HW: Silver Machines

[Tim Gadd]

This is partly a test, because I buggered around with the list settings, and
haven't recieved any mail in 2 days, and am not sure whether this was me or
you. But so as not to make this off-topic:

I presume it's been mentioned on the list sometime in the past, but did
people hear The Church's version of Silver Machine, on their 1999 'A box of
Birds' album? Justwondered what you thought of it. I'm a big Church fan, but
I wasn't mad on this album. I couldn't really see the point of a bunch of
covers of other people's music, which didn't really re-interpret the
originals. On The Church list I called the version of Silver Machine
'emasculated', and suggested that the band obviously weren't taking enough
drugs to do a proper version of it (or, considering Steve Kilbey's recent
headline-making adventure in New York, maybe they're just taking the wrong
sort). Having said that, I ought to add that it's a _whole lot better_ than
the old cover I have by Vardis :)

Does anyone else here like The Church? I can't imagine many Hawkwind fans
being totally averse to their 98 album 'Hologram of Baal', which I like a
great deal. I've often regarded the two bands as having some indefinable
thing in common (or maybe I'm just confusing lysergic with narcotic.) Kilbey
_does_ at times, remind me a little of Bob Calvert in vocal style. At other
times though, he reminds me of Al Stewart.

The Church were playing their 20th anniversery gigs in Sydney/Melbourne this
week or lastweek, and as they've customarily been doing Silver Machine as an
encore on thelast couple of tours, Sydney-siders would have had a chance to
compare versions.  That is if HW are still playing it in concert, which I
kinda would like to think they might have stopped doing by now.

Ok, that leads me to another question, which should probably be a seperate
post, but in any case here it is: is there a song which you particularly
wish HW wouldn't play in concert? For me it's definately be Sonic Attack. I
just don;t think anyone but Calvert can even come nearto pulling it off.
Everyone else's readings of it which I've heard have sounded pretty lame,
and that 'musical' version of it they were doing in the early 80's was just
horrible. All IMVHO.
--
Tim Gadd
Hobart, Tasmania