HW: Review - Warrior on the Edge of Time

[Paul G Ward]

             Record Review: Hawkwind 'Warrior on the Edge of Time'
             -----------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: I've done this a few times now, but I still have *NO*
            literary talent whatsoever! In fact it's getting harder
            as I go :-(
            My humble 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:          Warrior on the Edge of Time
Label/Cat#:     Dojo CD 84
1st Release:    1975
Lineup:         Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Lemmy, Simon House, Simon
                King, Allan Powell, Mike Moorcock


I only got my copy of this album last week, and had not listened to it
for about 10 or 12 years (a friend had it from when it was released).
I'd forgotten how great this album is! This was to be Hawkwind's sixth
and final release (thankfully not final!), and was intended to be
their 'swansong'. My God it would have been.

The album opens with a two-part track. "Assault and Battery (Part I)"
has some of Brock's best lyrics, albeit partly borrowed from Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow (1846). This track shows a continued progression
from Hawkwind's early work, which began with the previous album 'Hall
of the Mountain Grill' and combines gentler synthesizer over a calmer
bass line. It seques nicely into "The Golden Void (Part II)", which
has a similar style, but with more pronounced saxaphone and violin.

"The Wizard Blew His Horn" is more of a poem than a song, spoken (and
penned) by Moorcock over the top of pieces of percussion and
synthesizer, fading nicely into the instrumental 'jam' "Opa-Loka".
This would be one of my favorite Hawkwind instrumentals, bar none.
Percussion dominated, with lot's of spacey keyboard and flute, it's
not too soft (like much of the subsequent album, 'Astounding Sounds,
Amazing Music'), and not too heavy. This is one of those tracks that
could quite happily go for ten or fifteen minutes. "The Demented Man"
is reminiscent of some earlier Brock tracks, with it's acoustic
guitar and slightly nasal vocals, interspersed with the sounds of sea
birds in the background. Close your eyes and let that head sway!

The howling wind is overlaid with electric guitar, and the pace
increases as "Magnu" begins. This is the first 'rock' track on the
album, a magneficent track which combines most of Hawkwind's
trademarks. House's violin playing in conjunction with Turner's sax
over the top of all the synthesizer, bass, drums and guitar really
works well here. "Standing at the Edge" is another 'poem', with
Turner bemoaning how dark it is at the edge of time, over the top
of electronic effects with bursts of almost tribal drums.

The eerie opening sounds of "Spiral Galaxy 28948", in traditional
Hawkwind style, are soon joined by drums and guitar. The earlier
tribal sounding drums herald the beginning of "Warriors", yet another
Moorcock vocal piece. "Dying Seas", is the only piece penned by Turner
on the album, but fits in with the 'edge of time' theme nicely. The
other 'rock' track, "Kings of Speed" sounds very much like it is
Lemmy-inspired, but strangely was written by Brock & Moorcock.

The CD version of this album has the bonus "Motorhead", the last track
written by Lemmy for Hawkwind before he was sacked in Canada during
the
'WotEot' tour. This particular version of is unique in that it also
includes House's violin, which definitely adds an extra dimension.

Reading over this 'review', I feel that I haven't really done the
album justice. It is without doubt one of the band's best efforts, and
should be in every fans collection.

Paul
--
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!

Thought for the day:
    Erotic (adj): using a feather as a sex aid.
    Kinky (adj):  using the whole duck.