HW: Recent v Old (revisited) A Howl of Derision

[Douglas Pearson]

On Tue, 17 Apr 2001 18:52:52 +0100, bedroom trancer
<bedroom at TRANCER28.FSNET.CO.UK> wrote:
>>From: "Douglas Pearson
>>The diversity of
>> bass playing on 'Atomhenge 76' is unquestionably impressive, but never
>> quite matches either Lemmy's propulsive overdrive or Adrian Shaw's warmly
>> melodic feel that fit so well with Simon House's keyboards.
>
>is it just me? But I have never been impressed by adrian shaws bass
>playing.
>I mean "quark strangness and charm" is my fav hawkwind album but its
>calverts voice and lyrics, simon kings fantastic drumming, simon houses
>brilliant violin and synth work and of course brocks guitar work(he even
>plays a few solos!) that make the album so great for me.

Well, unless the bassist is recorded REALLY up-front (Lemmy!), I find it
takes a lot of focused listening to really pick up on a bassist's
contribution (and I play bass, myself) to an overall sound.  The other
ingredients you mention are certainly also essential, but to me, 'Quark' is
such a *perfect* album that all five musicians *must* be great!  Adrian's
playing is not quite "virtuoso" on a Lemmy (or even Davey) level, but
neither is it simplistic; pay close attention, and you'll hear some
amazingly well-thought-out rhythmic and melodic choices being made.  I find
it sometimes brilliant IN its' understated subtlety (something you could
NEVER accuse Lemmy or Alan of!).  Perhaps one of the reasons I like him so
much is that he was so different from his predecessors (or successors), yet
still fit perfectly into the overall Hawkwind sound circa 1977.  I don't
believe that any other person who's played bass with Hawkwind could have
come up with parts like the warm, almost-bubbling bassline on "Spirit of
the Age" (really essential for that song, since the guitar plays *two*
chords the whole way through) or the melodic slides on "High Rise" that add
to the detached drama of that tune.

Also, having seen him several times with Bevis Frond (and Lemmy with
Motorhead, for the all-important compare/contrast), I have been very very
impressed.  Since the Frond are touring the US soon, I assume this means
that Adrian is in good health again, so I would strongly encourage you to
see the band, even if only for Adrian's contributions (if you're not a
Frond fan).

All just my own opinions (based on my own observations), of course ...

    -Doug
     ceres at sirius.com