HW: Amsterdam 1977

[Doug Pearson]

On Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:14:08 +0100, Bernhard Pospiech <bernhard.pospiech at T-
ONLINE.DE> wrote:
>I have got here a great quality CDR (thanks Rainer) from the Amsterdam gig
>on 11.03.1977
>
>The tracklist is:
>
>11.03.1977, AMSTERDAM, PARADISO, 80 min
>reefer madness / hassan i sahba / forge of vulcan / brainstorm / wind of
>change / steppenwolf / spirit of the age / sonic attack / damnation alley /
>fable of a failed race / uncle sam's on mars / iron dream / waiting for my
>man / paranoia

This is a great show!  I recently received a recording (probably not as
good quality), and there are several highlights:

"Damnation Alley" was never performed in its entirety after this tour (it
segued into "Uncle Sam's On Mars" instead of including the final
verse/chorus).

"Fable of a Failed Race" was never performed after this tour.  Having heard
this live version, I think it would be a prime candidate for rediscovery by
the current lineup.  While in general, I've preferred other Hawkwind
members' (Nik, Ron, Bridget, and even Harvey) vocal renditions of Calvert
songs to Dave's ("The Right Stuff" being a notable exception - Dave rocks
on that one!), I think that "Fable of a Failed Race" would suit his voice
very well, similar to the excellent renditions of "Clouded Visions" in 2001.

Great version of "Waiting For My Man" - it's easy to tell that Calvert is
playing rhythm guitar to Dave's lead (unfortunately, his rhythm isn't the
greatest, but it doesn't detract from the overall performance).  And who is
that singing the "Hey white boy, what you doin' uptown" line?!?  It's not
Bob, and it's not Dave, so I guess it would have to be Ade?

>I am sure that this recording was once  recorded from a soundboard.
>It is full Stereo and is the best 1977 recording (except Camden 77) I have

Bernhard, what do you think is the best recording from aumtumn/later 77?  I
recently got a copy of the Hammersmith show, which is a fine performance,
but the recording is seriously marred by dropouts (is this on the original
recording, or did I get a bad copy?).  Any other recommendations
(especially with a good performance of "Jack Of Shadows")?

>Maybe there is someone out there who may be able to improve the sound once
>more.
>Then we will have a superb recording from the 1st day of the European tour
>
>Believe me: You will be not disappointed !!

Yep!

    -Doug
     jasret at mindspring.com