business hawkwind (was chrome tour - or so...)

[J Strobridge]

stalker writes:

> I am not writing this because I am a born again Calvertian - but its
> just an obvious fact that the band never again had
> a single innovative moment since Calvert left the band - i.e. after the
> Hawklords album. They surely were the precursors of punk and new wave -
> what more to ask of a single band. they got to have there place in
> musical history for everyone with on open ear.
.....
> every hawkwind record after '78 is just a musical encore.
> every encore is a generous present. nothing more.
> so there.
> k.

I think you are being a tad harsh.    Hawkwind were indeed a unique
band during the Bob Calvert era but they were a unique band before the
Calvert era and (yes I must admit it) a unique band since the Calvert
era.   Oh, indeed, not *everything* they have done can possibly be
described as musically brilliant - they've certainly had their off
periods - particularly, I would say on some of their studio albums and I
don't know anything about reworking songs to alter credits so I can't
and won't comment on that.

But, personally, I worship their first album.   It was a revelation of
wonder when it appeared - far and away different from anything else I
had heard before.   But it was no more pre-punk than say Englebert
Humperdink.  That came much later and so have many subsequent changes.
Calvert's departure was a great loss - the band after Calvert was not
the band during Calvert - but so what?   The Hawkwind I saw in 1989 was
terrific - I was stunned. Then they were by their own admission a "trance"
band creating (and even anticipating) music of *that* period.   I was
enormously impressed by their presentation, by the quality of the sound
they produced and by their sheer ability to craft the performance and
the experience that they did.

I know that folk dislike Hawkwind from this period and I don't think the
band show up well in their studio recordings but I do feel in terms of the
style of music they were producing they were being particularly innovative
within an alternative music scene of the rave/ambient/trance/dance.   I
guess there's a lot of folk wouldn't call that "music" or "style" or
anything else - but there's a whole generation of kids for whom it will
be a part of their lifestyle memories as *they* grow and change and
alter their tastes.

For myself the closer they come to long riffs, overlapping
layers and sheer depth of sound as each instrument follows the other
into a phrase the more I like it but we all have the Hawkwind we want to
hear and, yes, I think that is a problem.    Have Hawkwind developed
over the years - yes, I would say they have.  Can or should Hawkwind
develop further?   Who knows?   It's the same question asked of every
rock/pop group since vinyl began to be produced.  Arguably every band
must sooner or later come to an end but I'll be very sorry the day I
discover that I shall never again be able to say "I'm going to see
Hawkwind live".

jill

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