HW: Xenon Codex, Alien 4 etc.

[John Majka]

I've been kind of surprised reading the mixed bag of reactions to some of
the Hawkwind albums we've been talking about lately.  When I bought Xenon
Codex, from the very first listen of the first song, I thought, "This is
brilliant.  Hawkwind is a band you can rely on".  I liked the album a lot
and saw it as clear evidence that the Hawks were not decaying like so many
other bands.  As for It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous, I
immediately liked that album as well.  My only reservations are about some
of the stuff on the second half of the CD.  It seems as though the boys ran
out of material and so reworked some old tunes and included Gimme Shelter
(from that benefit single that came out).  I'd much prefer completely new
material rather than reworkings of old tunes, but hey, the CD was so lengthy
that they basically gave us an entire album of new stuff plus an entire
album of reworked stuff.  I kind of like that ambient/tribal instrumental
stuff--I think it fits the band just dandy.  Good for variety too.  Alien 4
I had a mixed reaction to.  I instantly loved "Alien I Am", but "Beam Me Up"
with Ron's voice and all is just not much fun.  I know a lot of people have
said they like Xenomorph, but I honestly think it's one of the Hawkwind's
worst songs.  And as for Festivals.... well, I think it would be more at
home on a Brock solo album than on Alien 4.  And again we have the reworked
Death Trap etc., and although I like them a lot, I'd still prefer new
material.  Still, Hawkwind are one of the most consistently brilliant bands
ever.  I think it takes a lot of guts and creativity to keep mutating the
dimensions of the band's sound.  Like most aging rockers, they could just
get stuck in a rut and do the same sound forever, but I'm so so happy that
the Hawks work hard to sound fresh all the time.  It's always different, yet
still somehow recognizably Hawkwind.  God Bless The Hawks!

John Majka
flossbac at wcic.org
PS:  The Love in Space video is a lot more fun than the CD!
OB:  Pale Saints:  In Ribbons