HW: Review - Chronicles of the Black Sword

[Rudich, Robert A]

Since I like this album a lot and it gives me a chance to rant about my
favorite song, I wanted to pre-empt Paul.  (I really enjoy your reviews,
Sound Killer, but you're setting the bar too high.  Thought I'd lower the
standard.).  Take it with a grain of salt (for entertainment purposes only).

Artist:       Hawkwind
Title:          The Chronicle of the Black Sword
Label/Cat#:    Flicknife - Sharp 033 (LP),  Griffin - GCDHA-0142-2 (CD)
1st Release:    1985
Lineup:          Dave Brock, Huw Lloyd-Langston, Alan Davey, Harvey
Bainbridge, Danny Thompson (with some banging by Dave Charles)

After a hiatus since _Space Ritual_, Hawkwind jumps back into the unified
concept album mode with this musical "novel" of M. Moorcock's Eternal
Champion character (Elric).   I guess the purists would call this fantasy
rock rather than space rock, but the music is great whatever genre it is.
 This album's tour spawned the Live Chronicles which has the advantage of
including some narrative bits and extra songs that help explain the story
line.  The studio album relies strictly on the song lyrics and needs a bit
of imagination (and attention) by the listener (or read the books).

Song of Swords opens things up with sonic pulsations and then a tune of
bright beginning.  Elric doesn't yet realize the fix he is in.  What's so
bad about a sword that eats souls?

Shade Gate evokes an image with its electronic sounds and a smooth guitar
line.  Sounds like a nice place to be until the sharp end.

The Sea King is summoned to save Elric when he gets dunked in the drink.
 The baggage of Elric's past is beginning to weigh on him.  This song may
have to grow on you.

The Pulsing Cavern puts you in a very strange place with its evocative
sounds.  Amazing what a mental image HW can evoke with their aural assaults.

Elric the Enchanter puts the realization of Elric's dire fate upon him.  A 2
part song rolled into one with a great musical segue to blend these parts.
 Some very good guitar work and electronic swirling.

Needle Gun starts off the 2nd side of the LP with stinging guitars and the
muttered line - "So you're alive, I thought you were done."  The menace and
power of the wielder of the "ultimate death toy" builds throughout.  My ears
keeps wanting to hear "Evil Needle, Needle, Needle Gun" in the chorus, but
the evil may only be in my mind.  This is my favorite of all Hawkwind songs.
 Nasty guitar for heavy metal kids.  Turn it up full blast!

Zarozina - What is this?  Hawkwind visits the Micheal Bolton zone with a sad
love ballad.  Minor chords and an odd vocal with a  background howl.

The Demise - Elric desperately summons Arioch for help as the storm breaks.
  You hear it all.

Sleep of a Thousand Tears is a tortured dream in full stereo sound.  An Ozzy
quality to the vocals on this one.

Chaos Army is a brief burst of the sounds of hell as it breaks lose.

Horn of Destiny is a climactic song with several musical themes (what's
new).  This song has a lot to like in it with every instrument having its
moment.

To make matters more complex, there are 3 CD releases (Flicknife, Dojo, and
Griffin) that have bonus songs not on the LP.  The 1st has "Arioch,"
"Assault & Battery" (LIVE), and "Sleep of a Thousand Tears" (LIVE).  The 2nd
has "The War I Survived" and "Voice Inside my Head" (a middle chunk of
Brainstorm), both Live from a n '88 Hammersmith Odeon gig .  The Griffin
version is the best with "Arioch" and Live cuts "The War I Survived" and
"Voice inside my Head." (These 2 CDs are the only legit sources of these
songs.)  "The War I Survived" is a version of the _Xenon Codex_ song that is
faster and a little rawer.  "Voice Inside my Head" is really good,
especially the 2nd half.  "Arioch" is an instrumental song that almost
sounds non Hawkwind (next to no space noise), almost a jazzy Zappa tune.
  Good tune nonetheless.

SUMMARY - FoFP rates this album "a must have" and I agree.  The ties to
Moorcock that have been there all along come into full bloom.  So for HW
fans, this is an important and very good album.   The ability of Hawkwind to
constantly transmute a song in a "structured jam" is showcased.  The
beginning of a track gives no clue what the middle will sound like and the
end will be a radical change again.  Some of the progressions are amazing.

For a non fan, this album is very approachable.  There is nothing extreme
that only die hards and Dave's mother would like.