Astounding Sounds Amazing Music [IMPORT] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Hawkwind

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 2009)
• Original Release Date: February 24, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: 26F RECORDS
• ASIN: B001NE818U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,530 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2009 digitally remastered and expanded edition of this album from the British Rock institution containing four bonus tracks. The album, originally released in 1976, marked the return to the band of Robert Calvert who would be a major influence on the creative direction of the band lyrically and as vocalist. Including such classic tracks as 'Steppenwolf' and 'Reefer Madness," this reissue has been re-mastered from the original master tapes (a first for any CD issue of this album) and features previously unreleased mixes of "Back on the Streets" and "The Dream of Isis" along with the 1976 single 'Kerb Crawler' and 'Honky Dorky' as bonus tracks. Atomhenge.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Calvert took center stage..., June 22, 2009

By	S. Joy "Look Listen Learn" (New Haven, Connecticut) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I own an earlier CD release, so this reviews the music, not the Cherry Red Records/Atomhenge remastering. Here we find Hawkwind stepping away from a powerful lineup (including Nik Turner and Lemmy Kilmister) that had sadly degenerated (relationship-wise mostly, but arguably musically too - to my ear, Warriors on the Edge of Time, the release just before this one, represented a decline from the standards set by the previous three or four albums) and searching for a new sound, a new identity. The return of Robert Calvert, probably their best lyricist ever and a superb collaborator for band leader Dave Brock, moves them in new directions. The sound sometimes resembles Bowie or Roxy Music as much as Hawkwind blanga: it is more lyrically and melodically complex, less hard-driving for the most part, with fewer skirls of sax or audio generator. So if you only like Hawkwind for Brainstorm or Master of the Universe, it will be a shock at first and you may or may not wind up liking this one. But it is a remarkable achievement. As I understand it, the original idea was to develop a set of songs that would resemble the stories in a pulp SF magazine (hence the title), with perhaps a distinct little stage show for each. Until I picked this one up a year or so ago, I couldn't imagine how the band got from Warriors to Quark, Strangeness, and Charm - this fills in the gap. They aren't yet sounding New Wave, but then, in 1976 nobody else was either!

Anyway, it isn't perfect, but it is very good. Highlights include the lengthy Steppenwolf (Calvert's take on the Herman Hesse novel), Kerb Crawler (another bid for a smash hit single that didn't chart well but probably should've), and Kadu Flyer (Calvert's continuing obsession with piloting has him fantasizing an ultralight flight into the Himalayas). Most of the other numbers are pleasant instrumentals, more background than most earlier Hawkwind.

The older CD release (and there are probably used copies around still) had a raft of live material tacked on at the end, some just okay, but some outstanding - a good live Back on the Streets (yet another failed bid for the singles charts) and a totally berserk Urban Guerilla (with Calvert screaming 'bullets are the only way'). The new one has the key advantage of remastering from the original tapes and a different set of bonus material. It looks like the actual single version of Back on the Streets is there, which is a nice touch, since it was left off the Sonic Boom Killers compilation of singles. I'm curious about the other pieces, though probably not curious enough to buy a second copy of the record.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peak musicality, June 12, 2009

By	Brian W Beck (MA, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album is a gem. It is a little different and may take a few listening sessions. Reefer Madness is a swipe at the anti-drug government movie. Steppenwolf is one a Calvert classic. The Aubergine That Ate Rangoon is a masterpiece of space funk. Kadu Flyer, a Nik Turner trip. The other tracks meld together some of the most subtle of SparrowFart's work. If you like Hawkwind for Silver Machine, this is probably not for you. Tracks 8 thru 11 were not on the original and apart from The Dream of Isis, should be left off the CD. Marketers suck.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars really weak release, April 29, 2009

By	Joseph L. Kolb (harris, mn USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i picked this up the other day as it's one of the only early releases i don't own. i was really disappointed in it. musically, it's one of hawkwind's weaker releases. the extra tracks are all bad. honky dory is a instrumental which is a deleted musical section from "reefer madness". it's vey muddy. the other tracks (kerb crawler, back on the streets, dream is isis) are all single mixes and are not very good. i guess if you like this release, buy it. it does have a good, informative booklet inside. if you don't have this or looking for some good hawkwind, pass on it. i might play this one more time and sell it someplace.