HW: Weird CD's - the music

[Doug Pearson]

This is easily the most significant release (or at least "vintage" release)
for Hawkwind since 'The 1999 Party'.  Major kudos to Voiceprint for
releasing this sheer volume of material, and to Dave Brock (and whoever
else worked at it) for getting it TO the label.  This era ('76-'78) has
been pretty skimpily covered in terms of live material released, yet this
is IMO some of the BEST Hawkwind ever.    But then again, the
Calvert/Shaw/House/King lineup has always been one of my favorite's (and if
it's yours, you don't need this review to tell you that you NEED these five
CD's).

Like I've said said, I never heard any of the original tapes except 104
Hawklords live, but I know the Flicknife (Friends & Relations, Sonic
Assassins EP, etc.) and Samurai (Anthology/Acid Daze) -released material
from this era (75-78) pretty well - timings in brackets [] are those of the
aforementioned alternate-source equivalents for comparison / verification
purposes.  So here's the timings and a few off-the-cuff remarks ...


Weird 101 Sonic Assassins live 77 / Dave Brock demos (49.30)
Over the Top (7.49) [7.53]
Magnu (3.19) [3.12]
Angels of Death (5.16) [1.11]
Free Fall (8.00) [7.54]
Death Trap (5.03) [4.30]
Nuclear Toy
Who's Gonna Win the War (4.54) [5.55]
The Dream 1
Assassination
The Dream 2
Satellite

The Sonic Assassins tracks contain a bit of extra material (already on the
tape, I assume, but never on vinyl/CD).
There's Bob's rant (and a lot more jamming) at the end of "Angels of
Death", as someone else mentioned.
And a little more at the end of "Death Trap", too.
The tracks also sound like different mixes than the releases on Flicknife
etc. - the synth noises are a bit more prevalent in a few places, but it's
not a significant difference.
Unfortunately, the one other song from the Sonic Assassins set ("Golden
Void" [4.44]) isn't included.
The version of "Who's Gonna Win The War" sounds like the one on Flicknife
(it's Hawklords, not Brock solo), but appears to fade prematurely.
This may be the only volume without any mistakes in the credits.


Weird 102 Hawkwind live 77 / Hawklords studio 78 (41.16)
Quark, Strangeness & Charm (2.38) [2.38]
Master of the Universe (4.44)
Welcome to the Future (2.10)
Spirit of the Age (5.50) [5.57]
Sonic Attack (5.27)
Valium 10 (7.57) [7.51]
Douglas in the Jungle (6.55) [6.53]
Time Of ... (5.33) [4.07]

"Quark" is the 'Anthology'/'Acid Daze'/etc. version.
"Spirit of the Age" is the Flicknife version (there's a bit of microphone
feedback in the second verse @2.20 to verify), but the full
fade-out/destruction into "Sonic Attack" is included.
The first two Hawklords studio tracks are the released ("Motorhead" B-side,
'Acid Daze'/'Anthology') versions.
"Time Of..." sounds like an alternate version or different take - a bit
rougher & rawer than the one from the "Who's Gonna Win The War" B-side.
The credits for "Sonic Attack" make no mention of Michael Moorcock.


Weird 103 Free Festivals 77/75 (42.01)
High Rise (5.37)
Damnation Alley (parts 1&2) (8.00)
Uncle Sam's On Mars (6.33)
Robot (7.21)
Circles (4.44)
I Am the Eye (4.29)
Slap it on the Table (4.26)
? (0.50) [11.48 - "Watchfield Festival" track]

The '77 stuff is great, and blows away other versions you've heard of these
songs ('PXR5', 'Acid Daze', 'Friends & Relations').
The version of "Uncle Sam's on Mars" is STILL different from the other 3
released versions (geez!).  And includes the "Iron Dream" (King) finale.
Who's singing the falsetto in "Robot"?!
I think this is all different portions of the Watchfield festival than the
"Watchfield Festival" track on 'Anthology'/'Acid Daze', but I'm not
completely certain; more listening is required!
What the heck is the last track?!?  Is that Nik acting up?
A few errors ...
"Damnation Alley" is (Calvert/Brock/House), not (Brock/Calvert).
"Uncle Sam's on Mars" is (Brock/Calvert/House/King) - sorry Ade, and its
credits are confused with:
"Slap it on de Table" (Brock/Rudolph/Turner/Dunkley/Powell)
"Aidran" Shaw's name is misspelled.


Weird 104 Hawklords live 78 (47.55)
Death Trap (6.21)
Micro Man (3.40)
Spirit of the Age (9.25)
Urban Guerilla (5.18)
Steppenwolf (9.07)
Free Fall (5.28)
Uncle Sam's on Mars (8.33)

As previously noted, "Uncle Sam's on Mars" is (Brock/Calvert/House/King),
not (Brock/Calvert).  And it again includes the "Iron Dream" finale (King).
This is a great show!  A different one than the previous 'Hawklords Live' CD.
While admittedly the talents of Swindells/Bainbridge/Griffin don't quite
match (who could?) those of House/Shaw/King, the new members more than
acquit themselves with loads of raw energy.  This is one of the most
rocked-out Hawkwind-related recordings, and Bob is amazingly over-the-top
on "Urban Guerilla" and a punked-up "Uncle Sam's On Mars" (throughout the
CD, really).


Weird 105 live 76/77 (43.12)
Back on the Streets (Calvert/Rudolph) (3.50)
City of Lagoons (House) (5.09)
Brainstorm (Turner) (7.25)
Wind of Change (Brock) (4.07)
Assassins of Allah (Calvert/Rudolph) (7.17)
Forge of Vulcan (House) (2.33)
Steppenwolf (Calvert/Brock) (10.29)
Where Are They Now? (Brock) (2.19)

"Back on the Streets" has the full three verses, but like the 'Atomhenge'
version, is missing a couple chords that made it into the studio version.
Is it Brock - keyboard, Rudolph - guitar, House - violin on "City of Lagoons"?
"Brainstorm", "Assassins" & "Steppenwolf" all rock (*blistering* violin
solo on "Steppenwolf"), and the instrumentals provide atmosphere.  Very nice.
The last minute of "Steppenwolf" is the US 'Quark, Strangeness & Charm' LP ad.
Is "Where Are They Now" a Brock demo?
No songwriting credits whatsoever on this CD ... could it be that it's the
only one with more than one or two non-Brock songs?  Nah ...
Who the heck is "Aidrain" Shaw?!?  And why do they keep spelling his name
differently?


I didn't buy Weird 106 yet since I already have (almost) all the stuff
between the 'Greasy Truckers' tracks on the 'Space Ritual' remaster and the
usual suspects on 'Acid Daze' and 'Friends & Relations' etc.  And Weird 107
will probably have to wait until after I get 'Agents of Chaos' and 'Strange
Trips & Pipe Dreams'.  Someone else please write those up!

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com