Customer Reviews

1999 Party

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In short, this is it - the real thing!

Hawkwind fans have long endured poorly recorded early live sets (endless re-packagings of Text of a Festival and Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin), unimaginative alternate versions and re-mixes from the definitive tour (Space Ritual Vol 2, Ridicule) and numerous later era official live releases that are often very good, but always very different to the classic era of the band (Palace Springs, Live Chronicles, Live '79), all in the pursuit of the heady first rush of the Space Ritual - this landmark '73 amalgam of Bob Calvert's interstellar poetry and Dave Brock's grinding tunes was thankfully captured on a double album, which has recently been re-issued by EMI UK with the original encore restored, and it remains the band's most significant release.

Also from EMI UK comes Live at the Chicago Auditorium (The 1999 Party), which was actually recorded in March 1974, and it is the first Hawkwind live album ever (official, semi-official, bootleg or just straight off the back of Dave Anderson's truck) that might be considered as in the same league as Space Ritual Alive. For a start, the band line-up remains largely unchanged from the earlier tour, with Lemmy contributing his trademark vocals, although Calvert has been replaced by Michael Moorcock as poet in residence. Several key elements of the actual Space Ritual remain (The Awakening, Sonic Attack, Welcome to the Future), however it is no mistake that the title features the word 'party', and while Space Ritual Alive fully captured the reverential awe of that particular event, the 1999 Party is a wonderful document of the band at their most playful, with even Sonic Attack rendered slapstick by the addition of 'boom-tish' drum fills to punctuate the dire warnings.

Whereas the Space Ritual tour had largely utilised songs from the Doremi Fasol Latido album to fill the musical gaps in Calvert's original vision, the 1999 Party showcases tunes from the Hall of the Mountain Grill and features the first live version of D-Rider on record anywhere, while You'd Better Believe It and Paradox, which were actually live versions when first issued on the Hall of the Mountain Grill, get their first outing on an official concert album. You get yet another version of Brainstorm, albeit a particularly good one, the first live recording of single Brainbox Pollution, which is an absolute gem, and while this set was purged of all other Doremi material, the 1999 Party paradoxically features the first live recording of Lemmy's menacing The Watcher - and what an incredible bass-driven rendering it is!

Lemmy would be busted for possession of amphetamines on the next North American tour and sacked from the band, dancer Miss Stacia and kinky saxophonist Nik Turner both left during the next couple of years, and although Robert Calvert later returned in an expanded role as genuine frontman of the band throughout the second half of the seventies, as the band surprisingly trailblazed their way through the landscape of punk/new wave, Hawkwind would never again be the same band that they were during '73/'74 - if you were weaned on Space Ritual Alive, then Hawkwind Live at the Chicago Auditorium (The 1999 Party) is the only alternate source of the sustenance to which you have become accustomed.

Being the HUGE Hawkfan that I am,the reason I'm giving this title a four star rating instead of five,is that I was just a TAD let down.Don't get me wrong,'The 1999 Party' is well worth picking up and keeping for life,it's just that it's not as fantastic as their 'Space Ritual',WHICH could probably never be beat anyway.Was recorded at The Chicago Auditorium on March 21,1974.A time when Hawkwind was actually doing quite well in the states.Any old fan would want '1999 Party' because it has Lemmy and Del Dettmar on it.I know several people that saw HW on this very tour.The sound mix is a 9.5 out of 10.It's a blast to listen to "Standing On The Edge","Brainbox Pollution","You Know You're Only Dreaming"(one of my all time favorites),"The Watcher"(where Lemmy sings),"You'd Better Believe It","Psychedelic Warlords" and "D-Rider".Actually,one doesn't JUST listen to a Hawkwind record,they EXPERIENCE it.Very nice space rock double disc release and a true keeper.

I was quite unprepared the first time I heard this...lights out, lying in bed and just staring at the glow from my cd player...transported to another place. Let's just say after hearing this you can throw away your Pink Floyd cd's, really don't even bother to sell them...just throw them away.

*******************Personnel

* Dave Brock - Electric guitar, Vocals
* Nik Turner - Saxophone, Flute, Vocals
* Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) - Bass guitar, Vocals
* Del Dettmar - Synthesizer
* Simon House - Violin, Keyboards
* Simon King - Drums

*******************Technical Stuff

This album was part of EMI's Hawkind reissue series in '96 & '97. The material from that series was handled very very well by EMI. The mastering and restoration was without exception excellent. Unfortunately, the actual recordings from 1974 aren't great, but EMI extracted all they could from them.

So if you get this 2 disc set, you won't get any loudness war problems, but you won't be getting great sound either. Don't get me wrong though, the music is very listenable and enjoyable.

********************The Music

This was recorded 18 months after the legendary "The Space Ritual". The line remained mostly unchanged, except for the departure of Robert Calvert, a big loss indeed. Although, Michael Moorcock does a very respectable job as poet-in-residence.

The set list is quite different from "The Space Ritual", with only 3 poems and 3 songs remaining. There are also 5 tracks from what was their upcoming album "Hall of the Mountain Grill".

The Hawks are very in sync in this set, and the music is well executed. It is a bit harder and more muscular than "The Space Ritual", but it is also more playful and at a slower tempo.

*********************Summary
A very good live Hawk's album from the early/mid 70's. The sound quality and lack of Robert Calvert make it an optional purchase for fans though.

Exquisito CD. Para aquellos que buscaban algo más de la banda, en vivo por supuesto, tener The 1999 Party es una obligación. Grabado en 1974 en EE. UU., el cd nos muestra una banda con alto voltaje y gran maestría de los músicos. Lemmy se hace sentir en Brainstorm y en, tal vez una de mis canciones favoritas: The Psychedelic Warlords... La grabación está estupenda y si se puede apreciar algo mi opinión, la recomiendo, sobre todo para quienes tienen el disco Space Ritual, pues The 1999 Party puede llegar a ser un gran complemento.

Every time I listen to this mind-blowing concert I can't help but come to the conclusion that "The 1999 Party" is the GREATEST recorded HAWKWIND document. Yes, even better than "Space Ritual"!!! I think the reason for this is rather simple. Whereas the "Space Ritual" album was a live celebration of tunes from the "Doremi Faso Latido" and "In Search of Space" studio LPs, "The 1999 Party" focuses on the "Hall of the Mountain Grill" LP, which for my money is the GREATEST Lemmy-era HAWKWIND studio album. The material on "Hall of the Mountain Grill" was just so emotionally powerful that it truly added another dimension to the music when performed live. If you don't believe me simply pop in "The 1999 Party" and check out the sheer emotional power of "It's So Easy". WOW!!! "The 1999 Party" documents the HAWKWIND machine running on FULL power and fueled by an obviously perfect concoction of chemicals. The recording quality of the show is AWESOME and easily as brilliant as the crystal clarity of "Space Ritual". If you are even a tentative Hawkfan this is an ESSENTIAL purchase. I guarantee you that if you drop a dose, put the headphones on, and listen to "The 1999 Party", you will enter the void!!! This may be the single greatest acid rock performance ever caught on tape. For the TOTAL "1999 Party" experience you should also pick up the MAN-"1999 Party Tour" CD which captures MAN's opening set from the Chicago Auditorium show from which the "1999 Party" was culled. HAWKWIND and MAN on the same bill....I'd give a few fingers to have been there!!! Thank the psychedelic warlords that this mind-melting music was made available to the public!!! DOGSIDNIWKWAHHTIWDSL..........

From the far-off future; the year 1999 (by way of 1974).

People who've never heard Hawkwind should check out their live album "Space Ritual".

If they like Space Ritual and want more, they could do worse than to pick up this slice of space thunder. Look, it's a live recording, so it's not perfect. And it's definitely not as good as "Space Ritual" (this gets five stars, "Space Ritual" gets INFINITE!).

But it is a live recording by Lemmy-era Hawkwind, one of the greatest live bands ever, and it has pretty good sound quality. It does start off a bit slow with the standard semi-poetic spoken-word ramblings, but then it digs into trance-inducing heavy space-rock from out of the Void.