HW: Xenon Codex, Alien 4 etc.

[William Duffy]

John Majka wrote:
>
> 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!
>
I tend to agree with this mode of thinking. I have liked all the HW albums due to their
differences to the previous ones. I might have the same thoughts on "Alien 4". I agree
with John's views of the songs, although I wouldn't say Xenomorph was a bad song. It's
just not one you would really think of if you were compiling a collection of classic
songs.
I also rather liked "It is the Business..." for the same reasons. I even liked "White
Zone". About the only albums that are low on my list, are things like "Text of Festival"
& "Bring me the Head of Uri Gagarin", but that's more for the sound quality than
anything else. Those albums would be perfect choices to remaster if there was decent
recordings of them around.

William