HW: Calvert - where to go from here?

[J Strobridge]

Are things really this quiet?  No mail for a whole day!


Stephen Swann writes:

> It appears that I've at long last "discovered" Bob Calvert...
>
> I finally bought "Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters", and it's
> been in my CD player constantly for the past 2 weeks.  I particularly
> like such lesser known pieces as "Hero With A Wing" (my favorite song
> on the album), and "Catch a Falling Starfighter".  I also like his
> more thoughtful/introspective versions of the "rock" numbers that
> Hawkwind often covers.
>
> So, with that in mind... what to get next?  _Lucky Leif and the
> Longships_ seems like the obvious choice - is it comparable
> stylistically?  And knowing that this is always a loaded question on
> BOC-L... is it as good?  :-)
>
> Also, what kind of material is on Freq (aren't there 2 versions of
> this)?  And is _Tales from the Atomhenge_ worth getting?
>


Calvert is difficult.   Very individual, very idiosyncratic, very
clever.    In that he's a performer rather than a straightforward
musician his solo work has a sameness of technique that comes across in
everything he produces - however the musical style varies enormously
from the reggae of Cricket Star to the oddities of Test Tube Conceived.

Lucky Leif is a concept album in the same way that Captain Lockheed is
but his intention in this album seems to be to produce each song in a
totally different musical style, quite deliberately, which makes for
interesting if not always coherent listening.   Freq is a social protest
concept album incorporating media quotes and songs about working class
existence - musically I don't remember it as being anything special but
it's uniquely Calvert.   Test Tube Conceived is wierd and Hype goes
along with a book of the same name which is songs based around the life
of a writer struggling to retain his individuality and independence.
Highly entertaining if somewhat exaggerated book!

Blueprints from the Cellar is Calvert performing his own songs and The
Kid From Silicon Gulch is a stage show about a private detective and a
computer in the crime solving business.   I love this - it's truly
entertaining and I really hope someone gets a chance to put it back on a
stage one day.

Tales from Atomhenge is just the Charisma years 'Spirit of the Age'
Hawkwind compilation with some different single tracks added.

tracklist below:

1992  Tales From Atom Henge CD (Virgin)  (Spirit of the Age re-issue +
                                          different tracks)
        Honky Dorky (Brock/Calvert/House/King/Powell/Rudolph/Mandelkau)
        Flying Doctor (Calvert/Brock)
        Steppenwolf (Brock/Calvert)
        Hassan I Sabha (Calvert/Rudolph)
        25 Years (Brock)
        Jack of Shadows (Calvert/Shaw/House)
        PSI Power (Brock/Calvert)
        Reefer Madness (Brock/Calvert)
        Fable of a Failed Race (Brock/Calvert)
        High Rise (Calvert/House)
        Quark, Strangeness, and Charm (Brock/Calvert)
        Back on the Streets (Calvert/Rudolph)
        The Dream of Isis (Brock/King/House)
        Kerb Crawler (Brock/Calvert)
        Only the Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid (Calvert)
        Spirit of the Age (Brock/Calvert)


cheers

jill

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J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at tattoo.ed.ac.uk
                                                ELIJSA at srv0.arts.ed.ac.uk

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