybe an extra pair of hands is necessary to "play" it "live"?
Acoustic Lovelies
Scott and Maria
Now for something completely different. Thank the lord for that. I've been released from the shipping container and am now lying on a hillside on the Downs soaking up the sunshine of Scott and Maria who offer a gentle and soothing antidote to my Autechre headache. Their website says their music is a medicine for our times and I would add it is certainly medicine for Autechre (isn't random play a marvellous invention!).
For a real flavour of their lush celtic tinged harmonies check out their anti fracking and deforestation anthemThis Landbeautifully filmed in the Sussex countryside.
New album Bright Star sees Maria's soaring voice fronting Scott's acoustic guitar strummings with occasional extra flavours of violin and percussion thrown in to provide a heady mix of catchy Kings of Convenience / Simon and Garfunkel gorgeousness.
Timeless Goldie
Finally a quick word on a bonus gig I attended last week. Drum 'n' bass artist Goldie is touring with the Heritage Orchestra. Not knowing much about Goldie and taking the name of his backing band literally, I could barely imagine what to expect. In the event I was impressed - not so much by some of the jazzy soulful song numbers which don't always seem to suit the rhythms of drum 'n' bass, but certainly by the banging instrumentals played live with two frenetic drummers! I had assumed all drum 'n' bass was electronically recorded so was taken aback by the use of real drummers. I found this short film about the reworking of Goldie's classic Timeless album for live band.
I had a Saturday job at a town caf called Macarone's or Mac’s for short. We were just a bunch of sixth form school kids who didn’t know jack shit, just there to earn a few quid and gain some useful job experience at the weekends, either practically or for the CV, who knows, in those days it was apparently important, like doing your Duke of Edinburgh Award.
That night we were going to see Hawkwind, the retro space rockers, who were probably even retro all those years ago (they are still going now, I saw one of them in the Laines in Brighton a few months ago when I happened to hear they were playing at the Old Market, not that I went, regretfully actually - I think they were doing their classic Warrior on the Edge of Time album). Not just anyone of them, but perhaps the most recognisable one, to a fan like me at least, the leader, the Brockster, guitar and voc., long straggly hair, like many 70s and 80s rockers, still intact.
Hawkwind:Warrior on the Edge of Time 1975
Lou, the Mac boss, wasn’t happy we were leaving early: Why don’t you just buy the record instead, he asked, just play it over and over for less than the cost of the ticket plus going all the way to Guildford tonight.
Mac's Caf: tables keenly wiped and clientele keenly rotated
All of these things happened at Mac’s, not all on the same day, but over a short period while I worked there: We watered down the ice cream - sometimes to such an extent the Mister Whippy machine would just deposit creamy slush into the cone (and over your hand). We dropped lettuce leaves on the floor and walked over them and then placed them in sandwiches. We weighted the sandwich content down the centre cut, empty around the edges. We were allowed a fizzy drink at break time where we sat upstairs where there was a sign on the wall saying that the formation of Unions was forbidden. As if that would ever happen. My friend Keith told a black colleague to wash her face! Later I was ashamed I didn’t stand up for her. She liked me and wrote me love letters, but Keith was cool - with leather trousers and long hair and a car. A metallic green Ford Capri with no seat belts and an unreliable alarm. On one camping trip down to Cornwall it didn’t even have brakes - just the handbrake Keith had to apply in anticipation of junctions.
Another boy, whose name I can’t remember, but the word Marshall comes to mind, said he’d break my legs by laying them across two chairs and jumping on them. This was if I didn’t allow him to come to a party my girlfriend Penny had planned, at my house, while my parents were away. I cancelled it and hid behind the sofa with the lights out. No one called that night. Thank god we didn’t have Facebook in those days.
One time Manager Lou said he’d pay me an extra pound if I could butter all the loaves of bread in half an hour instead of the usual hour I spent. I fell for it - did the task in super quick time and then he said - right, you can do that every time now for your normal wages. Got suckered into that one.
So we left Mac’s earlier than normal that afternoon and travelled up to Guildford in Keith’s phallic metal machine with Hawkwind’s Sonic Attack album blasting from the speakers.
Hawkwind: Sonic Attack 1981
There was plenty of dry ice and a bank of TV screens strobing eyeballs, hands and fingers opening and closing in quick succession. The sound was a dirge. The extended Sonic Attack title track was great but on the way out I had to ask someone if they had even played Silver Machine. I don’t think they did. Outside in the street I bumped into Penny with her new boyfriend Gareth. He had long hair and wore waistcoats. That was a bit awkward.
