Distand Horizons/Dave Brock etc

[John Majka]

>> >>but it's in no way the best.  We were really pressed for time and it
shows."
>> >>
>> >>rj
>> Well, Ron at least acknowledges that it's nowhere near being the best album.
>> And if not the worst, it is at least among the worst three or four.  What is
>> funny is his statement that they were "pressed for time" which is nothing
>> more than a lie.  Keep in mind that these days Brock owns his own studio and
>> all the stuff is recorded there, at Hawkwind's leisure.  Time is not an
>> issue anymore, since they can spend as long as they like in the studio.  I
>> think the "pressed for time" statement is a cop-out.

>nothing personal john, but how can u say that?  they finished it on the few
days
>between the europe tour and the trip to the US.  and who knows what was
going on in
>their lives individually?  they dont all live in brock's basement or
anything like
>that.  in fact some of them live quite a ways away.  at the time, i
remember that
>jerry had JUST joined the band on a permanent basis,  ron had Just stepped
into the
>bass position, and capt rizz was merely a guest.
>
>ron had said that the album had originally been geared in one direction,
and they
>changed that direction not long before the album was due. might as well
start from
>scratch in some aspects.

I don't deny the validity of all these issues--certainly they would
interfere with recording an album, but my point is that unlike most musical
groups, Hawkwind is independent enough (no contractual obligations, plus
owning their own studios) that they don't HAVE TO meet a particular time
schedule.  If things were hectic etc. and the ideas weren't coming together,
they could delay until a better time to write/record etc came up.  It's not
like they have a guy from Virgin or whatever breathing down their necks,
saying, "Tapes of the new album must be in our office by Friday morning".
Of course Hawkwind would like to put out albums constantly, but I'd prefer
that they take as much time as they want.  Overall, even if Hawkwind would
never put out another "good" album (and I'm not saying DH isn't good--it's
just not great) or if Brock called it quits today, they've certainly had a
remarkable enough career to make up for any such disasters.  I mean Hawkwind
are getting pretty old these days, but they're still WAY more creative and
productive than other musical ancients like the Rolling Stones, who haven't
been able to write a decent song for what 10-20 years?  Hawkwind have pretty
much put out at least a record a year for their whole career, and every one
has been pretty damn good, all things considered.
John Majka
flossbac at wcic.org