HW: Jerry Richards, A. Davey, Lemmy

[Ola Nyberg]

Christian (>) wrote:

(About Alan and Bridgett singing Golden Void)
>>Yes, I know (Bridgett on the Live Legends video, for example). I must
say
>>that Alan never has been and probably never will be a good singer.

>Hmm, I quite disagree. Alan's voice has a great punk edge, for instance
his
>Hassan I Sahba/Damnation Alley etc. (much of the California Brainstorm
>actually as well) are IMO great stuff. Gave the power trio line up a
cool
>edge.

Well, luckily we don't all have the same tastes/opinions! I think that,
apart from Alan's vocals, they did absolutely wonderful versions of
Hassan I Sahba/Damnation Alley/Ejection. I like them, but Alan's vocals
are quite pale compared to the original, IMHO. The middle section of
Damnation Alley on Palace Springs, where they slow down and Alan pulls
off some killer bass lines, just blows me away. The last part of their
renditions of Hassan I Sahba is also very cool, especially the "It is
written - In the soul of the desert" section with Dave singing "It is
written...". Alan's voice (again, IMHO) sounds okay in tracks like LSD
and Sputnik Stan. I also think that he sounds pretty good when he
"doubles up" on vocals with Dave on songs such as Assault & Battery,
Arrival in Utopia and Night of the Hawks. Or rather, the combined effect
sounds good. We could debate about this forever, I'm just giving you my
views on it....

>>Don't get me wrong here, I think Alan was probably the best thing that
>>ever happened to the Hawks after Lemmy's departure. In fact, he was the
>>perfect replacement for Lemmy, and at the same time an injection of
fresh
>>blood into Spaceship Hawkwind. Face it, the 1981-1983 stuff was below
>>par. Alan brought the drive back into Hawkwind.

>Well, I thought Bainbridge played a cool bass (no matter what Ginger
Baker
>might have had to say about it!!!!). Not to mention the Levitation,
Sonic
>Attack and Choose Your Masques had some great driving tracks.

I'm not saying that everything between Lemmy and Alan Davey is crap. In
fact, Levitation is probably my favourite HW studio album! God I miss
Huw... I love Quark and PXR5 too. However, I think the Sonic Attack and
Choose Your Masques albums were somewhat disappointing. Sure, there are
classics on those too (Angels of Death/Arrival In Utopia) with loads of
beatiful lead guitar from Huw, but I have a feeling that they lost their
sense of direction on those albums... Is there anybody out there who
appreciates the redo of Silver Machine on Choose Your Masques? I don't.
And then the Zones album... Apart from the Island, that album really
doesn't do much for me. Then followed two years of silence (apart from
the Night of the Hawks EP, which is OK) and finally, BAM!, the Chronicle
of the Black Sword! What a comeback! Alan had spent a year in the band
and I believe that he greatly contributed to the new HawkSound by
bringing the drive (Lemmy style) back into it. Harvey's bass was fine (he
played on Levitation...), but Alan made the Hawks sound "fresh" again.

>>*Lemmy* once said (during an interview I did in 1989, in fact) that
>>replacing him with *Paul Rudolph* was like replacing Bob Seger with
Luke
>>Goss (from Bros, yuk!). A bit exaggerated, perhaps, but very
>>illustrating...

>Ah well, something different. That's what I liked about the late 70's
>Calvert-era (Quark/PXR5/Hawklords, not as much Astounding which was sort
of
>transitory) was the sudden forward shift to a sort of "cybernetic" sound
>and a cool, streamlined New Wave-ness. I liked Rudolph/Shaw's bass -
>different,
>yeah, but that's the way to do it, move on instead of trying to
recapture
>"the old days" etc. Sure Davey is/was a great bassist, and indeed he's
quite
>influenced by Lemmy.

As I said, I like the Calvert era too. Astounding isn't that bad either,
Reefer Madness is a classic.

>Speaking of, I can't help but feel Lemmy's bass sound owes something to
>Dave Anderson. Just Master Of The Universe on XISOS sounds like Lemmy.
>Also Anderson's bass on Calvert's Test Tube Conceived album (like the
opening
>track) also have that heavy, yet rhythmic lumbering sound.

Good point.

>>We all know that Alan sang all the Calvert tunes. My opinion is that it
>>was nice to hear some Calvert stuff again, but Alan didn't really do
them
>>any justice. HOWEVER, Ron definitely does!

>I really don't like Ron's vocals so much... I though quite the opposite.
>Of course Ron is a great showman, but IMO not much else (his lyrics are
>godawful!!!).

When I come to think of it, Dave sang Quark and Spirit of the Age... I've
never seen Ron in action. Actually, I have the Love in Space video, but I
haven't bothered to buy a new VCR since my old one broke down... I think
Ron's vocals are fine, especially on old Calvert tunes. After all, there
is a definitely a resemblance there. Robot off Love in Space is a good
example. Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to hear him do
Reefer Madness or Steppenwolf. I haven't payed that much attention to his
"godawful" lyrics. Could you name a song?

>>I have often thought of the fact that the following past or present
>>HawkCrew members have similar looks/styles:
>>
>>Alan Davey - Lemmy (playing style)
>>Simon King - Richard Chadwick (playing style and looks)

>Dunno why I feel Chadwick's drumming sounds so canned. He's got more
range
>than Danny "look ma, no hand!" Thompson. Yeah Chadwick does kinda look
like
>King though.

King's drumming was definitely heavier. I'm neither a musician nor a
sound technician, but I suppose the sound of his drums has a lot to do
with his drum set, the way it is set up and how it is brought into the
mix. I'm sure they could make it heavier of they wanted to... Anyway, I
quite like Richard's style. And it suits the old (early seventies)
material a lot better than Danny's. Assault & Battery didn't sound that
great with Danny...

>>Bob Calvert - Ron Tree (vocal style)

>A very pale imitation!

I'm not saying that Ron is as talented a lyricist/songwriter/performer as
Bob, just that his voice sounds  a lot like Bob's.

>>Do any HawkFreaks out there agree with me?
>>And judging by some messages on this list, Jerry Richards playing style
>>is close to Dave's! Is there any truth in that?

>He seems much heavier/modern as far as style goes but I couldn't say.
>Not so spacey but but really jammin.
>So far I like what I heard of the Strange Daze vid alot, at least the
new
>tunes. Tree's bass sounds like, um, well, I might be able to do (even
though
>I never played any instruments!!!)

I've never heard Jerry play guitar, nor have I heard Ron play bass. I
guess I'll have to wait for the new album. Should be here any day now!
Judging by the messages on this list, the new HW sound is heavier than
before. I wonder how this is possible when Alan has been "replaced" by a
"conventional" (I suppoose?) bass player like Ron?

>Still, Ron puts on a good zany act. Quite an "energetic" fellow  %^)~

Again, I have yet to see him in action.

Thanks for sharing your views on these subjects. I've never had anyone to
discuss important matters such as HW and BOC with before, although I have
been a fan for fifteen years... This is most interesting.

All the best,

Ola