HW: Epoch Eclipse review in Time Out

[Andy Gilham]

And here we are:

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Hawkwind

Epoch Eclipse:
The Ultimate Best Of (EMI)

Drugfreak nutters Hawkwind have been cruelly misrepresented for years as
hippy-drippy prog-rock bollocks.  If the fact that they were actually named
after saxophonist Nik Turner's coughing and farting habits doesn't blow
their cover, then try this snatch of lyric from 1973's greasily groovy
'Urban Guerilla' single: 'So lets not talk of love and flowers and things
that don't explode/We used up all our magic powers trying to do it in the
road.' This well-aimed kiss-off to the flabby thinking of the post-'Sgt
Pepper' Beatles generation got their follow-up to massive hit 'Silver
Machine' banned by the BBC because of sensitivity around the IRAs bombing
campaigns.  Which conveniently sums up the constant, tragicomic chaos
surrounding Notting Hill's quintessential counter-culture rock band.

Admittedly, this compilation goes steadily more pear-shaped from the moment
in 1975 when future Motorhead leader Lemmy was fired ostensibly for
preferring speed to acid.  But the opening seven tracks demonstrate exactly
how The 'Wind (ahem) provided the bridge between Brit psychedelia and Brit
punk.  Essentially rough-arsed twelve-bar boogies coated with daft synth
effects, cosmic apocalypse lyrics, and an ever-present penchant for violent
revolution, they represent perfectly the gloriously bikered-up intellectual
dumbness that led them to feature sci-fi guru Michael Moorcock and an
enormous-breasted dancing girl called Stacia when they played live.  For
those who already know all this, a triple-CD '30 Year Anthology' is also
available.  For those who don't, grab this little slice of pharmaceutically
inspired cultural history.  They were one of Johnny Rotten's favourite
bands, you know.

Garry Mulholland
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--Andy

mailto:Andy.Gilham at btinternet.com; http://www.btinternet.com/~andy.gilham