HW: LP Review - Hall of the Mountain Grill

[Paul Ward]

              Record Review: Hawkwind 'Hall of the Mountain Grill'
              ----------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: Hey! I've never done this before. I have *NO* artistic talent
            whatsoever, and my opinion is mine, and no-one elses! I do know
            what I like though, and that means HAWKWIND!
            Any reference to record labels & catalog numbers reflects what
            my copy is, and is not necessarily the only (or original)
            release.

Artist/s:       Hawkwind
Title:          Hall of the Mountain Grill
Label/Cat#:     United Artists UAC-5056
1st Release:    1974
Lineup:         Dave Brock, Lemmy, Simon House, Nik Turner, Del Dettmar,
                Simon King

                    "... and in the grove, by gate and hill,
                    midst merry throng and market clatter -
                      stood the Hall of the Mountain Grill
                  where table strain'd 'neath loaded platter."

                       (from the Legend of Beezon Toste)

This, their fifth LP release, marks a major change in direction for the Lords
of the Hawk. Gone is the throbbing, bassy 'wall of sound' interspersed with
spacey anolog synth effects, replaced with a gentler, cleaner, sharper, more
instrumental sound. In fact, this album plays host to instruments as diverse
(for Hawkwind) as organ, mellotron, violin, oboe, flute and kalimba in addition
to the 'standard' keyboards, bass, drums, rythm/lead guitar and sax. The band
have obviously replaced their stolen analog synths with more modern equipment.

Although Hawkfan's at the time may have been shocked by the sudden change in
direction, it is all for the better in my (humble) opinion. 'Doremi' and 'Space
Ritual' could not be repeated (and the attempt shouldn't be made) - a new
direction for 'Space Rock' had to occur. In hindsight, the Hawkwind we know and
love may not still be with us '25 years on' if they did'nt take this step.

Another verbal diarrhea .... the result of the change in style is a more widely
acceptable recording, without becoming 'commercial'. Many Hawkfan's rate this LP
as one of the best.

The opening track, "Psychedelic Warlords (disappear in smoke)" demonstrates the
new focus on lead and rythm guitar, rather than bass and drums, as well as a
more formal structure, and effective chorus implementation. The 'space' effects
are still present, but are much more subtle than before, with more focus on
applying effects to other instruments, rather than as seperate entities. The
second track, "Wind of Change" (sums the album up!) blends in sounds of the wind
with the rumble from the end of the first track. The addition of keyboards,
organ and violin to this rather slow 'mood music' track is quite effective. The
gentle but dramatic "D-Rider" follows, and side one concludes the very
instrumental "Web Weaver", combining Brock's 12-string guitar with 'electric'
piano accompanyment to produce a track which is in some ways reminiscent of
"You know your'e only dreaming" from 'X in Search of Space', only more cheerful.

Side two opens with my pick of the bunch - "You'd Better Believe it". 'Space
Rock' lyrics are very evident in this recording, which is pacier than most on
side one. The use of keyboards rather than 'random' notes on the guitar is put
to good use - maintaining the spacey feel to the track without trying to emulate
the past. The title track, is an instrumental which doesn't appeal to me at all,
but is followed by Lemmy's contribution "Lost Johnny". Bass guitar is back as
the focus for this track, with Lemmy's very 'Motorhead-ish' vocal style adding
to what is the rockiest track on the album.

A very short instrumental, "Goat Willow" follows, and combine flute and acoustic
guitar to produce an effect feeling of 'nature', as expressed by it's title.
"Paradox" concludes this release, featuring dominate rythym guitar with
drum/bass breaks during the chorus, and occasional 'snatches' of lyrics from
older tracks.



It's hard to portray this album in textual form, but if you are really into
early Hawkwind you may be initially disappointed by this album - but probably
not for long. Those who don't like the 'Space Ritual' style of Hawkwind (I'm
told they do exist!) will probably fall in love with it! I know it's one of my
favourites, so give it a spin!


--
Paul Ward        aka: Assassin Sonique'          .---.  __  .--------   Long
R & D Manager, P & C Micro's Pty Ltd            /     \( o`-,  -----   may
mail: sonique at aardvark.apana.org.au            ////    '~ (    ---   they
http://aardvark.apana.org.au/~sonique/my.html /////// :    ; ---   Fly!