HW: NiXtar - Nikwind

[Stephen Swann]

Paul Mather writes:
>
> This is the great thing about Hawkwind fandom, IMHO.  Personally, I think
> the remakes you mention are hideous abominations---especially the pompous
> bubblegum version of "Time We Left" on _Palace Springs_.

Yes!  Argh, that one has driven me crazy ever since I bought the
album.  Although I think Hawkwind's periodic redefinition of its sound
is in many ways one of the most attractive things about the band,
sometimes they try just a little too hard.  (The ambient synth-washed
sound was wonderful for "The Golden Void", but not for "Time We
Left").

>  I guess
> Hawkwind really are all things to all people. :-)

You know, I was thinking about *why* it is that Brockwind still sounds
like Hawkwind to me, even when their current incarnation doesn't
really play in a style that I like all that much.  (Mostly ambient,
not often enough instersperced with tight, hard-driven rockers).  And
I think it boils doen to this: Dave's guitar.  Seriously.  I think the
one thing that has remained relatively constant across all the
incarnations of Hawkwind, is that rock-solid rythm guitar upon which
the rest of the music is built.  When I saw them in 91(?) as a 3
piece, it went against everything that I had expected to hear from
Hawkwind - no layers of synths/violin/sax/flute/lead guitar/etc.  But
you go to hear the music underneath, and I realised then that most
Hawkwind songs, however much complex adornment they are given, are at
their roots basic guitar driven rock-n-roll songs.  And Dave's (not
even Huw's - his falls into the "adornment" category) is the guitar
that drives them.

Steve