HW: how long, how many, and why

[David Howard & Kim Pieters]

I've been a Hawkwind fan since 1975, when I first heard 'In Search of
Space'. The songs that intrigued me then were the more musically
conservative: 'You Know You're Only Dreaming', 'We Took the Wrong Step Years
Ago' and the anthemic 'Masters of the Universe'. After listening to Steve
Reich, Pierre Boulez, Olivier Messiaen and (even) Soft Machine I could
hardly regard 'You Shouldn't Do That' as stimulating beyond the opening
bars. 27 years later my favourite releases are the aggressive 'Doremi Fasol
Latido', the understated (and under-rated) 'Palace Springs', and the live
recording from the Cambridge Corn Exchange, 1972 released as half of 'Year
2000: Codename Hawkwind: Volume One'. Naturally I admire the original 'Space
Ritual' but admit that I rarely play it these days.

I'm not a collector (of anything) so I don't own that many recordings - 5
LPs and a further 11 CDs from Hawkwind, with a further 1 LP and 4 CD
reissues of Robert Calvert, who is my favourite solo member for his ability
to develop a theme over the length of an album without inducing boredom.  I
also have 3 CDs from the irrepressible Nik Turner, who is at his best when
counterpointing a strong rhythm section (as he did brilliantly in early
Hawkwind).

Based in New Zealand, I've never seen Hawkwind, or Nik Turner, or the late
Robert Calvert perform. And, no, I won't choose between Dave Brock and Nik
Turner; while I prefer Hawkwind's recent releases to Nik's I still have a
high regard for the latter's capacity to push other musicians into
unfamiliar territory. I view the recent dispute as I might a sustained
squabble between two of my friends: I'll listen to both without denying the
value of either.

David Howard